MARK WERTS

(02) FOUNDER, CEO, AMERICAN RAG CIE

Decline in denim?! Many years ago, I shared what I thought to be a brilliant entrepreneurial idea with a multi-millionaire, a used clothing dealer called Jim Johnson, based in Brownsville, Texas. Jim always had a toothpick in his mouth. I explained my idea to this extremely successful man, and he was skeptical but pondered a bit and then replied to me in a strong Texan drawl: "Ah shit Mark, anything's good if ya do it good."

Denim is fine. There is no decline. Here at American Rag Cie we're experiencing robust sales of denim and denim-related products. Anyone that isn't "doing it good" is in decline. Denim is a white canvas that depends on the artist who is painting on it. Paint beautifully. "DO IT GOOD!" F**k decline.

P.S. I just checked our denim sales, both men's and women's. We are single digit “up” in both categories. We have experienced ZERO decline in 2019. I don't buy into self-fulfilling prophecies.