Dominating the Sock Market: A Closer Look at the Speed and Success of Rock ’Em Socks

Whether it’s a movie, a television show, or a video game, people tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves when it comes to fandom… literally. From hats and headbands to T-shirts and hoodies, there is enough fandom apparel out there to wear every day of the year. Yet a fully fandom-inspired outfit is only complete if it spans from head to toe — again, literally. That’s where the team at Rock ’Em Socks comes in. 

Rock ’Em Socks is an accessories manufacturer that offers more than 10,000 designs and collaborates with some of the biggest companies in the entertainment industry. Yet the “World’s Largest Sock Store” comes from humble origins. At the time of its founding, Rob Starkman was a student at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and a manager for the school’s basketball team. When the team got their gear for the upcoming season, the players were given plain socks. Starkman had the idea to customize those socks by dip-dying them in the UCF colors of gold, black, and white. By adding a little bit of flair for the players on the court, Starkman attracted the attention of people on campus. This eventually stemmed into creating an eBay store and the company’s growth snowballed from there. What started as a dorm room business grew into a successful company based out of Orlando, Florida.

These days, Rock ’Em works with a wide variety of licensing partners, ranging from huge Disney franchises and major sports teams to horror films like The Shining and The Exorcist. While there are many possible licensing partners, the company isn’t daunted. According to Harrison Hall, e-commerce and digital marketing director for Rock ’Em Socks, there are no limitations. “Honestly, for us, we’re always open to working with anybody and everybody,” he says. “Our mantra at Rock ’Em is ‘A sock for every story.’”

The company’s first true licensing partnerships were with local colleges, such as UCF, University of Florida (UF), and Florida State University (FSU). Once Rock ’Em earned its stripes within the Florida region, other colleges took interest. Now, Rock ’Em works with close to 300 schools. Being on the sports side of things naturally led to entertainment — Rock ’Em’s first entertainment licensor was WWE. That partnership opened the door to working with companies such as Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers, and Disney.

However, Rock ’Em is not the only company to make licensed socks. So what makes Rock ’Em stand out from its competitors? Hall says the company’s manufacturing process is what sets Rock ‘Em apart. “Our speed to market is extremely quick, so if something happens in a show or a movie or even just a viral moment online, we’re able to create something in the same day and get it out there to be part of the conversation on social [media],” Hall explains. “I think that definitely sets us apart from other competitors or people in similar spaces.”

Rock ’Em Socks leans into viral moments for many of its designs and, as anyone well-versed in the internet knows, virality is all dependent on time. Memes and viral moments hold valuable social currency in the world of the internet, but they can be fleeting. Luckily for Rock ’Em, the team is super fast when creating designs and getting them out to market. For example, the company offered some of the only official merch featuring Jack Black and Lizzo’s Star Wars characters and released official “I love you guys” socks shortly after Spider-Man: No Way Home debuted in theaters.

“Honestly, we might work almost too quickly for our licensing partners,” Hall says. “We might be bombarding them with all these designs and ideas.”

Sometimes the licensing partners have assets available for Rock ’Em to use, while other times the team has to make its own. Once Rock ’Em creates the initial design, it must be sent to the licensing partner for approval. According to Hall, Rock ’Em generally oversubmits possible designs to make sure at least one works.

According to Hall, there have been a few designs that licensors haven’t approved. That can happen for a few reasons, Hall says. “It could be certain color patterns they don’t like or we might not have the rights to a likeness of a character. We might be able to use their silhouette and their name but we can’t use their image, but we have workarounds to make it work.”

Speaking of workarounds, not all of Rock ‘Em’s designs are officially licensed. Remember that kid who got famous last year for his love of corn? Or how about the can’t-miss event of this past summer, ‘Barbenheimer’? These memes have also been immortalized on socks. Rock ’Em likes to take its shot at anything going on in the pop culture world, putting its own spin on these viral moments. “It lets us show our personality in the brand,” Hall says. “It’s not like we’re this boring sock company. We like to be fun and have all these crazy designs.”

With multiple collections coming out every week, Rock ’Em is not slowing down anytime soon. The company is constantly looking for new properties and stories in which they can stake their flag. Hall mentions the video game and anime worlds as two realms that Rock ‘Em could explore in the future.

Making “a sock for every story” is no easy feat, but the team at Rock ’Em Socks is committed to giving fans the best fandom-fueled footwear around. Visit rockemsocks.com to check out the company’s latest collections and add a pair of pop culture socks (or a few…) to your wardrobe.