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Hyman Ngo, SVP of Product & Marketing at Levelwear, joins us to talk through the brand’s evolution from a behind-the-scenes apparel manufacturer to a powerhouse in wholesale and licensing — and now, their pivot into DTC.
For brand leaders scaling from golf, wholesale, or licensing into consumer channels.
The real reason they acquired a customer’s brand — and how that changed their whole trajectoryWhy golf was the launchpad: how credibility in elite U.S. clubs unlocked growth back homeHow they scaled to 85 of the top 100 U.S. golf courses (and what that did for their reputation)The role of licensing (MLB, NHL, PGA) in adding growth and brand legitimacyHow they finally built their brand narrative (“Team Over Everything” / “Who’s With You”) and why it’s now central to their DTC pushWho this is for: Brand operators in wholesale, licensing, or B2B looking to build emotional connection and consumer pull
Build credibility in a “clean” market (no legacy baggage) and use it to reposition back homeTreat brand story as an internal alignment tool — not just external marketingUse licensing as a bridge, but don’t lose sight of your brand equityUnlock the BFCM Command Center: https://triplewhale.com/dtc
00:00 Transitioning from manufacturing to a brand
02:15 Buying Levelwear and early operational challenges
04:40 Breaking into retail and managing order volume
07:20 Slow early growth and breakthrough in the US golf market
10:05 How Levelwear entered top golf courses
12:40 Evolution of golf culture and apparel trends
14:00 Sponsoring pro golfers and athlete partnerships
16:00 Expanding into licensed sports apparel
18:05 Fanatics partnership and industry comparisons
20:00 Crafting Levelwear’s brand message and manifesto
22:30 Launching the “Who’s With You” campaign
24:15 Using streaming ads for brand awareness
26:10 How the brand story aligns across sports
27:40 Message consistency in B2B and retail channels
29:00 Levelwear’s path toward nine-figure revenue
30:30 DTC ambitions and where the brand goes next
32:00 Expanding into international golf markets
33:00 The future of independent retail in golf
34:00 Closing thoughts and next steps for Levelwear
#dtcpodcast #levelwear #golfapparel #sportsbusiness #directtoconsumer #ecommercegrowth #brandbuilding #athleisure #golfindustry #sportsmarketing
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