the elder statesman 3

mornin’ merry makers 🧶🪡🍄🌀🌈 ☯️,

after studying up on the skims and good american, i’ve confirmed that the gredes are all about build Brand universes with a capital B.

recently they’ve started betting more on brick & mortar retail too.

this week we're diving into a brand that popular culture (the grede family holding co) took a minority stake alongside diane von furstenberg in 2024.

this brand been quietly perfecting california cashmere since 2007.

the elder statesman built their reputation through winning the cfda/vogue fashion fund in 2012, word-of-mouth, & celebrity xsightings, creating the kind of organic hype that money can't buy. think tie-dye sweaters and psychedelic beanies with price tags that make you do a double-take.

dopamine dressing.

this brand is the next in my 100 stores of summer series, spotlighting where retail is headed next. they’re also a case study in what happens when you invest in brand & cultural marketing, not just performance media spend.

stories i'm watching

• cashmere with a calling: the elder statesman started as a personal blanket obsession after chait received a luxury thank-you gift. a few sample pieces at maxfield sold out instantly, and the brand was born.

• a tribute to his just, gentle spirit: named in honor of founder greg chait’s late brother, nicknamed “the mayor” for his fairness.

• products with soul: the dreamy, colorful cashmere sweaters with hand-dyed yarns, hand-loomed knits, and a vertical production model. prices to match:

  • cashmere blanket for $4K

  • cashmere cardigan for $2K

  • cashmere tie-dyed for $1.4K

  • cashmere turtleneck for $1K

  • cashmere scarf for $650

  • cashmere beanie for $500

• factory meets fashion house: their downtown la headquarters houses both the design office and factory. restoring a lost art of in-house production with clothes literally drying in the california sun.

• surfing as strategy: chait surfs daily and sees it as his entrepreneurial philosophy to stay relaxed in chaos, ride every wave differently, and trust the next one might be the best of your life.

• cult-level loyalty: luxury shoppers, art collectors, and celebrity stylists love them and when emma grede calls your cashmere "the yummiest, most heavenly cashmere. the colors are insane," you know you're doing something right.

• raised ca$$$h: popular culture, the grede family holding co, took a minority stake alongside diane von furstenberg in 2024 with a vision to scale the brand

• personal tea: greg chait was previously with laura ramsay (2 kids) from “she’s the man.” he recently married & had another kid grace morton (daughter of hard rock cafe founder, peter morton, & graddaughter of morton’s steakhouse chain founder). the hollywood-retailier-restaurateurs world continue to collide.

scroll stopping (but quieter) socials

the elder statesmen is one of those rare brands that grew through whisper campaigns, not paid media. they do have an instagram wiht 180K followers, but they don’t have a tiktok account. what they do have is cultural cachet & creative campaigns:

• seth rogen as the face of the abomindable uggman collab with ugg

• collab with zegna on mr. porter with much fanfare

• cartoon physics campaign inspired by looney tunes

• an air drake robe capsule collection in honor of his private jet

• recent party at the new soho store was covered by vogue & had the gredes, diane von furstenberg (& her grand daughter), aurora james, emily weiss, & derek blasburg in attendance.

retail rollout

for many, you need to feel the cashmere's softness, admire the kaleidoscope colors up close to understand what makes these sweaters worth a very pretty penny. so they’ve slowly been opening stores:

• first store opened in nov 2014 in west hollywood in what was literally a home

• test nyc on the upper eastside in dec 2015

• soho flagship in opened in dec 2024

• aspen “popup” for two years opened 10 days later

the stores are designed to feel like artful homes with custom designed beds. quilts on the walls. cashmere stuffies. all things cozy soft & colorful.

no jobs listed for these locations or hq, but if you’re looking & love cashemere, i recommend setting up a linkedin jobs alert for their page.

brick & mortar brand moats

while most luxury brands outsource the supply chain and rent shelf space, the elder statesman is all about owning the full vibe every step of the way. it’s brand defensibility you can’t copy.

way more than just aesthetics.

it’s economics. when you're charging $1k+ for sweaters and customers keep coming back, that's creates a cfo-approved brand investment. all together:

• 💸 high awareness = price premium

• 🛍️ brand love = lower cac

• 🏛️ physical retail = defensibility you can’t copy

this is basically grede portfolio thesis in action.

premium positioning + elite product + cultural marketing = long-term moat

speaking in cfo

i think it’s so important to study stores & stories like this to understand brand.

but i know from firsthand experience in many finance meetings at warby parker and apple, that you need to get budget approval first.

sadly “brand awareness” alone rarely gets the green light from the finance team.

so you much learn to speak in cfo.

luckily, my friends at tracksuit built a cheat sheet to help you do exactly that.

it’s the guide i wish i had when i was slicing budgets in spreadsheets & trying to help my business partners get approval. it’s a 7-part checklist that turns vibes into business outcomes. it helps you say “this is why we need brand spend” in a way the finance team will actually say yes to.

so whether you're pitching a flagship store or a killer campaign, this will help.

download the full guide here!

& watch episode 1 of executive realness, calling 1-800-CMO-CFO @ charity:water 👀 

p.s. what stores should i cover next? suggestions & feedback make me SO merry.