SHENASSAFAR

Shenassafar, 28 is the founder and creator of The Hundreds in 2003. Simple T-shirt line produced by two law school classmates has become The Hundreds — a worldwide skateboarder lifestyle and apparel brand with an online magazine that attracts more than 1 million unique visitors a month. Kim and Shenassafar are the company’s sole owners, and they credit much of their success to their independence.

The brand started its business in 2003, featuring designs inspired by the California and Los Angeles lifestyles, specifically the SoCal’s skateboarding, surf, punk and hip hop cultures. As a nod to the times when the founders were growing up, the designs are heavily influenced by 80’s surf t-shirts and indie skateboarding clothing of the 90’s.

By late 2008, The Hundreds had launched its shoe line titled The Hundreds Footware. Within its mere 5 years of existence, The Hundreds has also produced sub-labels such as Tens for women, The Hundreds Public label and the inhouse label titled The Hundreds Rosewood Collection.

According Shenassafar, the company raked in $4.8 million in sales in 2008–almost a 4x increase over the prior year– almost entirely through small boutiques, their webstore and the two retail outlets.  Shenassafar and Kim have decided to turn down major department stores’ requests for orders.

Since the brand’s appeal is rooted in underground exclusivity, how well they manage growth against the risk of being perceived as mainstream or “sellouts” will be key to The Hundreds’ future success.