"When Cabot Hosiery launched in Northfield in 1978, it brought new life and new jobs to an area that, 100 years earlier, had thrived on sheep herding and woolen mills. In the early 2000s, Cabot, too, was expiring when the founder's son, Ric Cabot, stepped up with an idea. Formerly a private-label supplier for big fashion brands, the family business would itself become a brand--one that stood for performance, American manufacturing, and quality so high the company would back it with a lifetime guarantee.
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"I came up with the name Darn Tough because I thought we were darn tough if we could survive," says Ric Cabot. (The name is also, of course, an elegant pun.)
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Darn Tough has done more than just survive. It has demonstrated the appeal of small-state manufacturing and consumers' willingness to pay more for domestically produced goods. [Moi ici: A conjugação da autenticidade com o desempenho. Acredito que é uma dupla capaz de milagres, criadora de "You're talking about complementarities to the bottle of wine ... each and every product should link to something that complements it ... experiences, stories."] The $40 million business sells nearly 5 million pairs of socks a year. Hikers, bikers, skiers, and, yes, hunters buy them. So does every branch of the military services. "You can't pay for that kind of advertising," says Marc Cabot, Ric's father and the founder of Cabot. "Our brand has become a cult brand."
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Sherman, who personally owns 40 pairs, says his customers like Darn Tough's fit and durability. They also appreciate the company story. "In addition to being an amazing product, it was made in Vermont," he says. "That is something that Vermonters want to hear."
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If you wore brand-name socks in the '80s and '90s, they may have come from Cabot. The company private-labeled for Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Talbot's, Brooks Brothers, Polo, and others.
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"Then came the offshoring thing," says Ric. "The giant sucking sound that people are still talking about in politics today."
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Cabot's biggest customers pulled out of their contracts. The work force dwindled to 30 or 35 as production dropped from five days a week to three.[Moi ici: Ainda no Domingo escrevi com pasmo acerca da explicação das elites sobre o encolhimento das fábricas, Ainda agora abano a cabeça de incredulidade e penso que é esta gente que negoceia com os governos. MEDO!!!]
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"From the hottest of fires," says Ric, "comes the strongest of steels."
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The Cabots decided it was time to step out of from the private-label shadows and become a brand themselves. They had the facility. They had the skill. Perhaps more importantly, they had a story: third-generation sock makers operating in rugged Vermont. They designed a merino-wool sock with form-fitting toe box and sculpted heel, and made it with a very high stitch count, which creates density without bulk. Ric envisioned the market to be outdoor enthusiasts--"somebody that demands a lot of their gear."
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In 2004, Ric begged an audience with a retailer in Montpelier, 10 miles away. Filling a backpack with the first Darn Tough product, a running sock, he persuaded the owner to let him set up a rack in the store. He also donated 3,500 pairs to the Vermont City Marathon, an annual event held in Burlington, for inclusion in swag bags. That was the start of demand from local businesses like Outdoor Gear Exchange.
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Borrowing a page from such respected brands as L.L. Bean and Land's End, the Cabots reinforced the quality message with a lifetime warranty. The warranty also acclimates buyers to the price. A 12-pack of Chinese-made tube socks cost less than $12, but many pairs won't last the year. With Darn Tough, "you can make the argument that if I buy one pair of socks at $20, I will never have to buy that style of sock again," [Moi ici: Como não recordar outra vez o exemplo dos sapatos que não se vendiam a 20€ e passaram a vender a 230€.] says Ric. (He calls the percentage of returns "tiny.")"
Trechos retirados de "How This Vermont Sock Company Became a $40 Million Business in a Town of 3,000"
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