Ken Giddon has been a retailer nearly his entire life, and now he’s taken the plunge into wholesale.
The president of Rothmans men’s stores has partnered with Brian Guttman, founder of the Jeremy Argyle brand, to create Dilly Life, a collection designed and dedicated exclusively to the sport of pickleball. The collection will launch online officially on Saturday and will also be carried in Rothmans’ flagship in New York City as well as its Scarsdale, N.Y., unit.
Guttman explained that like many people, he started playing pickleball during the pandemic and quickly got hooked. Pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in America for the past three years, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, jumping 51.8 percent from 2022 to 2023, and 223.5 percent in three years, with 8.9 million total participants in the U.S.
“The passion is there and everyone is into the sport,” Guttman said, “but there was no product dedicated to it.” So when he picked up the paddle, he wore tennis or regular gym attire such as a T-shirt and shorts. A lightbulb went off in his head and he visualized an opportunity.
Giddon had also become enamored with the sport and agreed that there was a white space in the market for an apparel collection targeted to the pickleball enthusiast.
“New sports don’t come about that often,” he said, adding that pickleball is also a “democratic” sport that appeals to a wide range of ages and demographics. “A 17-year-old can play with their grandmother and still have fun. And the passion that people have for it is incredible.”
Even though some of the big brands have also jumped on the bandwagon — Original Penguin, Under Armour, Nike, Alice & Olivia, Lilly Pulitzer, Bogey Boys and others all have created pickleball lines, often pairing them with their tennis offerings — Guttman is unconcerned. “Bigger brands just don’t have the same dedicated, authentic approach,” he said. “People can sniff through and see what’s authentic.”
Dilly Life is working with Major League Pickleball, a professional organization with 24 teams competing in 11 events around the country, and Guttman personally has a financial investment in the New York Hustlers team. “Our goal is to be entrenched in the sport,” he said. Guttman continues to run the Jeremy Argyle brand.
Dilly Life is offering a wide assortment of product for men and women to wear while playing as well as off the court and has trademarked the term “après-pickle.” The company has created a logo of a multicolored figure holding a racket about to hit a ball, which is emblazoned on Ts, long-sleeve shirts, polos, shorts, hoodies, joggers, windbreakers and zip-ups for men and tanks, Ts, quarter-zips, hoodies, long-sleeve crewnecks, shorts, skirts, leggings and a sports bra for women. There’s also an assortment of hats. Prices range from $38 for the T-shirts to $118 for the hoodies.
“It’s pretty extensive,” Guttman said. “We wanted this to be the place people can build out an entire look.”
The most popular patterns among those who have been privy to the pre-launch of the line are the dip-dyed pieces. “That’s gotten the best response,” Guttman said. Giddon noted that when showing the line to pickleball influencers — “Yes, that’s a thing,” he said with a chuckle — they reacted most to the dip-dyed and après-pickle pieces because they were “fun.” He added that in many golf and tennis clubs, there are guidelines about what can be worn, “but in pickleball, there are no rules.”
“Pickleball is like the Wild West,” Guttman said. “What I found interesting is that no one has carved out what apparel for pickleball will look like, so we can be trailblazers.”
For now, the line will only be sold at Rothmans and online, but just like the sport, it may be expanded in the future. And the partners are ready.
“I’ve invested in other apparel companies in the past,” Giddon said, “but this is the first time I’ve gone into wholesale. But when you see an emerging sport that is fun, inclusive and multigenerational, I wanted to be part of the wave.”
