Five Clothing Brands Who have Had Successful Ventures Outside of Clothing

Ralph Lauren Coffee

Usually successful businesses stick to what they do best, and only offer products that relate to their industry in some way. But every now and then, certain companies like the break out of the norm and launch new ventures that pertain to a completely different industry all together. Fashion and clothing brands sometimes do this. Some of these ventures are failures, but other times, they are successful. Clothing brands typically use their great sense of design and then apply it to a new industry that sort of relates. For example a clothing company might launch an interior design division that sells furniture. While it’s different from the clothing and fashion industry, in relates to their primary activities to some extent. We are going to look at five different clothing companies that have broken out of their respective industries and have launched new ventures outside of the fashion world.

Photo from ralphlauren.com

Armani Casa

5. Armani 

The Italian fashion house known as Armani is one clothing company that has a successful venture outside of the fashion industry. Since Armani is a high-end fashion label and Italian, they took their expert sense of design and opened up a new brand under their label. It’s called “Armani Casa”, and it is the companies interior design and home furnishing division. Armani Casa creates, designs, and sells many products including rugs, furniture, light fixtures, wall coverings, table decorations, textiles, and much more. You could effectively decorate your entire home with their offerings, albeit it will be expensive. Armani Casa’s catalogue is pretty massive, and the brand has even provided their interior design services for a few hotels, resorts, and private residences. The brand has recently been commissioned by the Smart Hero Group to develop a large residential project in Beijing as well.

Photo from armanicasa.com

Fendi Casa

4. Fendi

In many ways similar to Armani, Fendi has their own brand/line of furniture and home goods known as “Fendi Casa”. Fendi launched this venture back in 1989, and since then it has become a respected name within the home goods and interior design industries. From sofas and dining room tables to outdoor furniture and beds, Fendi Casa has a little bit of everything. They also provide interior design services and have created many exceptional rooms in a few resorts, corporate headquarters, and hotels found throughout the world.

Photo from Fendi.com

Burberry Acoutsic

3. Burberry 

Unlike the some of the other brands on our list that have created ventures that offer a physical, consumer-based good, Burberry has done something a little different. The legendary British fashion house is best known for their amazing overcoats and their distinct patterns, but their newest venture is quite different. Burberry has launched a program called “Burberry Acoustic”, and it is quite interesting. Rather then selling a product that you can buy, Burberry Acoustic is a music promotion and production venture that helps promote and support emerging musical acts from Britain. They find artists and then help create music videos for them, which Burberry exclusively produces and records. It’s certainly very interesting, and many artists have already used this outlet to promote their music with videos like this one.

Photo from Burberry.com

Vans

2. Vans

Vans is definitely an outlier on our list as the aren’t a high-end fashion label from Italy or something however they are still one of the most successful clothing companies to launch prominent ventures outside of their base industry. The American company started out as a shoe manufacturer in California during the late 1960’s and they sold shoes that were popularized by skateboarders. The quickly grew in size and in addition to offering shoes, they would go on to sell a variety of different clothing (casual t-shirts, swimsuits, pants, etc.). Vans would eventually breakout into the world of extreme sports even more, as now they sponsor many professional athletes, whether they be surfers, skateboarders, or snowboarders. Additionally Vans would go on to sponsor the popular “Warped Tour” music festival, which is now the largest traveling music festival in the entire country. So sure, they don’t make Italian suits or design interiors for Ritz-Carlton hotels, but as a clothing company, they have a host of successful ventures outside of the clothing industry.

Photo from Vans.com

Ralph Lauren Coffee 2

1. Ralph Lauren

Like the other high-end fashion houses on our list, Ralph Lauren also broke out of the clothing industry and into the home goods and interior furnishing industry. They produce a range of products, everything from candles to rugs, but that’s not what we are going to talk about today. Ralph Lauren’s most recent venture outside of clothing is coffee. In their flagship location in Manhattan on the second floor is a premium cafe that has been selling great coffee for many years. The shop quickly became a hot spot and now the brand is selling their own blends of coffee under the name “Ralph’s Coffee”. You can order the beans online and a 10 ounce tins, and their regular blend will run you $16 before shipping and tax. The coffee is organic, from sustainable sources, free-trade, and very premium. It’s caught on so far and many are looking to get their hands on some of these beans.

Photo from Ralphlauren.com

Written by Sebastian Hensiek

From Philadelphia, Sebastian is a fan of music, writing, art, and entertainment.