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Friday, March 02, 2007

Another Problem Solved



Hello, my name is Turhan Mirak and I'm the founder and CEO of The SockBin and co-owner of Sockworks and Gilbert's Fine Hosiery for Men. In Istanbul we say "a man would no sooner have a hump than a camel to wear socks" Occasionally though, a man would develop a hump on his back and, using a kind of reverse logic borne of desperation and poor schooling, try to cure himself by actually putting socks on his camel. This usually resulted in his premature death but that's besides the point. The important thing to take away from all this is that socks, coming as they do, between a man and his shoe or the earth have always been a revered part of the wardrobe in my native country of Turkey. Indeed, a drawer stocked to the brim with well maintained socks is an important symbol of status and, after the mole count, one of the first things that a prospective bride will check upon meeting a possible husband.
When I first moved to Canada 8 years ago I was dismayed and puzzled by the lack of respect payed to the sock and made it my mission to elevate the image of this special article of footwear.
At first using aroma therapy strategies in our outlets proved a dismal failure but we quickly rebounded with a techno/rave campaign that brought in the younger, hipper crowd that retailers crave. We went to bolder colors and borrowed designs from some of the most popular tattoo choices of the 15-30 crowd. Indeed our "Tatz" line is now our biggest seller.
We began advertising on The Blob and saw our sales jump by 17% in 2 months. We've seen steady increases ever since. Here is a recent comment from a Blob reader that I found most interesting:
"....who ever thought to play hard driving techno music in the stores must have been a genius. There is nothing like choosing a pair of socks with a slammin groove to nod your head to. It's like saying "Yeah, Yeah, these are awesome socks!" The only problem is when you get home to put them on they don't seem so awesome anymore. What can I do to prolong my socks buying experience?
A perceptive client with a legitimate complaint....I immediately called a meeting and 5 hours later Ecstasox were born. Imagine that you're a 20 year old at a rave. It's 3 in the morning, you've been dancing since 11, and you've met this really hot chick that you'd like to get with. All the bathrooms are packed so you decided to bring her back home but by that time your drugs have worn off and, in the words of our comment writer; "she doesn't seem that awesome anymore." Another hit of ecstasy......problem solved!
All we did was to borrow from this typical experience and incorporate it into our sock manufacturing process. Each Ecstasox unit is impregnated with minute amounts of an ecstasy-type designer drug that is easily absorbed through the skin of a well groomed and moisturized foot. 10 complete wash cycles later and you'll still be experiencing that lighter-than-air feeling you had when you 1st purchased them. When the effect starts to wear off a simple shot of EcstaPep Refreshener Mist and.....problem solved!
In closing I'd like you all to pay a visit to your local SockBin retail outlet. I guarantee you'll have a good time and buy a great sock. Who knows.......you may even find it...... habit forming?

1 comment:

slapper58 said...

Yes...the post is dated march 2nd. Before I get the deluge of comments from baffled readers I should mention that when you save something as a draft and finish it at a later date it's the INITIAL date that is actually posted....problem solved!