Island Company

Island Company

Industry	Apparel/Clothing/Fashion/Retail
Founded	2002
Founder	Spencer Antle
Headquarters	West Palm Beach, Florida
Area served	U.S.A, Caribbean, Central America, Asia, Europe
Products	Men's, Women's, Swimwear, Sunglasses, Suncare, Candles, Beach Accessories, Jewelry & Footwear.
Divisions	Island Company Originals, Island Company Retail, Island Company Lifestyle Products, Escape Travel Live, Island Vintage
Website	http://www.islandcompany.com

Island Company is a wholesale and retail, resort clothing brand founded in 2002 by Spencer Antle when his girlfriend at the time couldn’t find a bikini.^[1]

Island Company has evolved from a small collection of women’s swimwear to a lifestyle brand with products ranging from men’s and women’s travel apparel, a skin care line, sunglasses, and beach and home accessories.^[2]

History

When Island Company was started, Antle and his girlfriend drove from store to store selling the line of 13 bikinis from their car. When Antle and his girlfriend subsequently separated, Antle kept Island Company and added a men’s line and other new products. The line was soon picked up by destination resort shops in the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons Hotels, starting a transition for Island Company to become a full lifestyle resort brand, beyond just a bikini line.^[3]

Island Company, in the economic downturn of 2009 through 2010, decided to take the opposite approach to its peers shuttering of retail locations and instead took the opportunity to expand. Island Company opened 5 retail stores in 18 months, at a time when most other retailers were closing their doors. However, some of those retail locations have since closed. Since opening their own retail locations, Island Company was listed six years in a row in Inc. magazine's Top 500 fastest growing companies in the U.S.A, nominated from 2010 to 2015.^[4]

Lawsuits

In October 2014, Island Company filed a lawsuit against Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner, daughters of Kris Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner for trademark infringement^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]} against Island Company’s slogan "Quit your job. Buy a ticket. Get a tan. Fall in love. Never return."^{[14][15][16][17][18]} The Jenner sisters had created a tee shirt, through their deal with teen surf retailer PacSun that used the phrase "Run away. Fall in love. Never return.” Island Company says the Jenners’ version, “is likely to cause confusion, mistake and deception among consumers.”^[19] In January 2015, Pac-Sun, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner settled with Island Company for an undisclosed sum and Pac Sun was instructed to remove all remaining product from stores.^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]}

Locations

Island Company has 7 freestanding, branded retail stores; Nantucket, Massachusetts, Naples, Florida, Palm Beach, Florida, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, Cayman Islands. In 2016, the brand closed both of its Las Vegas stores barely a year after they had opened as they were not operating profitably. Two locations, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, are only open seasonally during Summer. In June 2015, it was announced that Island Company would be opening the largest store yet, a 4,000 square foot store at the Ritz-Carlton in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.^[30] Island Company sells to over 500 wholesale accounts worldwide.^[31][32]

Island Company is distributed in the North America, South America, the Caribbean and Europe.

See also

• List of swimwear brands

References

External links

• Island Company Official Web Site