Most things are made just to exist. Another logo, another drop, another tee.
We build brands that matter to the people who wear them and the people who make them.
What we believe
Everything we make has to earn its place.
Every product, every store, every hire, every partner. If it doesn't mean more, we don't do it. That is how brands last.
02 The founder
Peter Kim.
Founder, Golden Circle Group
Peter Kim is an entrepreneur with three decades of experience building, scaling and selling apparel brands.
$2.4B+Total retail sales
$1.1BTotal sales revenue
$300MTotal cash earned
After turning around his family’s struggling apparel business, he founded Hudson Jeans in 2002, building it into a global premium denim brand through multiple ownership transactions. In 2017, he founded Golden Circle Group, applying his experience in brand development, operations and partnerships to a platform that includes NVL-GARDE, 686’s licensed lifestyle division and Framework/RECLAB.
Peter Kim
He lives the brands he builds.
Peter Kim · Hudson
Leading premium denim brand.
Born in Los Angeles. Rooted in London.
The result ·
Started in 2002. Sold for $97.6M.
$100M+Annual revenue
700+U.S. retailers and stores
130Employees
Hudson sales$0M2002
2002Hudson starts. Italian denim, cut, sewn, and finished in Los Angeles.
2009Reebok founder Paul Fireman's firm buys a controlling stake, in the middle of the financial crisis.
2013Joe's Jeans buys Hudson. The deal doubles its business. Peter stays on as CEO.
2016Joe's sells its own namesake brand and keeps Hudson.
Golden Circle Group · What we do
We build meaningful apparel brands.
Golden Circle Group · Leadership
We have done this before.
Our team has generated over $7B+ in global retail sales in more than 50 countries, and many of us have built brands together.
Peter KimFounder and CEOHudson Jeans, Drunknmunky, Protrend
Brian DunlapPresident and COODVS, Matix, Lakai, Clae
Ben TavernitiNVL-GARDEUnravel Project, Hudson, Yeezy
Jim LeathermanVP of BrandsBroken Homme, Port Long Beach, Evolutions Footwear
Tony ChuCMO + CAIODrunknmunky, Hudson Jeans
Nicole CrossGeneral AffairsHudson Jeans, BCBG
Company-reported.
How we build
Behind every great brand is an even greater team.
01
Vision
Seeing where a brand can go before anyone else does, and keeping everyone pointed there.
02
Team
Finding the people who are the best at what they do, getting them in the room, and giving them space to work.
03
Culture
Building a company people want to work for. They do their best work, then come back to do it again.
04
Brand
Building the brand, starting with product people want to wear. If they do not want to wear it, nothing else matters.
“Success comes down to our team. My role is to inspire and empower them.”
Peter Kim
Golden Circle Group · Our brands
Our brands.
Technical outerwear, now year-roundItalian-made luxury by Ben TavernitiApparel and product for brandsCustom and private-label headwear
Golden Circle Group · Division one
Brand Division.
Brands we build and run ourselves.
Technical outerwear, now year-round
Italian-made luxury by Ben Taverniti
Brand Division
Meet Brian Dunlap.
He grew up racing BMX, surfing, and snowboarding. He went from his first shop in 1991 to co-founding DVS, Matix, Lakai, and Clae. Now he runs 686 Lifestyle Apparel for GCG.
“If you really want to get into the biz, don't dabble, go all out.”
Brian Dunlap
Brian DunlapPresident and COO
1991Valley Ski Center
1994118 Board Shop
1995DVS
1998Matix
2000Lakai
2001Clae
2010Cadence
2019Golden Circle Group
2025686 Lifestyle Apparel
Brian Dunlap · Podium Distribution
$115M
DVS, Matix, and Lakai combined sales at their peak
$70M
$30M
$15M
Skate, moto and snow footwear
Denim and apparel
Skate footwear
Brian Dunlap · DVS
$70M
DVS sales at its peak
Brian saw the gap from behind the counter of his skate shop: shoes made only for skaters.
DVS launched in 1995. Its riders included Daewon Song, Torey Pudwill, Carey Hart, Kevin Windham, Marc Frank Montoya (MFM), Brian Deegan, Mark McMorris, and Wee Man, to name a few.
Brian Dunlap · Matix
$30M
Matix sales at its peak
Matix put what DVS had built to work in a new category.
DVS already had the sales team, the store relationships, and the goodwill. Launched in 1998, Matix used them to grow into denim and apparel, adding business without competing with DVS shoes. Brian is following the same approach with 686 Lifestyle Apparel at GCG.
Brand Division
A premier brand built for snow, now a year-round business.
GCG is the official North American wholesale licensee for 686 Lifestyle Apparel.
