DSTLD is an American clothing company, founded in 2014 by Corey Epstein and Mark Lynn and backed by Asher New York Holdings. The California-based company designs and retails a line of mostly denim-based clothing. The company has become known for its relatively affordable pricing, environmentally friendly design and manufacturing, a direct-to-consumer retail strategy.
History
DSTLD was founded by co-CEOs Corey Epstein and Mark Lynn. The company was first founded by Epstein as 20Jeans and operated by buying overstock fabric from Los Angeles-based high-end jeans designers to be sent overseas, to places like Hong Kong and Shanghai, turning the fabric waste into low-cost jeans that the company then resold for $20. Epstein was joined Lynn and the two rebranded the company as DSTLD in April 2014. They hired Anh Vu, formerly of Gap Inc. to head the initial design team. In April 2016, DSTLD hired designer Paul Roughley, previously of Kill City Clothing, as the new design director. The company gained a seed round investment of $4.4 million from investors including CAA Ventures and CrunchFund. In September 2015, the company announced that it will be using the SeedInvest platform to offer its customers the opportunity to directly invest in the start-up. The crowdfunding was made possible by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. By the end the month, "DSTLD had received more than $7.6 million in indicated interest." In summer 2016, the company announced a Series A round open to the public. As of August 2016, it had gained funds "from more than 450 people investing an average of $2,400." By April 2017, using SeedInvest, the company had raised $1.75 million. In August 2017, the company reopened the platform for a second round of investment through crowdfunding. In January 2019, DSTLD announced it was looking to open a UK showroom and list on London's AIM stock market. The company intends to use the funds it raised at the end of 2018 for the expansion- around £1.6 million.
Operations
Until the launch of its first pop-up shop DNM Bar: LA, the company's retail operations relied entirely on online sales. The pop-up shop opened in October 2014 was located in West Hollywood and expected to last until the end of the year holiday season. Besides this occasional retail space, DSTLD relies mostly on online sales to reach its customers. As of July 2017, seventy percent of DSTLD's total product offerings are made at manufacturing facilities located in the United States. The company conducts an inspection of its new contractor facilities and requires that they abide by "a set of minimum worker and environmental standards". However, it does not currently have the capability to regularly audit these facilities to ensure they continue to meet these standards.
