Evan Hakalir 鈥03SB Co-Founds Successful Children鈥檚 Clothing Line Evan Hakalir 鈥03SB
Evan Hakalir 鈥98色花堂HSB, 鈥03SB, co-founder of children's clothing line Andy & Evan, describes himself as 鈥渁 lifelong entrepreneur.鈥
鈥淎s a little kid, I was always involved in some kind of business鈥攍ike the time I ran a car wash out of my parents鈥 garage and subsequently flooded the place鈥攖wice,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hen I went to Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy/色花堂 High School for Boys, then yeshiva in Israel, then the Sy Syms School of Business, I was always looking to sell something, and starting Andy & Evan was a natural outgrowth of that.鈥
He loved everything he learned at Syms because it matched his inner entrepreneurial spirit. 鈥淚 loved everything there was to learn about business at Syms. I took many classes in entrepreneurship, including a Friday class where invited business professionals came in to speak to the students about their fields and their success stories鈥攖hat was by far my favorite class.鈥
After graduating in 2003, he worked in banking and commercial real estate, but in 2008, while he was working at a boutique real estate finance fund focused on structured finance and off-market real estate-related opportunities, the real estate market completely bottomed out. The fund went out of business shortly thereafter, having been invested in South Florida, where real estate losses were especially heavy, and he and a (now former) partner were suddenly free to pursue business ideas they had been discussing at their synagogue and other social gatherings.
They first tried out an idea involving custom-made men鈥檚 dress shirts but moved into children鈥檚 clothing when his then-business partner鈥檚 son was born. They crafted a dress shirt for him with a bottom snap closure and, on the suggestion of an associate, brought the shirt to a wholesale trade show for children鈥檚 clothing. 鈥淲e were swamped for three days straight,鈥 he recalled. 鈥淪o, we took that one product and, by 2010, had built a collection around it, a brand around it and a business around it. Over the last eight years, we have kept finding niches to fill, white space in the marketplace鈥攚e started selling through stores like Nieman Marcus and Nordstrom, becoming a reliable supplier for them while always looking for more opportunities.鈥
As with any business these days, Hakalir has had to manage the continual changes in retail as the industry moves from location-based to online selling (a point he emphasized in a January 2017 ). 鈥淭oday, you have to live in many different places; you can鈥檛 just live in brick-and-mortar retail anymore,鈥 he explained. 鈥淵ou have to be up on all the latest technology to be a strong digital partner to your retail customers, and also build an online presence and a direct connection with your audience through social media and trade shows and 鈥榥ew parent鈥 events鈥攚e hope that all of this creates demand for our products and allows us to continue to build our brand.鈥
鈥淲hat satisfies me about what I鈥檝e been able to do with the company,鈥 he noted, 鈥渋s how much I have enjoyed the chance to create a product, something from nothing.鈥 He added that 鈥渨hen I see the transaction, see all the labor coming to fruition鈥攖here is something so satisfying about that. In fact, sometimes it鈥檚 hard to believe that you鈥檙e really working as you鈥檙e creating something, then selling it and delivering it and seeing it in your customers鈥 hands.鈥
The prospects look good for the continued growth of the company, which sells its products all over the world. 鈥淲e have found that moms and dads will spend more on their kids than they鈥檒l spend on themselves, grandparents will continue to buy products鈥攁nd there are always new babies.鈥 China is a great example of an international market ripe for growth, where the government has changed its family policy to allow for more children. 鈥淭hink of the growth that will generate over the next 10 years.鈥
Evan Hakalir lives with his wife, Aliza Bogner Hakalir 鈥檕3S, and his two daughters on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Evan Hakalir 鈥03SB
As with any business these days, Hakalir has had to manage the continual changes in retail as the industry moves from location-based to online selling (a point he emphasized in a January 2017 ). 鈥淭oday, you have to live in many different places; you can鈥檛 just live in brick-and-mortar retail anymore,鈥 he explained. 鈥淵ou have to be up on all the latest technology to be a strong digital partner to your retail customers, and also build an online presence and a direct connection with your audience through social media and trade shows and 鈥榥ew parent鈥 events鈥攚e hope that all of this creates demand for our products and allows us to continue to build our brand.鈥
鈥淲hat satisfies me about what I鈥檝e been able to do with the company,鈥 he noted, 鈥渋s how much I have enjoyed the chance to create a product, something from nothing.鈥 He added that 鈥渨hen I see the transaction, see all the labor coming to fruition鈥攖here is something so satisfying about that. In fact, sometimes it鈥檚 hard to believe that you鈥檙e really working as you鈥檙e creating something, then selling it and delivering it and seeing it in your customers鈥 hands.鈥
The prospects look good for the continued growth of the company, which sells its products all over the world. 鈥淲e have found that moms and dads will spend more on their kids than they鈥檒l spend on themselves, grandparents will continue to buy products鈥攁nd there are always new babies.鈥 China is a great example of an international market ripe for growth, where the government has changed its family policy to allow for more children. 鈥淭hink of the growth that will generate over the next 10 years.鈥
Evan Hakalir lives with his wife, Aliza Bogner Hakalir 鈥檕3S, and his two daughters on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