Brand Division · 686
Born in the city. Raised in the mountains.
686 · The opportunity
Earned on the mountain. Built for everyday life.
Riders have trusted 686 on the mountain for more than 30 years. The lifestyle line carries that trust into everyday clothes and reaches fans of surf, skate, bike, music, and the city, growing the base and the brand’s appeal.
One season takes about 20 months, from plan to delivery.
Spring 2028 planning started in June 2026. Reps sell it in summer 2027, and it ships to stores in January 2028.
J2026JASONDJ2027FMAMJJASONDJ2028
Strategy and conceptLine plan, research, color and fabric direction
DesignGraphics, trims, final CADs, tech packs
DevelopmentPrototypes, costing, photo samples
Sales prepShoots, catalogs, sales meeting
SellingReps on the road, orders close
ProductionProduction orders to goods in-house
Chinese New Year
First delivery Jan 2028
686 · The market
Lifestyle apparel opens a $16B market.
This is the size of the market, not a 686 forecast. Snow, where 686 built its name, is about a fifth of it.
CategoryAnnual market size
Snow 686 today
Jackets, pants, and layers for riding. Where 686 built its name.
$3.3B
Outdoor
Technical apparel for hiking, camping, and travel.
$9.0B
Active lifestyle
Performance apparel worn every day.
$4.0B
Estimates. North American men's apparel, annual retail. Categories overlap, so the total is directional.
$16BTotal market
686 · The proof
Performance apparel is booming.
Active lifestyle
$11.1BRevenue in fiscal 2025, up 5%.10xSales growth since 2020 (Forbes estimate).33xFrom $30M in 2018 to about $1B in 2024 (estimate).
Outdoor lifestyle
+30%Grew to $2.86B in 2025.$1.47BRevenue in fiscal 2025.$200M+U.S. retail sales (company-reported).
Surf lifestyle
100%+Growth in 2024 (company-reported).$608MWhat PPR (now Kering) paid for it in 2011.3 regionsSold in North America, Europe and Japan.
686 · Why it’s growing
686 fans don’t stop at the snow.
The same people who ride in 686 camp, drive trucks, head off-road, and spend the rest of the year outside with friends. 686 can follow them there with product it already makes.
Logging off
81%
of Gen Z adults wish it were easier to disconnect.
686Everywhere® Pant, made for any outdoor or indoor pursuit.
Getting outside
183M
Americans got outside in 2025, a record 59%.
686Hike and bike collections, plus the Waterproof Hoody.
Camping
52M
North American households camped in 2025.
686Anything Cargo Pant and Let’s Go Tech Hoody.
Trucks and off-road
$15B+
spent modifying pickups for off-road and lifestyle use in 2025.
686686 x Toyota collection and the Unwork® Pant.
64% of Gen Z would rather spend money on gear than on a date.
Why 686 is ready. The product is already on the shelf, the technical credibility is earned on the mountain, and retailers already carry the brand.
Survey data. Sources in notes.
686 · Retail
Retailers are making room for brands like this.
Shoppers want performance they can wear every day. Stores are adding space to win them.
15stores
DICK'S House of Sport
Testing Arc'teryx shop-in-shops, starting fall 2026.
200K+sq ft
Scheels
Megastores built to add new floor space.
3 of 10top men's brands
Jack's Surfboards
Three of its top men's brands come from outside surf.
REI and Nordstrom
Both carry Vuori next to everyday wear.
evo
Snow, outdoor and lifestyle under one roof.
686 · Why 686
686 already has what a new brand would have to build.
Technical credibility
Decades of product built for hard snow conditions.
An established community
An audience ready to meet everyday apparel.
Retailer relationships
Long-standing doors to pitch new categories to.
A recognizable brand
Thirty years of identity and customer trust.
Demand creates the opening. Product, differentiation, and sell-through decide how much of it 686 captures.
686 · The thesis
More customers to reach, more reasons to buy, more months to sell.
This is the full 686 range in one room: hoodies, jackets, tees, pants, caps, and collaborations like Metallica and Toyota.
Brand Division · NVL-GARDE · Live from Milan
Meet Ben Taverniti.
Ben designed for Hudson, built Unravel Project into a celebrity favorite, and now leads NVL-GARDE.
“We are not here to take part. We are here to take over.”
Ben Taverniti
2005Moves to Los Angeles.
2007Joins Hudson.
2015Launches Unravel Project: €30M+ in sales in three years, worn by Rihanna, the Kardashians, and the Hadids.
2015–nowWorks with Kanye West on Yeezy.
2019Unravel is part of New Guards Group, with Off-White and Palm Angels, when Farfetch buys it for $675M.
