FUBU
FUBU is a privately held streetwear and urban apparel brand founded in 1992 in Queens, New York, selling t-shirts, jerseys, caps, and jeans primarily to African American consumers through e-commerce, retail distribution, and licensing partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What FUBU does
FUBU is a privately held streetwear and urban apparel brand founded in 1992 by Daymond John in Queens, New York. The company designs, markets, and sells clothing and accessories — including t-shirts, rugby shirts, hockey and football jerseys, baseball caps, and denim jeans — targeting fashion-conscious African American consumers and the broader streetwear market, with a value proposition rooted in cultural authenticity and community representation that major brands historically underserved.
The business operates through multiple channels: a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at fubu.com, historical enterprise distribution partnerships (most notably Samsung, which reportedly drove $30 million in sales in three months in 1998), and licensing arrangements that extend the brand into adjacent categories such as the Spirit Linen home textile collection. The core technology is streetwear fashion design and brand development; no proprietary technology stack, software products, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. Pricing details are not publicly available.
FUBU is founder-owned and bootstrapped, with no disclosed external institutional investment, parent company, or subsidiaries. The company was started with $40 of founder capital and $100,000 from John's mother (taken against her mortgage), and grew organically to $350 million in annual sales by 1998, with cumulative global sales reported above $6 billion since founding. Current operations are supported by a small team of 11-50 employees, with founder Daymond John remaining actively involved as CEO and public brand ambassador, including through his role as an investor on Shark Tank.
FUBU firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FUBU
- Legal name
- FUBU
- Website
- https://fubu.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- FUBU is a privately held streetwear and urban apparel brand founded in 1992 in Queens, New York, selling t-shirts, jerseys, caps, and jeans primarily to African American consumers through e-commerce, retail distribution, and licensing partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FUBU industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Streetwear Apparel
- NAICS
- Apparel Manufacturing (315), Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (458110), Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (31599)
- SIC
- Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300), Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600), Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Athletic / Performance & Activewear Brands (CRAAAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Headwear Manufacturing (Hats/Caps/Beanies) (IMAOAFAA), Athletic Footwear & Sport Apparel Retail (CRAMABAC)
Keywords
Where FUBU is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
FUBU business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel
Revenue model
- Apparel and Fashion Sales: FUBU generates revenue primarily through the sale of streetwear apparel and fashion products. The brand grew from selling hats made from market materials to a multi-billion dollar global fashion brand.
- Licensing and Brand Extensions: FUBU extends its brand through licensing partnerships, such as the FUBU collection with Spirit Linen for home textiles, creating additional revenue streams through brand licensing.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
FUBU product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FUBU designs, manufactures, and sells streetwear apparel — including t-shirts, rugby shirts, hockey and football jerseys, baseball caps, and denim jeans — through its own e-commerce store and brand licensing deals. The company has also extended into adjacent categories such as home textiles through partner licensing arrangements.
Product overview
FUBU is a streetwear and urban apparel brand founded in 1992. The core product line consists of FUBU-branded clothing and accessories sold directly through fubu.com. The brand has expanded into lifestyle categories including a home textile collection (FUBU Home Collection via Spirit Linen partnership) and continues to operate as a direct-to-consumer fashion brand.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- FUBU Apparel
- FUBU Home Collection
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $6 billion in total global sales
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use FUBU
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
FUBU technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
FUBU partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- SamsungcoreSamsung distribution deal that reportedly drove $30 million in sales in three months. This was a key distribution partnership that significantly accelerated FUBU's revenue growth and market reach.
- Spirit LinenminorSpirit Linen partnered with FUBU to debut a FUBU collection at the New York market, expanding the brand into home textiles and bedding through a licensing/lifestyle brand extension arrangement.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
FUBU competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Rocawear: Founded by Jay-Z in 1999, Rocawear is a heritage urban streetwear brand that grew out of late-1990s hip-hop culture alongside FUBU. Both target fashion-conscious consumers in the urban apparel segment with similar logo-driven product lines.
- Sean John: Sean John, founded by Sean "Diddy" Combs in 1998, is a contemporaneous late-1990s urban apparel brand that competed head-to-head with FUBU during the peak streetwear era. Both brands leveraged celebrity founders and similar distribution channels to scale.
- Karl Kani: Karl Kani (formerly Karl Kani Infinity) is a pioneering African American-founded streetwear brand established in 1989, predating FUBU and serving as an inspiration. Both brands occupy the cultural-authenticity-led streetwear category for similar demographic targets.
- Cross Colours: Cross Colours is an early-1990s streetwear brand founded by Carl Jones and Patrick Williams that targeted the African American community alongside FUBU. Both pioneered culturally rooted urban apparel in the same era with similar founder-driven distribution strategies.
- Phat Farm: Phat Farm, founded by Russell Simmons in 1992, is a direct 1990s-era urban streetwear competitor to FUBU. Both brands launched the same year targeting the same demographic with logo-driven apparel through similar retail and wholesale channels.
- Enyce: Enyce is a late-1990s streetwear brand founded by Tina White that operated in the same urban apparel space as FUBU during the brand's peak era. Both competed for similar retail distribution and consumer demographics during the late 1990s urban fashion boom.
Broad incumbents
- Timberland: Timberland is explicitly cited in FUBU's founding story as a major brand that did not design clothing specifically for African American consumers. Today, Timberland operates broadly in footwear and apparel with significant overlap in the urban/casual wear category FUBU serves.
- Polo Ralph Lauren: Ralph Lauren's Polo brand is a broad apparel incumbent with significant streetwear and urban casual wear lines. Comparable to FUBU as an established heritage apparel brand pursuing category extension (home, accessories) via licensing — a model FUBU is now adopting with the Spirit Linen partnership.
- Nike: Nike is a dominant apparel and footwear incumbent with substantial streetwear and urban fashion lines that overlap with FUBU's category. Nike's licensing and DTC e-commerce scale represent the structural ceiling on premium urban apparel distribution that FUBU competes within.
Emerging players
- Sean Jean: Mecca USA, also known by its contemporary brand extensions, is a 1990s-era urban streetwear label with overlapping heritage and demographic positioning relative to FUBU. Both brands share the late-1990s urban apparel origin and African American consumer focus.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
FUBU social profiles
Digital presenceFUBU financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FUBU leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
FUBU funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FUBU M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about FUBU
What does FUBU do?
FUBU designs, manufactures, and sells streetwear apparel — including t-shirts, rugby shirts, hockey and football jerseys, baseball caps, and denim jeans — through its own e-commerce store and brand licensing deals. The company has also extended into adjacent categories such as home textiles through partner licensing arrangements.
Is FUBU a public or private company?
FUBU is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was FUBU founded?
FUBU was founded in 1992. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is FUBU based?
FUBU is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does FUBU make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Apparel and Fashion Sales are the primary driver. The others are licensing and Brand Extensions.
Who are FUBU's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Rocawear, Sean John, Karl Kani, Cross Colours, Phat Farm and Enyce. Broad incumbents are Timberland, Polo Ralph Lauren and Nike. Sean Jean is listed as an emerging player.
Does FUBU have an API?
No public API is recorded for FUBU.
What industry is FUBU in?
FUBU's product category is Streetwear Apparel. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAAAAAD, Athletic / Performance & Activewear Brands, with a secondary code of IMAOAFAA, Headwear Manufacturing (Hats/Caps/Beanies). Its NAICS code is 315 and its SIC code is 2300.