When people hear the phrase “one percent,” they may think about being in the top 1% or the 1% of wealth. However, freshman Pratt Blair and sophomores Kaden Rodriguez and Will McClean see a different meaning behind the phrase.
Getting “one percent” better each day is the message that these three KO students are sending to their customers. One Percent is the clothing brand that these three students created. The name is meant to be a symbol for self improvement. One Percent is meant to give customers a motivational message when they put on the piece of clothing.
The name originated from Pratt’s father. “I liked the idea of ‘one percent,’” Pratt said. “It was something my dad came up with initially and after that it stuck with me, and we decided to use it as our brand name.”
The idea of selling clothes was new to Pratt and Kaden when they first started; however, they quickly became familiar with the market. The two of them both got a start with reselling sneakers back in the fall, but realized that their aspirations were beyond that. “We both were into this, the street wear, and the resell market,” Kaden said, “but how can we do our own thing and how can we be smart?” That was when their own clothing company came into the scene.
From there, they had to tackle the complicated steps of running a clothing company: getting customers, making the shirts, and making profit. They first started by buying shirts from wholesale companies, initially buying their T-shirts and crewnecks through Jiffy shirts. After the shirts arrived, they found themselves working hard to put the One Percent design on the shirts. “The process of getting the designs on the shirt was very difficult,” Pratt said. “Between that and promoting the brand on our social media, it took a lot of our free time; however, it was very rewarding in the end.”
Will, Pratt, and Kaden all worked together equally to be as efficient as possible, coming together as a team to produce their first drop in March, which consisted of four items: two T-shirts, one black and one white, and two crew necks, also in black and white, all with one percent across the chest of the shirt and a very important message on the back, “success never sleeps.”
Head of the Middle School Ann Sciglimpaglia praised the crew neck. “The crew neck is very comfy, and it is also very clean,” she said. “The crew neck is definitely one that I would recommend to others.” The T-shirt sold for $20 and the crew neck sold for $35.
One Percent was the talk all around KO. Students were wearing it, and Kaden took note of that. “We pointed out like five or six kids wearing our shirts,” Kaden said. “It was just awesome to see that. It’s like one of those things where if you design it, you wear it yourself, but seeing other people wearing it and supporting you is just amazing.”
The first drop of One Percent was a huge success, gaining lots of customers throughout the KO community. The One Percent team did all of their deliveries in person, and their customer service was fantastic making sure everyone got their shirts on time; however, they only look on improving that and growing their business.
Kaden has goals beyond just selling to KO as the team works to grow One Percent into a well-known brand. The first step is finding a designer to make their designs for them so they don’t have to hand press every shirt. “Getting a designer will save us lots of time, and it will also allow us to drop more shirts and other apparel in our next drop,” Kaden said.
Along with finding a designer, the team looks to promote their brand more through social media. They will start producing ads on apps like Instagram and Tiktok, so people outside of KO are exposed to this brand. Using these apps will allow One Percent to expand to the public and will also bring in more money for the company.
The third step that Kaden, Pratt, and Will are executing is creating their own website to sell their products. The first drop was completely in person, and the three of them want to continue to sell their products in person at KO, but also want to put their products on a website for everyone to see. “Our website will have its own domain,” Kaden said. “It will fully belong to us, and I look forward to that.”
With these next steps, One Percent is trending in a strong direction. They have the potential to become similar to brands like GymShark and Fabletics. However, what separates them from these other brands is the strong message that goes into their brand. When you put on One Percent apparel, you are representing and embracing a message of self improvement and motivation. That is what is so unique about this particular brand. Pratt, Kaden, and Will have the potential to grow One Percent into something serious and successful.
Stay tuned for One Percent’s new drop coming in the following weeks. It will be filled with new apparel and the founders are looking forward to gaining an even larger following.
