Ford has partnered with a large number of brands over the years to produce various lines of merchandise such as clothing and accessories, and those efforts have really ramped up in recent months. It all began when the automaker brought in actress Sydney Sweeney – who also happens to be a big Blue Oval fan – to partner with on a new clothing line from Dickies, which promptly sold out in a matter of hours last fall. As it turns out, this success has continued with various additional merchandising deals forged in the ensuing months as well.
“It’s just crazy. We’ve been experiencing some exceptional growth for the past two years,” Marsha Schroeder, Ford director of global merchandising, told the Detroit Free Press. “We have an incredible amount of support from senior leaders. They believe in the power of merchandise to really position ourselves as a lifestyle brand. The strategy is working.”
Amazingly, this report notes that Ford – as well as Stellantis, which has launchd similar campaigns in recent months – is raking in a whopping $1 billion in merchandising deals as a result of these expanded efforts. Even a recent collaboration with Dr. Squatch – which led to the creation of the Bronco Bricc soap bar – resulted in 40,000 units being moved across three days, selling out in record time as well.
Ford has also partnered with a wide array of apparel makers with similar success as of late, a list that includes Madewell for a vintage-inspired clothing line, the European brand Bershka for a similar lineup, Cold Culture for an 18-piece clothing line, and Forever 21, which just released its own Ford-inspired fashion collection.
Given how tremendously successful these ventures are, it’s no surprise to learn that Ford plans to continue to forge similar merchandising deals moving forward. As of now, the automaker is being tight-lipped regarding what companies it plans on partnering with for those endeavors, however.
We’ll have more on Ford’s marketing mashups soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
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