Firm Solves the Mismatched Sock Problem

David Verlee, a Canadian information technology consultant and entrepreneur, was on a business trip a little over a year ago and ran out of matching socks. Forced to buy an emergency pair at a mall in the city to which he traveled, he kept the socks around for a long time because he always had trouble finding a matched pair. After talking with a few friends, he determined this problem was universal--at least among men.

Verlee’s wife Elena, a public relations and life coaching executive, then got an idea from an article in Oprah magazine to sell socks by subscription and cut down on time spent in the shopping mall. So the pair co-founded monthlysocks.com (www.monthlysocks.com), a site that markets men’s socks.

David Verlee’s first move was to start buying and testing business socks that could be suitable both for work and when playing tennis, golf and even running, says Libby Shumka, spokeswoman for the Vancouver-based continuity club.

The site offers different subscription levels. For $20 a month, users get three pairs in different colors. For $40, customers get six pairs of socks once every two months. And the $50 package? It’s two pairs of socks every three months in alternating colors. Finally, $70 customers receive one pair of socks per month.

The Verlees market their site primarily through public relations and word of mouth as well as some e-zines and blogs. So far, monthlysocks.com has amassed a few thousand customers, says Shumka, noting the firm broke even within the first quarter of its existence.

While about 90% of the firm’s customers come from Canada, the company has gotten some from as far away as Hawaii, Arkansas and Texas, she notes.

In fact, many of them are women and they could represent a potential market for product expansion.