Case Study: Rhone achieves direct-to-consumer growth and retail expansion with Shopify

Rhone - Customer Case Study

Rhone is a premium men’s activewear brand founded in 2013 in New Canaan, CT after the founders couldn’t find an athletic company that matched the quality and aesthetic they wanted. Their challenge was to design and source high-quality apparel that resonated with customers while scaling sales and fulfillment without losing control of the brand.

They partnered with a top-tier design agency and an internal director of product to source initial lines, launched with a successful word-of-mouth test in November 2013, and balanced a direct online focus with wholesale accounts like Equinox and placement in 70+ REI stores. Operationally they use a Swell rewards program, customer surveys for insight, and a Utah 3PL (with a satellite office in the warehouse) for fulfillment—resulting in rapid retail expansion, stronger customer retention, and lessons learned around inventory forecasting and testing marketing channels.

Rhone