(As seen in the October 1, 2008 Jobboom Section of the Toronto Sun)
West Coast friends target a new generation
[TORONTO, ON – September 24, 2008] Having lived in Vancouver most of his life, Justin Hanna was influenced by the west coast lifestyle. The snowboarding, surfing, and skateboarding “action sports” were always his passion.
It became very clear to Hanna and his friends that there were no clothing brands that truly reflected the lifestyle of action sports. He saw a market need for apparel that targeted not only the action sports themselves, but also the culture that goes with it. From this realization FIGJAM Apparel Inc. (www.figjamapparel.com) was born.
“As an apparel company within the action sports industry, we’ve really chosen to market ourselves around the culture rather than a specific sport like surfing, or skateboarding”, comments Hanna. “But we are also a marketing group for amateur athletes who participate in action sports. We support them at every level, because we feel that they are the best representatives of this growing lifestyle.”
This Canadian based street-wear clothing company and marketing group with offices in Toronto, and Vancouver, FIGJAM equips Generation ‘ME’ with the hottest street-wear clothing and is dedicated to promoting the culture of action sports. Their corporate goals and vision facilitates the design, production and distribution of clothing with a unique street-wear look to GenMe. The FIGJAM team also acts as the premier marketing and public relations group for amateur athletes and events in action sports.
Hanna says he’s learned the importance in doing his market research. “Always do your research, and learn your industry better than everyone else. Make yourself an expert.” In doing so, he was able to cut out a precise niche in the already saturated sporting apparel company.
However, Hanna still claims the best way to get to know your industry and your target market is to “network as much as possible, and to get involved wherever you can. Join online groups, attend trade shows, events, and always meet new people.”
