SpiritHoods Faux Fur Hoods Update | Shark Tank Season 5
Alexander Mendeluk and Marley Marotta make faux fur hoods in the likeness of wild animals and other creatures. Will their company earn a deal on
Shark Tank SpiritHoods Update
- Entrepreneurs: Alexander Mendeluk, Marley Marotta
- Business: Faux fur hoods
- Ask: $450,000 in exchange for a 15% stake
- Result: No deal
- Sharks: None
Alexander and Marley said their hoods appeal to young and old alike. While their animal inspired hoods may be a niche product, they certainly weren’t hurting in the sales department.
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They launched their product line in 2010, and by the time they appeared on
Their product was being sold at pricey department stores such as Nordstrom and Harrod’s, and online through Zappos. Products cost around $29 to manufacture and retail for around $99.
Marley told the sharks that the first year the company launched, they had $1 million in sales. In the second year, they reached $4.5 million.
Those numbers were impressive, but the sharks had questions when Marley admitted that in the third year, they had just $3 million in sales, falling short of the previous year’s earnings.
Worse, they suffered a $500,000 loss when they tried to expand too quickly.
Marley projected the then-current year’s earnings to be $3 million as well. Alexander explained that there was a surge of buyers when the product debuted, but demand leveled off once their core fans got their SpirtHoods.
The pair said they expected to stabilize at about $3 million in sales per year going forward.
Kevin O’Leary didn’t like that their sales had dropped so precipitously and felt that their fashion trend may have already peaked.
Robert Herjavec related to those concerns, saying in his experience, novelty wear trends sell extremely well for about two years, then disappear.
Barbara Corcoran agreed, saying she liked to buy into businesses whose values were rising, not falling. Kevin, Robert, and Barbara were out.
Mark Cuban was the next shark out. He loved the product, but as far as the sports hoods concept was concerned, the $99 price tag needed to be reduced to $20 to get him onboard.
Daymond John was the last shark to win over, and he offered the pair $450,000 in exchange for 50%, with the intent to license the product, along with a list of changes to be made.
The guys asked to be excused to discuss the offer. When they came back, they countered Daymond, wanting to give a $2 million valuation for 22.5%, and a yet-to-be-determined percentage on licensing deals.
Daymond said he was already experiencing buyer’s remorse before he had closed the deal, so he pulled his original offer, and the company left without a deal. What happened next for the company? Keep reading our SpiritHoods update to find out.
We have good news to report for our SpiritHoods update! Despite not getting a deal from the sharks, the company has maintained success in the many years since the founders’ appearance on the show.
Their revenue is now estimated to be $5 million annually. Products can be found on the SpiritHoods website and on Amazon.
Would you like to learn about the other companies featured on Season 5 Episode 11? Follow the links below for our other company updates from the episode.
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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!