How Gen-Z sports brand Overtime built an 8-figure merch business and is using partnerships to take it to the next level

The media company first made a name for itself by distributing high-school sports videos, then producing its own shows and operating its own sports leagues. Like some others in media, it’s expanded into merch, selling hoodies, tees, joggers, shorts, compression tights, and more. Overtime is on course to make an estimated $100 million in revenue this year, mostly from advertising, as well as from e-commerce sales and sports-rights fees.

Rutstein, who worked at Adidas and Reebok before Overtime, said the company distinguishes its merch by focusing on quality.

“When we first started, I said, we’re not going to be a media company that just does merch,” Rutstein told Business Insider. “We’re going to be super intentional about product quality and packaging.”

For example, each of Overtime’s e-commerce orders comes with an athlete credential card with a QR code that takes shoppers to the company’s online shop. The card has become something of a status symbol. Some customers wear or attach it to their backpacks or clothes, Rutstein said.

Overtime has partnered with brands like Paramount and Snapchat to expand its audience

Rutstein said partnerships have played a huge role in the brand’s growth and evolution.

Overtime plans to launch a big collection in July in partnership with Paramount to celebrate the 25th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants, for example. The collaboration will feature hoodies, T-shirts, shorts, and more. Overtime said the deal came together because Paramount was drawn to Overtime’s innovative approach to apparel and ability to reach Gen Z and millennials.

“Through partnerships, we’ve been able to expand our audience, of course, to these brands that are either legacy or heritage streetwear brands,” Rutstein said. “They like to take a new spin, and we always kind of put a new twist on things.”

Overtime also partnered with the social-media app Snapchat on a feature that allows fans to try on virtual Overtime gear and change their Bitmoji, a personal avatar within the app. Overtime recently released its second Bitmoji drop, and so far, 42 million Snapchatters have tried on its Bitmoji apparel, the company said.

Other brands Overtime has partnered with include BAPE, a Japanese clothing brand; PSD Underwear, which makes underwear and activewear; 7-Eleven, a convenience store chain; and Billionaire Boys Club, a fashion label founded by singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams.

Overtime’s trendy merchandise has caught on with its Gen Z and millennial audience; 83% of the brand’s fans are under 35, the company said.

“We have our classic hoodie, which I equate to as the new varsity jacket of the high school hallway,” Rutstein said. “It’s kind of a signifier… I’m an athlete.”

The company drops merch over text, TikToks, and more

In addition to partnerships, Overtime is growing its business by listening to its audience’s needs on social media, such as the demands it saw in direct messages and comments for compression shirts.

“We recently just expanded into performance apparel, and people have been asking us and begging us to make compression shirts for hooping for the longest time,” Rutstein said. “We just started doing that, and that’s been a big part of our growth and expansion.”

Another strategy Overtime uses to increase sales is to meet customers where they are, whether through texting or social media. Rutstein said texting has been a particularly effective strategy for reaching customers. Overtime texts customers its latest drops and even surveys.

“No matter where they reach out to us, we should be able to solve, answer their question no matter where,” Rutstein said. “I want the experience to be seamless and in our voice.”

Rutstein said Overtime launches merchandise monthly, and each drop looks different.

“It always looks different,” he said. “Sometimes we just drop products…. sometimes we do a big campaign with editorial images on athletes…sometimes we have just TikToks and do a TikTok only, or an SMS drop.”