More than 6 years ago, two Cordovans from Villa Carlos Paz founded their own men's lingerie brand. The idea was to break with the prejudices of the segment, generate new needs and transform men's underwear into a "more friendly" product. Currently, they have their own women's line, top and culotteless models, points of sale throughout the country and more plans with international projection. What was the key to success? Trust your idea, dare to undertake and promote local manufacturing.
"We continue with the idea of adding men's products and growing in the women's line that has the \'Oh my girls\' capsule, with less tops and culottes. We plan to have franchise lines and increase the points of sale in multi-brand stores in the country", says enthusiastically the owner of the firm, Tomás Ferreyra, with whom we spoke in detail.
Can you tell us about a release? We will make designer slips and stockings, which will be launched with the essence and style that characterize us. Where are the products obtained? We are in skateshops, multi-brand stores and lingerie stores. In addition, sales at www.Gilipollas.com.ar, our official store, are very active, with shipments throughout the country.
Gilipollas is a brand that screams loudly from its name: it is a Spanish insult that, although in Argentina it is more of a joke, we all know what it means. But that label was not an error but rather a deliberate intention: "It's called Asshole because we wanted a name that was an insult and it came to my mind one day," Tomás reviews, who assures that the main intention is to convey fun . What is #ModoVerano? Asshole's networks are as successful as the brand itself: the hashtag #ModoVerano has a life of its own on networks like Instagram and Facebook.
But everything has an explanation: both the brand's publications and the garment designs attract the attention of customers and strangers. "Each design is made by local illustrators and a large part of the manufacturing is done in Córdoba," they explain from the brand. The publications? Suggestive, funny and appealing to the double meaning in a very careful way.
Is it difficult to undertake from Córdoba in such a national field? Although it is complex in some facets, in others it is a great challenge. Own production and logistics are key factors.
At what point did you feel that "they were hitting you"? In the first year of life, we did an interview for the portal www.emprendedores.es because the name of our brand was a shock in Spain. After that note, orders began to arrive from Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica, England and more. That's when we realized we were on the right track.
Was the idea to be irreverent? Although traditional brands inspired us from the beginning, we felt that the designs were very classic. That's why we chose to go out with something stronger, that makes noise. We seek to replicate a message where we invite men to be encouraged to have an authentic and designer boxer. Each boxer has a concept or a story. Although the market is very competitive, we like it because it forces us to innovate all the time.
Do you produce for a small group or is Asshole already a massive brand? At the beginning we aimed at a very defined sector but as soon as we went out on the street the landscape changed because we reached a massive audience. To invite the most classic, we also bet on the plain ones and continue with that.
But they make only one product...Of course. We achieved massiveness with a single product, the boxer. What we diversified was the public: today we manufacture boxers for adults, adolescents and children, each one with a general identity but thinking about the imprint of each segment.
What materials do they use? Modal, cotton, lycra and other hygienic fabrics, because we work with appropriate supplies for underwear. We use plush elastic, with a soft touch, and we also add different boxer cuts to revalue the men's underwear.
