Company:Vineyard Vines

Vineyard Vines

Type	Private
Founded	July 3, 1998 (1998-07-03)
Founder	Shep & Ian Murray (Brothers)
Headquarters	Stamford, Connecticut , United States
Number of locations	70 Stores, 19 Outlets, 97 Retailers
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Clothing and accessories
Owner	Shep and Ian Murray
Website	Vineyard Vines

Vineyard Vines is an American clothing and accessory retailer founded in 1998 on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts , by brothers Shep and Ian Murray. The brand markets upper market ties, hats, belts, shirts, shorts, swimwear, bags for men, women, and children. It has grown to a collection of retail stores and outlets across the United States. The company's main logo is a pink whale. Their clothing is considered preppy.

History

Shep and Ian Murray grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut and spent their summers on Martha's Vineyard, where they were introduced to the coastal lifestyle of sailing, fishing, and boating. The two brothers originally held jobs in New York City, but soon grew tired of the corporate lifestyle. Ian claims the duo "traded in [their] business suits for bathing suits" and “started making neckties so [they] didn’t have to wear them.” Before quitting their jobs, the two brothers opened credit cards so they could buy silk and launch Vineyard Vines. The company's entire startup capital was raised from the brothers' accrued credit card debt. Shep and Ian sold their neckties on Martha's Vineyard, selling out of a backpack from their boat or Jeep rather than a storefront. Initially, they offered four different styles of ties. After they sold 800 ties on a single weekend in July, Shep and Ian quickly re-ordered more, paid off their accrued debt, and moved into a new office. The Murray brothers claim that the business was founded through a philosophy of "living the good life," which is reflected by their slogan "Every day should feel this good." Shep Murray claims his goal is to be "a cross between Warren Buffett and Jimmy Buffett" in building the "lifestyle brand" he founded. Vineyard Vines is still owned outright by the two Murray brothers.

Expansion

Since the summer of 1998, the Vineyard Vines company has expanded nationally, particularly along the East Coast. Vineyard Vines has opened numerous company, outlet, and retail stores. In addition to these traditional channels, Vineyard Vines has expanded its sales to online shoppers. The company manufactures licensed NFL and MLB product, which it sells through its retail channels. Vineyard Vines also manufactures licensed college apparel, which is sold primarily through campus stores. Vineyard Vines was placed on Inc. magazine's list of the 5000 fastest-growing businesses in the U.S. in 2007. Between 2004 and 2007, the relatively new company's revenue tripled.

In 2015, the company inaugurated a new headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

In January 2018, sportscaster Jim Nantz announced a partnership with Vineyard Vines to create a golf-oriented lifestyle clothing line set to launch in spring 2019.

Stores

A Vineyard Vines store in Manhattan

The first stores were opened in Northeastern locations associated with the sea such as Martha's Vineyard. The first was in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, followed by Greenwich, Connecticut. The company has expanded to more than 59 stores as well as 15 outlet locations across the U.S. states.

Governance

An age and gender discrimination lawsuit was filed in mid June 2020 in federal court in Connecticut by Anne Dauer, a former senior vice president, also names Shep and Ian Murray, who founded the privately held company and serve as its co-CEOs. “It appears to be an environment increasingly marked by age and gender discrimination and that was by design,” said Seth Rafkin, one of Dauer’s lawyers. “As the complaint states, it was coming from the founders and the president of the company.”

The complaint details the particulars of Ms. Dauer’s firing and the company culture that she alleges led to it, including a desire by the Murray brothers to replace older, female store employees with younger men. “For example, at company management meetings, Ian Murray repeatedly stated that there were ‘too many middle-aged women around the table’ and that Vineyard Vines needed to bring in younger points of view,” the complaint argues. “The Murray brothers frequently remarked that they needed the retail stores staffed more by young men fitting an all-American ‘college-aged’ look.”

A group of consumers filed a lawsuit on Sept. 9 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Vineyard Vines LLC lawsuit which alleges Vineyard Vines misleads shoppers about quality, pricing of outlet products. The plaintiffs allege that the defendant's outlet and retail products, despite their similarity in appearance and classification, are misleading in pricing as the outlet products' pricing does not truly display the real suggested retail price identical to the price for the comparative product in the retail store. The plaintiffs allege the "invented price disparity" induces customers to purchase the outlet products and creates a feeling of savings, and increases the consumers' likelihood to purchase the product. The plaintiffs also allege consumers are led to believe that the outlet products are identical to the retail products without being informed that the products come from different manufacturing batches and are of lower quality than the true retail products.

Former Vineyard Vines employee says supervisor raped her in local mall store. The incident at the center of the lawsuit and the complaint filed with the EEOC took place in December 2012. The woman, Ciara Robinson, filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and won the rare backing of the federal agency.

The EEOC has directed vineyard vines to pay the plaintiff more than $335,000 in compensation and back pay, and to institute a series of changes in how it handles employee complaints and trains its employees. The company has refused to pay the compensation, according to Robinson’s lawyer, Gary Ireland. Robinson filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against vineyard vines; her alleged attacker, Daniel Pezzola; and three workplace supervisors, in the U.S. Southern District Court in White Plains. She is seeking a jury trial, punitive and other damages, and attorney fees. “They were very, very wrong at many levels,” said Robinson, who was 20 at the time of the alleged assault. “They have to pay for what they did.” Vineyard vines, which sells preppy-type clothing aimed at university students, said it would not comment on the specifics of the litigation.