A fast-growing online swimwear retailer is partnering with the brains behind Angry Birds to bring the mobile game characters to the water.
SwimOutlet.com, No. 313 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide, has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Rovio Entertainment Ltd. to produce and sell a line of Angry Birds-branded kids’ swimwear due out this fall.
Beginning in October, SwimOutlet.com will roll out the line of swimwear products and pool accessories like kick boards, goggles, inflatables, towels and flip-flops, ranging in price from $4.95 to $26.95, says vice president of sports marketing Rob Penner. The e-retailer will also begin a promotional campaign that will spread the word on social media channels, via email and through online advertisements.
The deal will help SwimOutlet.com target the 6- to 15-year-old age group, as the relationship with a company the size of Rovio enhances the merchant’s credibility and provides a new source of potential customers, the e-retailer says.
“Generally, global entertainment brands are doing licensing agreements with big-box retailers,” says SwimOutlet.com chief marketing officer Alexander Sienkiewicz. “We’re a pure-play online retailer, and I’m not aware of another major online retailer like us signing a deal like this.”
SwimOutlet.com, which grew its online sales 81.0% last year to an Internet Retailer-estimated $68.8 million, credits much of its success online thus far to its relationships with major brands that help promote its products. In December 2014, for example, SwimOutlet.com was named as the official online store of USA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport, which includes 400,000 members—swimmers, coaches, parents and volunteers.
As SwimOutlet.com aims to be the niche leader in all aspects of swimwear and related products, these types of deals not only help to drive quality traffic to SwimOutlet.com, but they also help with search engine optimization, Sienkiewicz says. Google Inc. and other search engines give credit to SwimOutlet.com when respected organizations and websites like USASwimming.org link back to the retail web site.
“These type of things really help to improve on our SEO, which has been stellar,” Sienkiewicz says. “Type in pretty much any swim-related keyword and we show up in the first position. We didn’t have that type of ranking prior to 2014. Prior to 2014 we may have been more competitive swim-focused. Now we’re servicing fashion, kids and triathletes, and those businesses are growing at awesome rate.”
Last year, the e-retailer launched a new site, YogaOutlet.com, which sells yoga mats, pants and other apparel. Penner and Sienkiewicz say the entire operation is poised to grow 30.0% this year. Top500Guide.com data shows that SwimOutlet.com has grown at an average annual rate of 37.10% since 2010.