Some would say they needed a whole pair. Giving up lucrative jobs in the financial sector to start selling underwear on the Internet certainly required a dose of audacity. Manmade’s next challenge will be to sustain its success in a post-pandemic world less focused on online sales.
The Montreal brand thinks it has what it takes. “We analyzed everything that makes good underwear. We compared a hundred products, fabrics, ways of doing things… And the best one we found cost $40 a piece. It wasn’t for everyone! » exclaims in an interview with The duty Anthony Ciavirella, one of the co-founders of Manmade with Philip Santagata, Robert Marzin and Roberto Rebelo.
On the other hand, the four thirty-year-olds from Montreal wanted to avoid selling a product that was too low-end. So choices had to be made. “We went there for simplicity and function. No bullshit. No banana patterns or colors. Just black. This allowed us to achieve a competitive price, at $24 per brief. At this price, guys are buying them. Their girlfriends also buy them to give them a gift. Our mission was to be the Tesla of bobette. »
Expansion in sight
This reference to the Tesla brand is not accidental. Manmade built its initial success this way: by partnering with already well-known names. Popular English Canadian TV host Howie Mandel quickly adopted their product. Wayne Gretzky, Dennis Quaid… actor William Shatner too. At 92 years old!
Result: after a first lean year developing the product, sales took off. In total, 400,000 sales since the launch in August 2021, including 40% in Canada. It’s a good start for a brand that, on the Internet, has to compete with products from all over the world, made cheaply in factories somewhere in Asia.
Manmade also has ambitions beyond boxer shorts. The brand already has stockings and t-shirts. The colors (or their absence…) are minimalist: black or white. The design is intended to be attractive. “It’s tight where there’s muscle, and loose where there’s belly!” »
“We thought we would attract consumers our age, 25-35 year olds. We realize that the majority of our customers are boomers: they too want to look young. And our customers come back to see us. We have 250,000 customers, we hope to increase to one million by the end of 2025,” continues Anthony Ciavirella.
Manmade can hope to get there: its annual growth was more than 300% in 2022, then in 2023. It will only need to double in size this year and next year to achieve this objective. “It will take us into the nine figures,” says the young entrepreneur from Boucherville.
Modal
The key for Manmade was finding the right fabric. In underwear, more classic materials like cotton or polyester compete with more eco-friendly or more durable fabrics, like merino wool. Manmade decided to focus on modal, a fabric created from wood pulp. Its production requires half as many resources as cotton. It keeps its shape longer. It is less irritating than polyester, a petroleum derivative.
Another trait of the Montreal brand is to keep its essence, its human side. Each customer, when they receive their purchases, discovers a hand-written note in the box from one of the company’s co-founders to thank them. “We respond in person. You can even call us! With all the technology surrounding online sales, automatic agents, AI, we find it essential to keep a human touch. »
There is also the guarantee that customers will be satisfied: if the product does not work, the company only takes back items that have not been tried, but it refunds or replaces all purchases. “We don’t like roses or fruits on our boxers, we don’t like excuses to avoid exchanges either,” laughs Anthony Ciavirella.
Manmade currently employs around twenty people. The SME now cherishes the ambition of diversification. Sweatpants, a swimsuit and a cap are in the plans, but not too quickly. “We have a good product, we know it. We have good reviews and, we know, the guys are faithful to what they like. »
And, apparently, they love their bobettes.