David & Goliath Goes Mainland

BLOOMINGTON, MN-Branded clothing line David & Goliath, which previously had retail locations only in Hawaii, has now established a beachhead in the contiguous 48 states, and plans to expand into other tourist-oriented or high-traffic spots. The brand, known for appealing to teenage girls by selling merchandise with such slogans such as “Chicks Rule” and “Drama Queen,” opened its first mainland store–called David & Goliath Presents The Stupid Factory–ahead of the holiday season in November in the Mall of America.

The Mall of America location is a partnership between David & Goliath and Hawaii-based Waikiki Trader Group, a retail company that looks for concepts such as D&G with which to partner. The store’s Hawaiian locations are in well-trod tourist locales, including Honolulu, Lahaina and Waikiki, with another one planned for Maui.

Conceived and developed by designer Todd Goldman, a former CPA, the merchandise includes backpacks, t-shirts, pajamas and jewelry emblazoned with the aforementioned slogans, plus others such as, “boys are smelly” and “it’s all about me,” which not only show up on 10-year-old girls, but also suburban car-pool moms and college students. Moreover, Goldman has created characters such as Trendy Wendy, who likes shopping and going to malls, and Smelly Boy, who runs in his “underroos” for no reason, introducing them to the public through his merchandise. “What’s out there is the Simpsons or Spongebob, coming from TV, but what we’re doing is building characters based on a T-shirt and over 500 products,” says Goldman.