NowNVL-GARDE, designed in Milan.
Brand Division · Ben Taverniti
Ben has worked with Kanye West on Yeezy since 2015.
Shown: Yeezy Season 5, women’s, 2017.
NVL-GARDE · Worn by
Worn by the biggest names in culture.
Rihanna, the Jenners, Playboi Carti, Black Coffee, and Argy all wear Ben Taverniti's designs.
“The garment serves the wearer. Never the reverse.”
Ben Taverniti
Brutalist concrete. Chapel light. Oxidized iron.
NVL-GARDE · The opportunity
Luxury is moving toward meaning.
Shoppers are tired of price hikes on the same products. They want brands that mean something, and many are ready to try new ones.
The market
€358BPersonal luxury goods, 2025
€75B 21%Luxury apparel
€640Bhigh case for 2035
+4 ptsfaster spending by under-35s
70%+who left luxury plan to come back
Personal luxury goods, € billions
€284
2019
€364
2024
€358
2025
€365–373
2026F
€525–640
2035F
Bain expects 4% to 6% growth a year through 2035.
Where it is headed
Meaning over status
Bain says luxury is now "defined by meaning, not just by product."
Open to new brands
Most who left plan to return, but not always to the same brands.
New brands are winning
US-native luxury brands grew 10% to 15% in early 2026.
NVL-GARDE · The bull case
Starting where most luxury brands hope to end up.
New luxury labels rarely open in stores like these. NVL-GARDE did, with a designer who has built a brand from zero before.
AntonioliMilan
H. LorenzoLos Angeles
VMRChicago
Level ShoesDubai
NubianTokyo
FWRDOnline
Also at Antonioli Ibiza and Lugano, LEFORM Moscow, and more.
What opens up
More of the best stores
The Middle East and Asia
New categories
Direct to customer
Golden Circle Group · Division two
Product Studio.
Product we design and make for other brands.
Apparel and merch for global brands
Custom and private-label headwear
Product Studio
Meet Jim Leatherman.
Jim started his career as an athlete for Podium Distribution. Then came 20+ years building brands: DVS and Matix alongside Brian Dunlap, then his own, Port and Broken Homme.
“We focus on hyperlocal product that speaks to our community.”
Jim Leatherman
Now he leads GCG’s Product Studio thru Framework and RECLAB.
Jim LeathermanVP of Brands
PodiumTeam rider
DVSand Matix, brand management
2011Port, Long Beach and Osaka
2012Founds Broken Homme
2013Featured in The Wall Street Journal
2017Buys an LA boot factory for U.S.-made production
2018Evolutions Footwear acquires Broken Homme
NowVP of Brands, GCG
Jim Leatherman · Building brands
Jim has spent 20+ years building brands through product and partnerships.
CollaborationsPort capsules with New Balance and LA Galaxy.
Brand productPort apparel and Broken Homme boots, made by hand in Los Angeles.
Brand managementDVS and Matix, alongside Brian Dunlap.
Product Studio
Product for brands people know.
We design, develop, and make product for other brands, from apparel to custom headwear.
Product Studio · Framework
Where GCG builds the brand, Framework builds what the brand puts its name on.
Framework and RECLAB · Clients
Global brands trust us with their product.
A few of the brands we make product for.
Finance
Hospitality
Auto
Music
Gaming
Hospitality
Beverage
Gaming
Finance
Gaming
Beverage
Hospitality
Fashion
Energy
Conservation
Framework · The opportunity
Brands spend $174B a year on merch.
Promotional products are $50B of that, and apparel is the largest category. Sales are at a record, and buyers are paying more per item.
The market
$174BUS branded merchandise
$50B 29%Promotional products
26.6%of promo sales are apparel
$27.7BNorth America, 2025, a record
88%of distributors raised prices
US promo distributor sales, $ billions
$24.2
2019
$19.6
2020
$22.1
2021
$25.5
2022
$26.1
2023
$26.8
2024
$27.1
2025
Back above pre-pandemic levels, at a record in 2025.
Where it is headed
Apparel leads
Apparel is the largest promo category, at 26.6% of sales.
Worth the price
Buyers paid more per item in 2025. The product has to earn that price.
Programs, not one-offs
Brands reorder what works, season after season.
Framework · The bull case
Every brand needs product. Few can make it well.
Framework takes a brand from brief to finished product with one team, on the same factories and mills GCG uses for its own brands.
1 team
The model
Design, samples, sourcing, and production in one place. No chain of vendors to manage.
GCG
Supply chain
Runs on the mills and factories behind GCG’s own brands.
