100 Thieves hires Doug Barber to bolster apparel efforts

North American organisation 100 Thieves has hired Doug Barber as its Vice President of Brand & Apparel.

Barber is the former Head of Brand at Canadian streetwear brand Reigning Champ. In his new role, he’ll oversee 100 Thieves’ entire apparel venture, including the creative direction, production, brand development, and retail.

Barber was the Marketing Director at Reigning Champ for over seven years before transitioning to Head of Brand in November last year. That post lasted just nine months before he made the jump into the esports industry.

He commented on his new venture: “I was a fan of 100 Thieves from afar and couldn’t help but notice its incredibly passionate fanbase. Building an authentic lifestyle brand for the broader gaming community is an ambitious challenge that I look forward to tackling with Matt and John.”

100 Thieves’ apparel strategy has mimicked that seen in streetwear culture more than esports culture since the organisation’s inception in 2017. Releasing a new range of apparel every few months, 100 Thieves’ clothing launches bank on hype and limited supply to sell out in a matter of minutes.

John Robinson, President & COO of 100 Thieves discussed the hire: “We’ve been searching for this position for the past year and interviewed dozens of candidates from top streetwear and athleticwear brands looking for someone like Doug. His creative vision, brand building talent, and ability to deliver incredible retail experiences is exactly what we were looking for. Doug is going to be transformative for our apparel business.”

The organisation made a key hire in June, bringing in Jacob “Maelk” Toft-Andersen as its VP of Esports from Infinite Esports & Entertainment, the parent company of OpTic Gaming and Houston Outlaws.

Esports Insider says: 100 Thieves has undoubtedly done some amazing things with its apparel arm so far, and it definitely stands out from its competition within esports. Bringing in somebody with substantial streetwear experience to oversee everything will, most likely, only help to further progress the experience and products for fans.

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