On tonight’s Shark Tank on ABC, one of the hopefuls up to bat is Bad Birdie.
This fashion-forward company took the ubiquitous men’s golf shirt and jazzed it up with quirky designs and fun graphics, making the butt of all fashion jokes — golf apparel — a thing of the past.
Or, at the very least, the creators made it an item of clothing once shunned by fashionistas and turned it into a hot commodity.
Here is hoping that the Sharks, especially sports-minded Mark Cuban, thinks so too.
Bad Birdie on Shark Tank: What makes it special?
If you are like many men in the USA, you might have a closet full of golf shirts made by Greg Norman, Izod, Ben Sherman, or Adidas.
Those will look like your dad’s shirts when you contrast them to the modern graphics of Bad Birdie.
Like all startups, Bad Birdie was conceived on a desire to address a perceived void in the marketplace. Enter Jason Richardson, who will present on Shark Tank his interesting line of golf shirts called Bad Birdie.
They are colorful, odd, and unexpected. Richardson capitalized on his production background to create a visually stunning product and all the marketing around it, including a dazzling website.
One pattern, Wildlife, is the perfect gift to give someone who fancies himself a bit of Joe Exotic, with cheetahs and big cats repeated in a pattern.
Richardson loves the sport of golf and has a whimsical approach to what he wants to see on his shirts. His catchphrase on his site is “swing hard.”
The bestsellers are the patterns Tropics, Mingos, Wildlife, Fresco, Superlit, Cali, and Salty Savage. There are hats, sweatshirts, and socks for sale on his site too.
Bad Birdie on Shark Tank, where to buy
Polo golf shirts can go from $25 up to $120 a shirt depending on where you buy them. Paul Stuart, John Varvatos, and Peter Millar being some of the pricier ones.
The prices average about $72 for Bad Birdie.
Bad Birdie sells directly to the consumer from the company website, but they want to get the product into pro shops and other retail outlets. They also do sample sales and group orders according to their website.
Tonight, Richardson looks to be fishing for a Shark to help him get into other retailers to expand his brand empire.
Will a Shark think this shirt business is a hole in one or a slice to dice?
Shark Tank airs Fridays at 8/7c on ABC.
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