Just over a year ago, Jason LaRose became the CEO of Bombas, inheriting a direct-to-consumer (D2C) sock company that had grown to over $300 million in revenue while maintaining its buy-one-give-one mission.

For LaRose, however, the company's success only underscored how much room it still had to grow.

"I looked at it and said, 'How is this not a multi-billion dollar global brand, especially considering it has 44% awareness but only 2% market share?'" said LaRose at last week’s CommerceNext event in New York City.

Now, LaRose is transforming the business from a D2C-focused sock brand into a multicategory, multichannel global footwear and apparel company, all while keeping that mission at the center.

Wholesale expansion requires brand control, not just distribution

Bombas has expanded into wholesale partnerships with Nordstrom, Target, and DSW, among others. But LaRose is adamant that wholesale must serve the brand, not the other way around.

"There isn't any relationship I have with a wholesaler or any retail store that’s worthy of sacrificing the brand I’m building," he said.

To make those partnerships successful, Bombas doesn't just supply product. The company also shares its merchandising and data expertise, giving retail partners insights into how quickly products sell, who is buying them, and what other items customers purchase alongside them.

"We use that to create assortments that are really dynamic for our partners,” said LaRose.

This stands in contrast to many D2C brands that "go wholesale with sales teams but don't go wholesale with marketing teams, with product teams, with merch teams,” he said.

Physical retail fills experience gaps that D2C can't

Bombas is still refining the balance between its own retail footprint and its wholesale partnerships, viewing company-owned stores as a complement to its retail partners.

“In New York City, it’s pretty tough to find a Dick’s Sporting Goods close by your house, so we're testing that mix of street and mall locations,” said LaRose.

Today, Bombas operates six stores across New York, Florida, Texas, California, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. Rather than serving as traditional retail outposts, the stores are designed to showcase the full Bombas brand experience in less than 1,000 square feet.

"The ability to show our total assortment in one place and tell our mission story isn't going to happen" in wholesale partnerships, said LaRose, noting that nearly 60% of in-store customers are new to Bombas.

Mission drives business performance, not the other way around

Bombas' buy-one-give-one model has been more than a social mission; it’s also been a catalyst for product innovation.

"It forced the founders to reinvent a better sock, because you couldn't charge $14 or $15 for a pair of socks if it was only as good as the socks that were on the market at the time," LaRose said.

He said the company runs its donation program "like it's a channel," tracking on-time and full metrics just as it would for ecommerce: Some 71% of Bombas customers know about the donation model, making it a significant factor in purchase decisions.

The mission also serves as a talent magnet.

"We're lucky to have a great team of people who want to dedicate their time to something meaningful," LaRose said.

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