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All the greatest companies started with a garage and an idea. From Disney, to Apple, to Amazon, the world was forever changed in the garages of America. Ralph Cohen of Branded Originals (asi/41574) understood the potential for his business, sitting in his parents’ garage. Just like all the other greats, Ralph Cohen had a vision and made it come to life. Branded Originals, formerly “The Stitchory,” has proven time and time again that putting in the work and taking the leap towards success pays off. In less than a decade, this company has gone from garage to industry leader. Ralph sat down with us to tell us more about Branded Originals’ success and explain ASI’s impact on his business, and how in just one year he was able to increase his orders 140%.
“ In our first year marketing with ASI, we saw a 140% increase in orders.”
In 2016, Ralph started Branded Originals by creating customizable apparel products that brought a luxe feel to his community. After a couple years focusing on DTC, Ralph discovered a recurring question that kept crossing his desk, “We love your work. Do you also work with distributors?” After two years of this, Ralph would partner with Stephen to switch his company model from direct-to-consumer, to distributor focused. The switch paid off, and in 2021, the pair took the leap and switched to distributor-only sales – tackling the promo world with every transaction.
When Branded Originals jumped into the promo world, they could not have imagined their future. They certainly weren’t the first supplier in the industry, but as the newest guys on the block, they were able to notice the gaps in the industry. As they worked closely with distributors, they discovered that not only could they provide high-end apparel, but they could also impact the industry with the newest fashion and apparel trends that distributors felt they were missing out on. Leveraging products like ESP®, also allowed Branded Originals to let the promo world know faster that they had all the apparel and products that so many others had been looking for.
“We crossed paths with a lot of distributors that were looking for products that didn’t exist in the promo world. They approached us to work, to meet, to manufacture apparel or for custom projects.”
Before 2022, Branded Originals hadn’t put much time or energy into their advertising. But in that first year of marketing with ASI®, they saw a 140% increase in orders, as well as a 90% increase in traffic to their website. Those stats are directly correlated to Branded Originals leveraging their member benefits. Since yielding those results, they’ve pivoted to make sure that they take advantage of all advertising opportunities on ASI. Whether it’s pay for placement, sponsored content ads or related products, Branded Originals is on top of it. They’ve also seen success from sending monthly targeted emails through ASI’s email marketing program. Following their first year of marketing, Branded Originals continues to see growth, with a 60% increase in overall sales.
“We continue to see growth with a 60% increase in overall sales.”
Leveraging ASI supplier member benefits not only helped boost Branded Originals to distributors they might not have discovered for some time, but it also has allowed them to reallocate their time. With ASI taking on the heavy lifting in a variety of spaces and ways, Stephen and Ralph are left with the time to better understand what is next for their business, what they need to improve on and most importantly, time to enjoy their lives outside of the office. As a member, your ASI supplier member benefits don’t just make business easier, they make life easier.
“I would say go for it [becoming an ASI member]. It altered the trajectory of our business and it changed where we’d been concentrating our efforts going forward.”
Since Branded Originals features high-end apparel, they also understand the power of the luxe feeling a catalog brings. This past year, they decided to feature their products and services in The Gift Book®. Our Gift Book publication has become the industry’s trusted source for high-end gift and reward products. With the catalog reaching 45,000 end-buyers, it’s not only the ideal way to feature products to high-paying distributor clients but also a great way to showcase talents.
“We took a chance putting our products in ASI Gift Book … and it paid off.”
“For years, we had been manufacturing in Pakistan, relying on the local factory for our production needs. And a few years ago, we took a big step.”
At their core, Branded Originals understands the power of quality. Whether it is their products, the customer service, or in this case, the lives of their international employees, they set out for high quality. By offering livable wages, fair working conditions and stable employment, they’ve set their employees up for a little less pressure on what the next day or paycheck will bring, bettering a community at its core.
With less than 10 years in the industry, Branded Originals has made a mark that one can only assume will bring decades-long success. They’ve taken the power of quality apparel to make both a fashion statement and a declaration that being the new guys on the block doesn’t mean success is not there for the taking. At every opportunity, Branded Originals has taken the leap into the unknown, and with their hard work and passion for high quality experiences and products, they have consistently come out on top – something Ralph could have only dreamed of in 2016, sitting in his parents’ garage.
Want this Success Story as a PDF? Click here to download.