This is an episode of the Glossy Fashion Podcast, which features candid conversations about how today’s trends are shaping the future of the fashion industry. More from the series →
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What started as a luxury swimwear brand nearly 10 years has transformed into a successful fashion label that introduced denim, resortwear and kidswear this year. Launched by Shea Marie, an influencer-turned-founder, and her co-founder Ryan Horne, Same has become one of the buzziest swimwear brands on the market, with A-list fans such as Beyoncé, Hailey Beiber and Kendall Jenner.
“The growth has happened very fast. Our sales have been tripling, quadrupling each year,” Marie said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. To that point, both Marie and Horne said that they’ve been focused on growing their team. The brand plans to evolve its DTC strategy and open a retail store next year. Plus, more categories, including footwear and accessories, are on the horizon.
In this week’s episode of Glossy’s Podcast, Marie and Horne discuss what’s fueling Same’s expansion nearly 10 years in and why an established audience is impactful when building a brand.
Highlights from the conversation, below, have been lightly edited for clarity.
Navigating competition
Horne: “We were very lucky. … Our timing was really spot on. When I first started in swimwear in 2009, it was looked at like an accessory market — it was not its own category, as far as retailers were concerned. It shared buyers with other departments. So as [Same] grew as a business, so too did the U.S. women’s swimwear market. It became more fashionable, more of a range of styles became acceptable, and it became more versatile, to wear for day and night. That partially shaped our business, but on top of that, it was a design angle. When Shea [Marie] came to me, most of the other brands [I work with], which are notable brands, were making very simplistic swimwear — cute, but simplistic. Shea did something to elevate that and that expanded our customer base. It not only set trends, but it also expanded our customer base. We were one of the first well-known brands to start using hardware in the way that we were using and to have pieces that transition to night easily by just adding on a skirt or a pair of pants. That was one of the cornerstones of how Same separates itself from the rest of the pack.”
Marie: “There have definitely been a lot of brands that consider us competition and have been worried about us, but we are almost in a different category. … I don’t think there are a lot of swimwear brands that are able to jump from swimwear to ready-to-wear. … We’re in a very unique position because of the way that we built the brand. It’s a fashion-forward swimwear brand, so that’s why we are able to jump that way. Most swimwear brands go into activewear, which a lot of people always suggest that we do. But the people I consider our competitors are brands … have every [category], and that’s the vision we want.”
Building a marketing strategy as an influencer-founded brand
Marie: “Until two years ago, the brand was fueled solely by organic marketing. Our user generated content is amazing, and it always has been. We still haven’t spent any money on influencer marketing. We do now invest in digital ads, and we’ve done billboards and things like that, which is exciting — as we’ve grown, now we have more of a budget to explore these different things. But still, because the brand is so loved, we literally have everyone wearing it — all the coolest ‘it’ girls, influencers and celebrities want it. That’s a testament to the brand itself — that we don’t have to pay anyone to wear it or pay anyone to promote it.”
What’s fueling Same’s category expansion
Horne: “We’re trying to grow with our customer. When I started Same with Shea I was not in the time of my life where I wanted a child, but here I am, 10 years later. … It is important to meet your customer where she is right now.”
