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St. Louis native Cedric Cobb came to the Shark Tank in hopes of securing a $200,000 for 15% stake in his company, Best Wardrobe Solutions. Cedric is on a mission to raise the self-esteem of men everywhere by offering a product that helps them have a polished and put-together look. By using his patent-pending product, the pocket square holder, consumers can easily and securely add a pocket square to any jacket.
Best Wardrobe Solutions is selling their flagship product direct-to-consumers on their website as well as through Amazon, Etsy and major in-person events. The product is sold for $19.99 to consumers and $7.50 to wholesale partners while their cost to produce the product is $3.40. The Sharks are impressed by their margins and pleased to learn that they have sold 52,000 units in lifetime sales and have brought in $398,000 in sales this year alone. Cedric has a small team including 10 seamstresses to manufacture his product in the USA.
“Dreams really do come true” #SharkTank pic.twitter.com/BgaC00oRpr
— Shark Tank (@ABCSharkTank) April 29, 2019
Cedric would like to use the money from a Shark’s investment to drive product costs down by 40%. By bringing the manufacturing in-house rather than piecemealing the work he feels that he would better be able to control costs and improve his margin on the product. Most of the Sharks are concerned that the product is too niche and that its primary distribution path is through distribution. They don’t want to wholesale a product but add value to a business. The Sharks also feel as though the company already has a brand ambassador in Ray Lewis and therefore their services may not be needed. As the Sharks begin to drop out, one after the other, Kevin O’Leary decides to make Best Wardrobe Solutions an offer.
Kevin agrees to invest $200,000 in Cedric’s business, however, he is not interested in an equity exchange. Kevin would like to receive a royalty of $1.50/unit for the life of the product. Kevin would like to promote his product by wearing it as part of his signature look and to give one to everyone he knows. He also would like to offshore the manufacturing of the product to bring the costs down. Daymond John does not want to see Best Wardrobe Solutions offshore their product and decides to undercut Kevin’s offer to try to protect the company. He offers Cedric $200,000 for a $1 per unit royalty instead of $1.50 per unit royalty. Cedric accepts Daymond’s offer.
Wow I didn’t see that coming!! Did you?? Congrats @TheSharkDaymond @BestPocketSq ! #SharkTank @ABCSharkTank
— Lori Greiner (@LoriGreiner) April 29, 2019
If theres 1 thing I know for sure – it’s that high energy and great enthusiasm are the secret sauce to pitching your business and walking away with money. And man does Cedric have good energy! I’ll have what he’s having! @bestpocketsq #SharkTank
— Barbara Corcoran (@BarbaraCorcoran) April 29, 2019
Sales, proof of concept in your market and quality names backing your product are all things that can score you points when you hit the Tank. #SharkTank
— Daymond John (@TheSharkDaymond) April 29, 2019
Would you purchase the Best Wardrobe Solutions pocket square holder? Do you think that Cedric made a good decision by agreeing to a straight royalty deal over an equity exchange? Start the conversation in the comments below!
For a full summary of this episode, check out this article. Shark Tank airs on Sundays at 10:00 PM EST.