Former Under Armour exec expands Southwinds clothing line – Baltimore Business Journal – The Business Journals
Listen to this article 3 min
A former Under Armour Inc. executive is looking to take a locally founded clothing brand into resorts and country clubs across the country.
Christine Maly, an apparel industry veteran, bought Spunkwear in 2021 after returning from four years working for Under Armour in Amsterdam. Spunkwear, a women’s apparel company, was founded by a lacrosse mom who sold the clothing at her children’s tournaments, but Maly has taken the brand to the next level by leaning into wholesale. The company, which also has a wholesale brand called Southwind Apparel, had almost $1 million in annual sales, and Maly has plans to add a men’s line this spring.
“I love growth, there is nothing better than seeing something small and helping to make it larger,” Maly said. “That is what gets me out of bed in the morning.”
The apparel industry has taken Maly, originally from Iowa, all across the country and even across the globe. In addition to working for Under Armour, she spent a decade at Adidas leading product and marketing and also worked for sporting goods company Brine. Maly moved to Baltimore for Under Armour and was in charge of the kids’ apparel division on the product side before joining the company’s European executive team to build out distribution there.
After helping Under Armour’s fledgling European business, Maly decided she “wanted a new challenge” and started searching for an apparel brand that could be her own. That’s when her husband heard about Spunkwear, whose founder was looking to sell. Maly bought the brand in late 2021.
“This company was ready for the next chapter. It was just dabbling with wholesale and was only growing in Maryland,” Maly said. “I wanted to be the one to take it to the next level, and I had a vision of creating a great active leisure brand.”
When Maly bought Spunkwear, the company was focused on local events like lacrosse tournaments and regattas. Maly said the company initially found success because its different patterns and swimsuit-like spandex and nylon material appealed to professional women.
Maly has focused on growing the brand’s wholesale business, including introducing the brand Southwind. Maly said when she bought the business it had 100 wholesale accounts, but that many of them didn’t really fit the vision of what she wanted the company to be. She has since exited partnerships with about 40 of those accounts while adding more. The company currently has about 140 wholesale partners.
“This company is not like Under Armour and Adidas, where they have products in lots of doors. We need special partnerships because our accounts are the only places that carry us in a ZIP code,” Maly said.
Southwind’s geographical footprint has also grown, and shoppers can find the apparel in stores from Maine to Florida. Maly said she has focused lately on North Carolina and South Carolina but also wants to grow the brand’s presence in pro shops and country clubs around the country. Maly recently scored a big win when she got Southwinds’ products into the Landings Golf & Athletic Club, a massive club in Savannah, Georgia, with six 18-hole golf courses. Maly also mentioned she would love to start selling on cruise ships too.
The biggest expansion for Southwind however, may come from the launch of its men’s line. Southwind has a store at its headquarters on Kent Island and Maly said a lot of local customers will come shop with their husbands and ask when the brand is going to add products for men. Maly said the plan is to launch a men’s line of polos and hoodies in May, just in time for Father’s Day.
Maly is far from the only former Under Armour executive to build their own brand in Greater Baltimore. Alan Guyan, who spent almost nine years developing products at Under Armour, launched a shoe company in Annapolis last year. Former Under Armour product designer Nick Cienski also launched a brand, this one based around luxury scrubs.
© 2023 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated January 24, 2023) and Privacy Policy (updated December 19, 2023). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American CityBusiness Journals.
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
A former Under Armour Inc. executive is looking to take a locally founded clothing brand into resorts and country clubs across the country.
Christine Maly, an apparel industry veteran, bought Spunkwear in 2021 after returning from four years working for Under Armour in Amsterdam. Spunkwear, a women’s apparel company, was founded by a lacrosse mom who sold the clothing at her children’s tournaments, but Maly has taken the brand to the next level by leaning into wholesale. The company, which also has a wholesale brand called Southwind Apparel, had almost $1 million in annual sales, and Maly has plans to add a men’s line this spring.
“I love growth, there is nothing better than seeing something small and helping to make it larger,” Maly said. “That is what gets me out of bed in the morning.”
The apparel industry has taken Maly, originally from Iowa, all across the country and even across the globe. In addition to working for Under Armour, she spent a decade at Adidas leading product and marketing and also worked for sporting goods company Brine. Maly moved to Baltimore for Under Armour and was in charge of the kids’ apparel division on the product side before joining the company’s European executive team to build out distribution there.
After helping Under Armour’s fledgling European business, Maly decided she “wanted a new challenge” and started searching for an apparel brand that could be her own. That’s when her husband heard about Spunkwear, whose founder was looking to sell. Maly bought the brand in late 2021.
“This company was ready for the next chapter. It was just dabbling with wholesale and was only growing in Maryland,” Maly said. “I wanted to be the one to take it to the next level, and I had a vision of creating a great active leisure brand.”
When Maly bought Spunkwear, the company was focused on local events like lacrosse tournaments and regattas. Maly said the company initially found success because its different patterns and swimsuit-like spandex and nylon material appealed to professional women.
Maly has focused on growing the brand’s wholesale business, including introducing the brand Southwind. Maly said when she bought the business it had 100 wholesale accounts, but that many of them didn’t really fit the vision of what she wanted the company to be. She has since exited partnerships with about 40 of those accounts while adding more. The company currently has about 140 wholesale partners.
“This company is not like Under Armour and Adidas, where they have products in lots of doors. We need special partnerships because our accounts are the only places that carry us in a ZIP code,” Maly said.
Southwind’s geographical footprint has also grown, and shoppers can find the apparel in stores from Maine to Florida. Maly said she has focused lately on North Carolina and South Carolina but also wants to grow the brand’s presence in pro shops and country clubs around the country. Maly recently scored a big win when she got Southwinds’ products into the Landings Golf & Athletic Club, a massive club in Savannah, Georgia, with six 18-hole golf courses. Maly also mentioned she would love to start selling on cruise ships too.
The biggest expansion for Southwind however, may come from the launch of its men’s line. Southwind has a store at its headquarters on Kent Island and Maly said a lot of local customers will come shop with their husbands and ask when the brand is going to add products for men. Maly said the plan is to launch a men’s line of polos and hoodies in May, just in time for Father’s Day.
Maly is far from the only former Under Armour executive to build their own brand in Greater Baltimore. Alan Guyan, who spent almost nine years developing products at Under Armour, launched a shoe company in Annapolis last year. Former Under Armour product designer Nick Cienski also launched a brand, this one based around luxury scrubs.
© 2023 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated January 24, 2023) and Privacy Policy (updated December 19, 2023). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American CityBusiness Journals.
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
