The Return of FUBU

Filed Under: Fashion Smashion Business Blitz Collection's Bureau

After five years of absence from the US retail market, streetwear line FUBU is making a return.

FUBU founder Daymond John says he will reintroduce the label in fall 2010, and hopes that the steady merging of surf-skate fashions with urban fashion trends will help bolster the revival of the brand and open the label to a wider audience.

FUBU shuttered Stateside about five years ago after dwindling sales and growing competition proved too much. That said, the John thinks that the timing is just right for a reintroduction: "Apparel is a luxury people will give up before they give up their home or car, so it's tough. I've been through lean times about three times now and it's a double edged sword. The competitors with weaker legs fall down, so you can grab the market share."

The line, which John describes as "Carhartt-meets-Abercrombie & Fitch style," will have an average price point of $65 and will be primarily menswear with a few women's items and swimwear thrown in the mix.

For those of you too young to remember FUBU, the name stands for For Us, By Us and back in the day, was nearly synonymous with LL Cool J, who was the first face of the brand in the mid-90s. By 1998, FUBU was making more than $350 million in total sales and was carried in over 5,000 stores worldwide.

Now, John has adapted to the times and will market through reality TV and employ Facebook and Twitter to test the brand response in the young, diverse demographic he hopes to target.

We think Carhartt-meets-A&F sounds like…well, A&F. We're very curious to see what new FUBU (NewBU?) looks like.

[Image via AP Images.]

Posted: November 6, 2009 at 10:00 am