When it comes to sports caps, New Era Cap Company It is a reference in the world. The contribution that the brand has made in this area is, without a doubt, something incredible. Founded in New York in 1920, was linked from the beginning to sports. Mainly, those that are most popular in the United States, such as basketball, American football and, above all, baseball. A century later, the brand would be all the rage far from the Big Apple, in Argentina. And paradoxically not associated with any physical activity, but with music, with the most listened to DJ in the country: Bizzarrap.
In 1934 they began producing caps for a team in Cleveland, Ohio, which brought them great recognition. But, without a doubt, the fact that marked a before and after was the creation of its most iconic model: the 59FIFTY, designed by Harold Koch, the president at the time. This cap stood out from the other models for being flat and closed, making users have to know their size in order to use them correctly.
This design, in turn, was the first that It not only showed a team crest in the center, but also details and patches representative of the club, such as monuments or references to the cities of origin. An example of this are the caps of the New York Yankees that have the statue of liberty and an apple as symbols.
At the same time, New Era began to build a more authentic relationship with customers. It was not a matter of going to a store, buying a cap and not coming back. Not at all: your iconic model must have a perfect fit and, in case that doesn’t happen, the stores still have a specific machine that serves both to expand and iron them. This increased its prestige to such an extent that it ceased to be a simple sponsor of sports teams to become the definitive cap brand.. History began to be written in golden letters and from there its expansion throughout the world would begin.
59FIFTY, the most iconic model. Courtesy New Era Argentina
Barely 30 years after signing its first contract with the Cleveland Indians (now the Cleveland Guardians) in 1965, New Era was already the largest producer of hats in the United States, outfitting more than half the teams in Major League Baseball ( MLB for its acronym). In 1993 the competition lost all its chances: New Era signed an exclusivity agreement with all the baseball teams and launched its famous The Authentic Collection. (a series of classic caps) that is still valid today. The entire rise of the brand was also benefited by Spike Lee, the prestigious director of films such as Malcolm X, who appears on camera wearing brand caps, mainly those of the New York Yankees, a team of which he is a fan and for which he has came to design caps for the World Series in 2019.
Spike Lee wearing a New Era designed by him. MLB Photo
The Renaissance
At the beginning of the millennium, the company’s CEO understood that the formula had to be changed: baseball had lost a lot of ground to American football and basketball, while football (soccer, as it is known there) increasingly stirred the dashboard, gaining followers and generating millions. That is why New Era decided to expand throughout the world definitively: it signed several agreements with world football greats such as Manchester United or Chelsea in England, in addition to allying with several Major League Soccer (MLS) teams such as Inter Miami, a team that has just signed Lionel Messi.
The brand has been in Argentina for several years, but it was not until 2022 that it set up an exclusive store. Before, the caps were not only very few, but they were mostly sold through the website. In September of last year, it finally opened its doors in Alto Palermo Shopping and sales increased.
Stand of the brand in Alto Palermo Shopping. Courtesy New era Argentina
New Era and Bizarrap
What has been narrated so far is only part of New Era’s path to success. The brand in recent times has collaborated with various personalities and other companies. For example, with Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics player) or Fear Of God, a well-known clothing company. The firm has come to ally with Star Wars and even with the Louvre Museum. Bizarrap was already known for its musical productions and shows all over the world, and its cap was a symbol of identity before being associated with this brand.
But New Era had a golden idea. Before, the producer’s cap was made by a designer exclusively for him and without profit. That accessory defined a large part of her character and her fame (in fact, she never takes it off) and it was important to take it to another level.
So, an entry into the market was set up “in a big way”: the cap was presented to the public at one of the famous Music Sessions, specifically at that of the Mexican artist Peso Pluma, who sang a song that has more than 150 million views on YouTube. The video came out in May, but it wasn’t until July that the wait ended: the New Era Bzrp cap was an official product.
The collaboration also had exclusive sales through Mercado Libre, not only in Argentina but also in Chile, Mexico and Colombia. In just a few hours, it sold thousands of units and at the beginning of August it led the ranking of best-selling caps on the entire platform. Now its arrival in the official stores is expected. What model is it? It is a 9forty, an adjustable model that easily adapts to the buyer’s head, which makes it easier to sell online.
The New Era Bzrp cap in free market
Definitely, New Era found a way to also sweep Argentina. A century after its creation in New York, the brand continues to find good ideas to achieve unbeatable results.
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2023-08-03 20:48:43
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