100 Thieves rake in $2.5m from ‘Foundations’ apparel line in first month

Adam Fitch
Nadeshot wearing 100 Thieves Foundations apparel

Esports organizations are on the hunt to develop robust revenue streams that can help them to become profitable businesses as soon as possible, and it appears 100 Thieves are well on their journey with their much-publicized and immensely popular apparel business.

100 Thieves made a name for themselves in the wider gaming and lifestyle space through their exclusive, irregular apparel collections. Akin to ‘hypebeast’ brands such as Supreme, these periodic drops generate a lot of attention due to the scarcity and, to date, they’ve all sold out in a matter of minutes.

While this exclusive cycle has worked well for Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag’s organization in the past, a lot of 100 Thieves fans (and hypebeasts alike) have missed out on purchasing some apparel. Not only is that bad for consumers, there’s potentially a lot of money being left on the table for the company.

They addressed this need in July 2021 with their ‘Foundations’ apparel line, a basic collection of clothing that would always be available to purchase alongside the more sporadic drops. While there was plenty of backlash over the premium pricing of the items, it’s proven financially fruitful for them.

It’s been revealed, through an email sent to press by an agency on behalf of 100 Thieves, that ‘Foundations’ generated over $2.5 million in revenue in its first month of being live.

That’s an impressive number, of course, but it’s worth noting that this is very different to the profit they would’ve made. The profitability of the apparel hasn’t been disclosed and there’s a lot that goes into developing an apparel line — research, designing, testing, manufacturing, shipping, and more — so a fair amount would have to be subtracted from the revenue to find out just how much they actually made.

100 Thieves are continuing to produce infrequent, heavily promoted collections alongside this always-on apparel line, proving that their apparel business is robust. They recently collaborated with fashion giants Gucci to produce a $2,500 backpack which, again, was met with some criticism.

Nadeshot recently revealed, albeit casually on his stream, that his org would be paying $27m for their slot in the Call of Duty League. This isn’t an upfront cost but they’ll still need to be able to afford sizeable, multi-million-dollar payments over the next few years.

Related Topics

About The Author

Based in Lincolnshire, UK, Adam Fitch is a leading business journalist covering the esports industry. Formerly the lead business reporter at Dexerto, he demystified the competitive gaming industry and and spoke to its leaders. He previously served as the editor of Esports Insider.