Quince Sells a 69.90 Dollar Cashmere Sweater With David Schwimmer as the Company Behind Calvin Klein and Coach Licenses Goes to Its CEO
Two clothing stories from November 9, one you’ll see on your phone and one you won’t, both explain how the clothes you buy get made and sold. Quince launched its biggest ad campaign yet, starring David Schwimmer and a red cashmere sweater. And Centric Brands, the company that makes licensed clothing and accessories for names like Calvin Klein, Coach and Tommy Hilfiger, was bought by its own CEO and a group of investors.
Quince: the red sweater
Quince’s first big brand film, The Red Sweater, is a 60-second comedy in which David Schwimmer is chased through New York by a crowd of people all wearing the same Quince sweater. It runs on YouTube, social media and connected TV in the US, Canada and the UK, and Quince calls it its largest campaign to date.
The sweater is the point. It’s 100% Mongolian cashmere in a new color called Coulis Red:
- Men’s crewneck: $69.90
- Women’s oversized crewneck: $129.90
Both went on sale on November 9 at Quince.com and in the Quince app.
Quince’s model is selling directly from the factory with no store markup, which is how it gets cashmere under $70. At that price, check the weight and the ply before buying as a gift: cheap cashmere is often thinner and pills faster than a heavier knit. Quince’s reviews on its own site are the best guide to how a specific style holds up.
A celebrity film is also a sign of where Quince is as a company. Brands that grew on ads in social feeds eventually hit a ceiling there, and a famous face and TV-style spot is how they try to reach people who don’t already follow them.
Centric Brands: the company behind the labels
Most shoppers have never heard of Centric Brands, but they’ve likely bought its products. It designs, makes and sells clothing, accessories and kids’ products under license for more than 100 brands, including Calvin Klein, Coach, Dockers, Faherty, Gap, Michael Kors, Off-White, Quiksilver, Tommy Hilfiger, UGG and Under Armour, plus character products for Disney, Marvel, Paramount and Universal. It employs more than 2,600 people in 26 offices across North America, Europe and Asia.
CEO Jason Rabin, with group president Jarrod Kahn and new partners Axar Capital Management, M-Cor Capital and MSP Sports Capital, completed a management buyout on November 9, with Rabin taking a majority stake. The price and the sellers weren’t disclosed.
For shoppers, nothing changes at the register. The label on a Calvin Klein kids’ jacket or a Coach-licensed accessory will look the same. What a buyout led by management usually changes is focus: fewer investors to answer to and a CEO with his own money at stake. Watch for Centric adding or dropping licenses in 2027, because that’s where its choices will show up in stores.
The common thread
Quince and Centric are two answers to the same question of who makes your clothes. Quince skips the brand middleman and sells you its own label cheaply. Centric is the middleman, making goods under famous names for a licensing fee. Both are betting that the brand on the tag still matters to buyers, in very different ways.