Case Study: Chubbies conquers the men's shorts market and scales e-commerce with Shopify Plus

How Chubbies is Conquering the Men’s Shorts Business on Shopify Plus

Chubbies is a small, fast‑growing apparel brand founded by four friends who set out to revive the short, vintage 5.5‑inch inseam and "reclaim the weekend" from the dominance of long cargo shorts. Their challenge was to break into a crowded men's apparel market by selling not just shorts but a lifestyle—while scaling sales and operations without a large engineering or retail infrastructure.

They launched on Shopify (now Shopify Plus), focused on retro product design, U.S. manufacturing, and content‑driven marketing—using ambassadors and user‑generated content instead of traditional ads—to build community and trust. The approach produced rapid sellouts, venture funding, a Chubnation of over 1.5 million subscribers, ~50% year‑over‑year growth, expanded product lines, and national visibility as a finalist for a Super Bowl ad opportunity.

Chubbies

Tom Montgomery

Chubbies