Fortress Clothing Update | Shark Tank Season 11
Extreme weather clothing technology is improving all the time. Dale Lewis thinks he’s found a solution with his clothing brand, Fortress clothing. It’s meant to keep you warm even when you’re wet, helpful for workers in extreme conditions. Will the sharks get cold feet listening to his pitch Season 11 pitch? Find out on our
Shark Tank Fortress Update
- Entrepreneur: Dale Lewis
- Business: Insulated extreme weather clothing
- Ask: $600,000 for 15% equity
- Result: No deal
- Shark: None
Dale Lewis is a self-proclaimed ‘serial entrepreneur’ who has had big success in the past with telecommunications. His new company is completely different. The offerings include ‘disruptive insulation,’ which allows wearers to be warm even when wet.
The clothing is made for use in extreme temperatures, and the line includes a ‘base layer’ suit, jackets, parkas, hoodies, gloves, and more. To demonstrate, Dale invites Robert Herjevac to step into a cryo tank. While it was absolutely freezing, Robert is amazed that he was warm under the Fortress base layer.
While the sharks are impressed with the gear itself, things take a turn when Dale starts discussing the ins and outs of the business. When asked who his target audience is, or where his market is, Lewis neatly diverts the question. It turns out that he’s done $3.5 million in sales, but that’s since 2012, seven years before the episode aired.
The story gets worse when Dale reveals that he tried to license the product to clothing manufacturers with a stable base. Unfortunately, he was told that his products weren’t proven to any market, so the deals never closed.
Lori Greiner is the first shark to drop out, stating that she doesn’t understand why the base layer doesn’t work on its own. She doesn’t think she’s the right partner. Barbara Corcoran agrees, saying that the wealth of garments is confusing, and the base layer should be used on its own. She is out as well.
Kevin O’Leary doesn’t see a strategy going forward, and Robert has similar concerns about how confusing the message is. Both are out because the company lacks focus for its “wealth of opportunity.”
Mark Cuban is the last shark that’s still in. He says that the base layer would make the company different, but that Dale is all over the place. He’s out for that reason.
Unfortunately, Dale Lewis and Fortress Clothing walked away without a deal. But how is the company doing today? Find out in our
The sharks may have thought that Fortress Clothing was all over the place, others have a different idea. Fortress’s all-weather gear is still going strong, with a website that includes new offerings. In addition to the outer gear they showed on
It seems that Dale Lewis is continuing in the same fashion as he was before the show. In our Fortress update research, we found that annual revenues for the company are exceeding $5 million per year.
You can find the other company updates from Season 11 Episode 10 here:
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Andrew Smith is the founder and owner of Shark Tank Recap. He is a longtime Shark Tank fan that has been watching it for years and has seen every episode multiple times. His friends know him as the Shark Tank expert, because he can answer any question about the show! His favorite Shark Tank products are Bertello's pizza oven and Bug Bite Thing!