COAT OF ARMS | RETAIL TRANSFORMATION & CULTURAL POSITIONING

project overview

Client: Coat of Arms (Acquired by Aaron Hansen)
Role: Owner, Brand Strategist & Operations Director
Timeline: Feb 2014 – Jan 2019 (5 years)
Project Type: Retail Acquisition, Brand Transformation, Market Repositioning

Most people try to save a dying store by cutting prices. I bought one and moved it.

Coat of Arms was a struggling Manhattan shop losing ground in a streetwear market that had passed it by. I acquired it and, instead of discounting toward the exit, relocated to Greenpoint before anyone called Greenpoint a destination, then rebuilt the whole thing: identity, product mix, and the reason to walk through the door.

The bet was that timing and authenticity beat price. I balanced heritage wholesale (Levi's, Stussy, Thrasher, Champion) against a private label that carried our own point of view, and turned the store into a place the neighborhood actually wanted to be. The Levi's Skateboarding launch drew over a thousand people and sold out daily. The Champion drops produced the highest sales month in the store's history.

Five years in, revenue grew from $100K to $750K, a 650 percent increase. Then I exited on my terms.

A fading retailer doesn't need a discount. It needs a sharper read on where the culture is going, and the nerve to get there first.

SIGNATURE CAMPAIGNS | LEVI’s skateboarding collection

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Levi's Skateboarding Collection Launch

Weekend-long immersive event with customization stations, photo exhibits, community skateboard donations, and local food partners
Result: 1,000+ attendees, complete daily sellouts

signature campaigns | Champion

Champion Reverse Weave Collaboration

Weekly product drops leading into Black Friday, supported by location-specific photography shot in Greenpoint
Result: Weekly sellouts, highest sales month in store history

signature campaigns | private label goods

Heritage Collection Lookbook

Maritime storytelling campaign shot aboard a working vessel off Rockaway Beach
Positioned headwear within Brooklyn's fishing heritage narrative