Catching Up With The CEO Of Kikwear Industries

Here we go again, a trip into the inner workings of Kikwear, Inc. Things are going great for the company and our fan base is growing bigger every day. I recently got to Interview the CEO Alex Berenson to see how things are going with the company, the support teams and most importantly our fans.

Inkkie: It's been several months now since the Kikwear re-launch, how are things going for the company? Anything we should be getting excited to see coming down the line?

Alex: Since our Kikwear brand re-launch in December of 2012, the goal has been getting the brand name back out there into the forefront of the EDM community. The old skool fans are stoked to have us back, and the goal for Team Kikwear has been to educate the new generation of ravers about our iconic standing in the scene. Of course, the most important element here is the gear and everyone buying it at www.KIKWEAR.com is supremely psyched when their order arrives! The line is still young in its development which is brand new to literally thousands of ravers around the world so we need to keep up with our guerrilla marketing approach which is working very well. There are a lot of epic new styles in the Kikwear pipeline which will continue to roll out through 2013 and into 2014 as well. 

Inkkie:  How are things going with the Kikgirl line relaunch? When can we expect to see the line available and what can we expect to see offered?

Alex: The Kikgirl reboot is coming, however it has taken longer than anticipated due to the nature of the production for a girl's line. Everything has to be perfect with the fit, trims and style line details. We aren't dropping it on Kikwear.com until we're 100% satisfied, but the wait will be well worth it. The initial line will consist of pants, skirts, tops and accessories. Once we get a quick read on what's hot in the collection, we're prepared to add to it in short order. The EDM girls are going to be fired up and we're extremely eager to launch the brand again. As for the drop date, we aren't prepared to announce it quite yet. The wait will be well worth it though and stay tuned for updated info as we get closer to the launch.

Inkkie:  Festival season is on the way, got any plans in the works for Kikwear involvement? How's the Back in Action tour going?

Alex: The Back In Action tour has been sick! This has been our primary way of getting our old and new fans on board with Kikwear Industries. What has been great is that we've sponsored events that are both big and small---some in major cities and others in smaller markets that have a vibrant EDM scene. It's really important that we spread the tour all over the country. Kik is really geared up for Festival season too as we're sponsoring a couple such as the Midwest Wonderland Music Festival in Chicago and Farm Fest in New Jersey. We also have a bunch of Team Kikwear members heading to EDC Vegas to promote Kikwear like crazy. We're not a sponsor of EDC, but our team will be out there in a massive

If you are at EDC Vegas, be on the lookout for the new 2 sided fliers

way. 

Inkkie: It seems like Kikwear is everywhere on the web now. How has social media changed the way business is done since the 90's. What is it like seeing all of the feedback and support out there in cyberspace?

Alex: Kikwear has made a huge impact on the web without question. We've been getting great traction and new fans daily to our FB page at Facebook.com/Kikwear while launching new social media platforms such as Instagram, Tumblr, and our You Tube channel coming next. We have been asking our fans and Team Kikwear to tag Kikwear's FB page with Kik pics and hashtag #Kikwear for their Instagram. All of that combined with the number of amazing EDM events we're sponsoring has really given us major internet coverage. We owe the event promoters a lot of credit for this as well because they are doing a fabulous job of promoting the parties we're sponsoring. This is a team effort and everyone is doing their part. 

Inkkie:  Any new additions coming to the Kikwear DJ team? How many DJ's are on-board the team now? 

Alex: The Official Kikwear DJ Team consists of 15 artists including Zoe VanWest who isn't a DJ, but is fully sponsored by Kikwear as a Happy Hardcore vocalist who puts on an insane live show. They've done an unbelievable amount of work to help push our brand and various social media initiatives and we've supported their careers 100% so this has been great for us and them. We are planning to add one internationally known female DJ to the team soon, so stay tuned on that. She's going to add another dimension to our incredible crew and fit in perfectly with our family. I'm also keeping a close eye on some of the DJ's who are currently on the National Street Team.

Members of the Australian Kikwear Street Team out and about

Inkkie:  How is the street team doing? What is it like having such a large group of kikwear fanatics out there on the scene?

Alex: With regard to the Street Team, there's just no way we would have this much global exposure without them. I can't say enough about how much they love our company and the EDM community. Everyone on Team Kikwear does something special and they've all got a different role. They've got complete autonomy, but do have a basic play book on how to best promote Kikwear via our social media platform and representing our gear at events. Our team has a gigantic presence in the States, but we also have a team in Canada, Australia, Germany and we're working on other European countries now. 

Inkkie: How excited have fans been in regards to the stickers and fliers passed out by the street team?

Alex: The stickers have been showing up everywhere and our fans love getting them with their Kikwear.com orders. It's awesome to see photos of them on laptops, bumpers, phones, DJ equipment, and in some really crazy places. Our new fliers are just getting out there now to Team Kikwear and events that we're sponsoring. The first one since our re-launch is outstanding and designed by our art director Robert VanWest. We'll be breaking with new fliers throughout the year so this is something we plan on continuing and hope our fans collect them. 

Me: With the Kikwear Instagram and Facebooks getting the exposure they have how have you felt about the fan submissions that are coming in? 

Alex: Our social media platform in general wouldn't be working as well as it is without the participation from our fans. They make it really tick and keep it fresh. We encourage our fans to post Kik pics to their own FB pages and tag Kikwear. We also love that people are submitting content for our Tumblr page and hash tagging #Kikwear for their Instagram. All of this action is making our web presence really visible and we're stoked that so many people around the globe have embraced it. 

Me:  How would you sum up the past year in one sentence?

Alex: This past year has been humbling, exciting, awesome, epic and a complete team effort from the Kikwear family----Rave on and P.L.U.R.R