Two childhood best friends from Edmonton are cashing in on the funky dress sock craze that seems to be sweeping the often bland world of professional menswear.
Popular outlandish designs with names like aqua moustaches, surfing sloth, and mint flamingo party have seen Good Luck Sock grow its sales nearly four-fold and double the number of retailers that carry the company’s far-out footwear over the past year.
“When you’re wearing funky socks, when you’re wearing colourful socks, you’re feeling good. And when you’re feeling good, you’re feeling lucky as well,” co-founder Leo Shifrin told CTV News.
The company’s motto is “Change your luck by changing your socks.” It’s a philosophy the two entrepreneurs have taken to heart after a lucky break pushed the business to expand its footprint beyond Shifrin’s house and into an industrial warehouse jam-packed with inventory.
Edmonton Oilers’ assistant general manager Bill Scott pulled on a pair of the company’s Canadian-designed socks emblazoned with maple leafs the day the team picked Connor McDavid – the NHL’s number one draft pick in 2015. The company’s founders took it as a sign their socks had a bit of luck sewn in.
“We’re going to be making that design forever,” said co-founder Yuri Gerchikov.
The company is targeting discerning fashion-forward shoppers who are willing to pay upwards of $10 per pair. Good Luck Sock also offers a Sock of the Month club. A six-month membership will run you $72 or $132 for an annual membership.
Unlike the socks they sell, Shifrin and Gerchikov are inseparable. The two became best pals in kindergarten. Coincidentally, both of the families immigrated to Canada from Belarus in 1990.
“It’s amazing. I can’t believe where we are today,” said Shifrin.
With a report from CTV’s Alberta Bureau Chief Janet Dirks
