| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Boston, United States |
| No. of locations | 2 Boston and New York City |
| Owner | Greg Selkoe |
| Website | www.karmaloop.com |
Karmaloop.com is a multi-platformed web retailer specializing in global urban fashion and streetwear.[1] The Karmaloop family of sites includes online retailer Karmaloop and Internet TV station KarmaloopTV.[2]
Contents |
In 2000, Greg Selkoe founded a small online retailer that catered to urban style and "streetwear."[3] Since its founding in his parents’ basement in Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, the site has grown to include Karmaloop.com, which includes fashion and culture-oriented blogs, videos and contests, KarmaloopTV.com and a former Karmaloop retail store in Boston, which closed in 2011.[4]
Karmaloop.com receives 4.5 million unique visitors a month. The site has a widespread global network including an opt-in email list of over 2 million people, and utilizes its 85,000-member global "Karmaloop Rep Program" to drive online sales and build brand loyalty with exclusive word-of-mouth discounts.
Karmaloop.com carries over 500 streetwear brands (inclusive of upstart lines via its Kazbah entrepreneurial marketplace) including: Vans, Mighty Healthy, 10Deep, Alife, WeSC, Married to the Mob, BLVCK SCVLE, Converse, Hellz Bells, Cheap Monday, Mishka, Creative Recreation, Crooks and Castles, Diamond Supply Co., G-Shock, Artful Dodger, Freshjive, Hot Air, Altamont, LRG, Supra, Burton, Truimvir, Vans, Adidas, Puma, Reebok, and New Balance.[5]
Karmaloop owns 11 private label clothing brands, which it also distributes: Amongst Friends, Advocate, Fenced, Flud, KLP, Orisue, Pilot Licensing, Society Original Products, Sons of Liberty, Spool & Thread, and VGB.
Karmaloop has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur,[6] New York Times, USA Today,[4] The Boston Globe [1] and Business Week.[7] Karmaloop was ranked No. 359 on trade magazine Internet Retailer's 2008 Top 500 Guide.[4]
The Karmaloop flagship store was launched in 2005 in the heart of the Boston’s famed Newbury Street shopping district as a way to bring the Karmaloop brand to the streets of its hometown.[8] The store carries exclusive products from top streetwear brands, as well as favorites from the site and limited edition items.[9] The store is also often used as a method to test out new lines.[10] The flagship underwent a major redesign in April 2009. The redesigned store is 2,000 square feet (190 m2) and features a fusion of Modern, Victorian, and Gothic elements.[11] Karmaloop customers have included Kanye West,[12] Owen Wilson, Jason Lee, Lupe Fiasco, Kid Sister [13] and Tommy Lee. The store closed in 2011.
The Karmaloop empire also includes Karmaloop TV – www.KarmaloopTV.com – currently a multi-platform broadband programming network which was launched in 2008. Planning to launch as a 24-hour cable television channel in 2012, Karmaloop TV is helmed by President Katie McEnroe (formerly President of Television & Digital Networks at Lionsgate Entertainment and President of AMC (TV channel)) and boasts an impressive executive roster, including Grammy-winning musician and entrepreneur, Pharrell Williams, who serves as Creative Director.
The constantly-updated KarmaloopTV.com online video network boasts over a dozen exclusive original programs and features each week. It gives viewers access to a wide range of dynamic video content sourced from its family of over 20 channels, shining a light on Verge Culture’s emerging trends in fashion, music, film, dance, gaming, sports, street art, technology and social activism. KarmaloopTV.com has featured a Who’s-Who of youth culture icons: Pharrell Williams and N.E.R.D., Lady Gaga, M.I.A., Swizz Beatz, Travie McCoy, Kim Kardashian, Damon Wayans Jr., Kid Cudi, A-Trak, Paul Rodriguez Jr., Greta Gerwig and up-and-comers like Mac Miller and Bad Rabbits. The network’s tagline is: “Reclaim Your TV!”
During the 2008 presidential election Karmaloop registered thousands of voters in conjunction with Declare Yourself. Karmaloop also co-created a series of videos shown on KarmaloopTV with the “Why Wait?” campaign, which encouraged young voters to vote early in states that allowed it.[14] Celebrities such as Seth Green, Perry Farrell, and Maroon 5 along with many others filmed spots.[15]
Owner Greg Selkoe and Karmaloop proudly and openly supported the Barack Obama candidacy. Karmaloop placed a prominent button linking to the Obama website on the homepage and encouraged its young visitors to vote through their email list. Selkoe also filmed a public service announcement for the Vote for Change site encouraging young people to vote for Barack Obama.[16] Selkoe was selected as one of the top 25 most influential entrepreneurs under 35 in the US and was invited to participate in a White House summit for young business leaders on economic policy, new media, and youth messaging.[17]
Greg Selkoe founded Karmaloop in 2000 as an attempt to turn his passion for streetwear into a profitable venture.[18] Working from his parent’s basement in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, the same neighborhood where Selkoe grew up and first fell in love with street culture, Selkoe founded an online streetwear retailer dubbed Karmaloop.com.
Prior to launching Karmaloop, Selkoe received his undergraduate degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Upon returning to Massachusetts, Selkoe continued his education at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University by completing a Masters in Public Policy.[19] Immediately upon graduating from Harvard, Selkoe worked for the City of Boston, focusing on housing at the Boston Redevelopment Authority.[20]
Selkoe currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife and co-owner of Karmaloop, Dina.
PLNDR.com is Karmaloop's daily "flash deals" website. It was created to provide streetwear lovers an affordable way to get clothes and accessories for fraction of the price of regular retail outlets (including Karmaloop.com). PLNDR Boutique can also currently be found on www.lockerz.com.
Upon signing up for an opt-in email subscription at PLNDR.com, consumers receive daily emails and can log in to see sales for the day. Each sale is unique and showcases brands for up to 3 days. After that time, the brand is pulled off the website.