If you are a fashion enthusiast, then you have heard of streetwear. There are many luxury brands out there that have dominated the fashion industry. Stussy, Supreme, and Off-White are just a few that have risen in popularity. ZipDo reports that Gen Z is the largest buyer of streetwear in the U.S. at over 70%.
But most of today’s consumers don’t know that these luxury streetwear brands would never have a foothold on the market without the ones that have come before them. That is why we will focus on one such brand that is considered to be the pioneer of luxury streetwear: Crooks&Castles.
So let’s rediscover Crooks And Castles’s luxury wholesale streetwear, how they started in the early 2000s, their rise and fall, and how they are slowly building their brand in eCommerce wholesale on Shopify.
Crooks And Castles: The Merge Between Hip-Hop And Fashion In the Early 2000s
Crooks&Castles is the brainchild of Dennis Calvero and Rob Panlilio. They were no strangers in streetwear as they pioneered brands like Ecko Unlimited and their previous venture, L5 Landscape, dominating the Japanese market. But it wasn’t until the Califonia-based Crooks&Castle that the pair broke through the U.S. market.
They were a Los Angeles-based store but drew massively from hip-hop culture all over the U.S. Whether it was East Coast rap or the street life in Cerritos, California, that inspired the pair to develop a lifestyle brand. Both of them grew up in the 80s and 90s when gang life was a prevalent part of their upbringing. That is how they came up with the name Crooks&Castles. It symbolizes the hardship they endured growing up as crooks before eventually building their castles.
Initially, Crooks&Castles were everywhere, from hip-hop music videos to the streets. They were a lifestyle brand that changed the perception of streetwear forever. People who wore them back in the day still fondly remember seeing others wear the iconic Medusa head and the classic T-shirts with hip-hop-inspired artwork that C&C produced.
However, it was not meant to last forever. Streetwear lives off hype, and the fashion industry moves from one trend to another as fast as you can change your clothes. By 2016, Crooks&Castles had to scale back their operations before closing their flagship store in 2017. It was a tumultuous time for the once-beloved brand, and it probably hurt Panlilio and Calvero more than anyone else.
Crooks&Castles Luxury Wholesale Streetwear E-commerce On Shopify
It wouldn’t be long before Crooks&Casles came back into the market with a renewed focus. They launched their eCommerce site to cater to the wholesale market instead this time. What Panlilio and Calvero wanted this time to replicate the influence that other streetwear brands were doing.
Collab With Death Row Records
One way that Crooks&Castle wanted to reach new customers was through collaboration efforts. Staying true to their hip-hop origins, Crooks&Castles started a collaboration with Death Row Records in 2020 to sell merchandise donning artwork from the famous record label. In this collaboration, Crooks&Castles got the influence that they were looking for with artists like Snoop Dogg. Unsurprisingly, Crooks&Castles’s sales went through the roof as Snoop Dogg came out wearing Crooks&Castles outfits during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show.
Crooks And Castles Products
Here, you can see the different types of products that are available on Crooks And Castles Shopify store:
Here is a list of the products that are available in the store:
- Bag
- Bathmat
- Beach Towel
- Bean Bag
- Beanie
- Bedding Set
- Bucket Hat
- Cap
- Comforter
- Crop Hoodie
- Door Mat
- Duvet
- Gift Cards
- Hoodie
- Jacket
- Legging
- Mystery Box
- Pants
- Pet Bed
- Pillow
- Polo
- Rug
- Shirts
- Shorts
- Shower Curtain
- Snooper Bowl
- Sock
- Sunglasses
- Sweatpants
- Sweatshirt
- Tanga
- Towel
- Track Jacket
- Umbrella
- Underwear
- Vest
- Water Bottle
- Yeti Mug
Problems On Shopify That C&C Initially Faced
It was not all smooth sailing for Crooks and Castle in the eCommerce world. On Shopify, the lifestyle streetwear brand faced problems with how they wanted to sell their products on the product page.
Since the focus shifted towards wholesale, that would mean the shop needed to be equipped with bulk orders from other businesses. However, Shopify’s native options were quite limited in this regard. The display options on Shopify were also lacking, with many different variants of the same products in size and colour.
What Crooks And Castles was lacking was making sure B2B bulk ordering was made as streamlined as possible. They wanted their customers to choose the number of variants where all the variants were visible and then add them to the cart in one click. This would solve their issue, but Shopify was limited in this regard.
Solving Crooks And Castles Shopify Problems With MultiVariants – Bulk Order App
One way to get around this problem for Crooks&Castles was to search the Shopify app store. Here, C&C can find an app that solves their unique problem. After much searching, Crooks And Castles settled with the MultiVariants – Bulk Order app.
This app allows Shopify stores to show all the possible variants on one product page listing. There are many display options available on MultiVariants. You can do a single variant display option with select, list, swatch, and grid display. Or, for two variant options, you can display the variants in the list-select or swatch-grid display. You can also do up to three variant options, including a select-grid-grid option. What Crooks And Castles chose was the grid-grid matrix display for their variants. You can see this below here:
You can also see that each variant has a stock display option that is visible to customers. This allows C&C to show customers how many variants are available, which significantly helps B2B purchasing decision-making. The store’s customers can choose the number of variants they want to buy and add them with one click. This ensures customers do not have to add the different variants individually and will only add the ones they selected with one click.
This not only streamlines the customer experience in the store for B2B buyers but also for B2C customers. The all-around shopping experience is enhanced; this app helps increase the store’s average order value.
A Satisfied Customer: See Crooks And Castles Review Of MultiVariants
Here is what Crooks And Castles had to say about their experience of using the MultiVariants – Bulk Order app from the Shopify app store:
“This app is a fantastic solution for B2B bulk ordering, the way it displays a matrix of variants with an easy one-button add-all to cart. The support is fast and solves any issues you have. Highly recommend”
MultiVariants was the solution Crooks And Castles were looking for, and now they can quickly get to their wholesale bulk ordering business on Shopify.
Bottom Line
The owners, Rob Panlilio and Dennis Calvero grew up in the difficult times of the 80s and 90s and turned their fortunes around by being visionaries in luxury streetwear. Crooks And Castles has had a long journey with many ups and downs. But what remains is their vision for their brand in hip-hop identity and luxury streetwear. Today, they had to refocus their brand on the wholesale bulk ordering business. But Crooks&Castles luxury wholesale streetwear will once again be the new leader for luxury streetwear in the eCommerce field.
