Dave Heath, co-founder and CEO of Bombas, started the sock company seven years ago after learning that socks were the most requested clothing items at homeless shelters.
Since then, the company has donated one pair of socks for every pair sold to customers, donating a total of 45 million products, with 3.4 million more planned for this holiday season.
The New York City-based online retailer has also done quite well during the coronavirus pandemic as the economy sharply shifted to favor companies with strong digital presences.
"We're one of the lucky ones that really, I think, were made for this year," Heath told Cheddar.
The company saw 50 percent year-over-year growth since the beginning of 2020, as it leverages the fact that 98 percent of sales are direct-to-consumer from the Bombas website.
Having a strong social mission also appears to have helped the company during the pandemic, Heath added.
"With over 3,500 Giving Partners and an internal team built around giving, we were really made to take advantage of this kind of at-home and give-back mentality that I think we've all been living in," he said.
While Heath has noted that Bombas is garnering interest from special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) about bringing the company public, he said that he is unsure if the company will ultimately go that route.
"I think it's too early for us to tell, kind of, where we are right now," he said. "I think there's a world in which you could see Bombas being a public company, and I think there's a world in which we could certainly stay private. I think time will tell."
In addition, Bombas is hosting a Giving Tuesday webinar tonight that is intended to help attendees broaden how they think about homeless issues.
While those who are suffering from alcoholism, drug abuse, or mental health issues represent a portion of the homeless population, Heath said, there are a number of situations leading to homelessness that are routinely neglected. He pointed to situations such as domestic abuse and economic woes brought on by health care costs as two other common examples.
"I think so many of us, through our own experiences and the media, have this very myopic view of what we think homelessness is," he said.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