What opens up
Repeat programs with every client
Retail-quality brand merch
Tech, hospitality, music, and more
Product Studio · RECLAB
Custom Headwear Platform
Bespoke headwear for brands, made direct with the factory.
RECLAB · The opportunity
Headwear is a $37B market.
RECLAB makes bespoke custom headwear for brands. Caps are the largest and fastest-growing part of the market, and have become everyday wear.
The market
$37BGlobal headwear, 2025
~$14B 38%Caps, about 37.9%
7.4%caps growth a year, the fastest
9%of US promo sales are caps
#3promo category, ahead of bags
Global headwear, $ billions
$37
2025
$39.4
2026
$62.8
2033F
Expected to grow 6.9% a year through 2033.
Where it is headed
Caps are everyday wear
Streetwear, sports, and fashion made the cap a staple.
Custom and fast
Brands want small runs, short lead times, and little inventory.
Sports and outdoor
Running, golf, hiking, and team merch keep demand growing.
RECLAB · The bull case
Carefully crafted bespoke headwear at promo minimums.
A good cap is hard to make. The crown, panels, brim, and closure all have to be right, and most promo caps are not. RECLAB makes the kind people keep. 56% of people keep a promo hat a year or more.
72
Unit minimum
Small enough for any brand, team, or event to order.
4–6 wks
Production
Direct with the factory, from sample to delivery.
11
Base shapes
Built and tested, ready to customize.
What opens up
Smaller brands, low minimums
Fast reorders
Hats for every Framework client
Golden Circle Group · Who we are
The Team.
One team, one supply chain, behind every brand we build.
03 The business model
Ideas are easy. We make them work.
Entrepreneurs
We have started brands, run them, and sold them, through the dot-com bust, 2008, and COVID. We think like owners because we are owners.
Experts
Fifteen specialists in design, sourcing, sales, and operations. Decades in denim, outerwear, footwear, headwear, luxury, and action sports.
Relationships
Mills and factories we have worked with for years. Buyers and stores in the US, Europe, and Asia.
Capacity
The team and supply chain are already in place. The next brand does not start from zero.
Why it works
Each division makes the other stronger.
Brand Division
Gives the Studio
Proof we can build and run a brand
Factory volume and better pricing
A reason clients trust us
One team. One supply chain.
Product Studio
Gives the brands
Steady revenue from client work
A live read on what brands are buying
More buying power with factories
Every new brand costs less to build than the last.
Golden Circle Group · The team
The team.
240+
Years combined
30+
Brands
They have designed, sourced, produced, sold, and run product for some of the biggest names in apparel.
Peter Kim
Founder and CEO
Hudson Jeans, Drunknmunky (sold to FUBU/Samsung), Protrend. 30 years.
Brian Dunlap
President and COO
Co-founder and President, Podium Distribution ($115M): DVS, Matix, Lakai, Clae. 30 years.
Ben Taverniti
Creative and Design
Unravel Project (~€30M sold), Yeezy, New Guards Group, former Hudson Creative Director.
Tony Chu
CMO + CAIO
Brand and marketing. Former CMO of Hudson Jeans (2005 to 2015), Drunknmunky co-founder. 30 years.
Jim Leatherman
VP of Brands
Broken Homme, Port Long Beach, Evolutions Footwear. 25 years.
Nicole Cross
General Affairs
Executive roles at Hudson Jeans and BCBG. 20 years.
Michelle Grau
Accounting
Glantz Beggans & Glantz, Trending Tees Online, BEARPAW. 25 years.
Jay Sheldon
Head of Sales and Brand Partnerships
Sales: Globe, HippyTree, GOT BAG, 686. 20+ years.
Caterina Ercoli
Merchandising and Collection
Buying and merchandising: Antonioli, Level Shoes, Modes. 17 years.
Alex Avelar
Head of Brand Operations and DTC
Activation and project management: AMIRI. Sales: Zanerobe, Rains, The NTWRK Agency. 12 years.
Michael Pargas
Sr. Art Director
Matix Clothing, Globe Brand. 10 years.
Mike Gomez
Apparel Design
Design Director: Outerknown, Holden, RVCA, Matix. 22 years.
Patrick Estrella
Sales and Operations
Flux Bindings, Carmate Japan, 686 / Westlife / The Goodfellas Group. 20 years.
Sara Juarez
Production Manager
Development and merchandising: Volcom, Hot Topic. 18 years.
Technical outerwear, now year-round
Italian-made luxury by Ben Taverniti
Apparel and product for brands
Custom and private-label headwear
$70M
$30M
$15M
Finance
Hospitality
Auto
Music
Gaming
Hospitality
Beverage
Gaming
Finance
Gaming
Beverage
Hospitality
Fashion
Energy
Conservation
