What Happened To Red Dress Boutique After Shark Tank?
As "Shark Tank" got bigger with audiences, so too did its pitches. In the early seasons, a big ask may have been for a $100,000 investment, but by the time Red Dress Boutique appeared in the fifth episode of Season 6 in October 2014, their $600,000 request for 5% equity didn't cause any sharks to raise an eyebrow. Red Dress Boutique is a women's apparel online retailer that looks to offer elegant clothes at affordable prices, with over 80% of their merchandise retailing for under $50 at the time of their pitch.
Red Dress Boutique was founded by wife and husband duo Diana and Josh Harbour. Diana got the idea for their business while the two of them were working mundane office jobs. At 24 years old, they quit their jobs, sold their house, took out a six-figure loan, and bunked with some friends for an entire year to get their business off the ground. The sharks were impressed by Red Dress Boutique's sales, as they had done $8 million in revenue the year prior to their pitch.
Red Dress Boutique's social media marketing strategy and continued growth won the sharks over. Diana talked about how she would take pictures of clothes she found and post them to her socials, asking Red Dress Boutique's followers what they thought and using their feedback to cater directly to her customer base. Kevin O'Leary expressed some skepticism about Red Dress Boutique's potential to grow more, saying "You're going to have to clone yourself and it's not easy to do" before dropping out. Lori Greiner and Daymond John dropped out as well, but Robert Herjavec and Mark Cuban, the richest shark, were both interested. After some back and forth, the Harbours secured a deal with both sharks, accepting $1.2 million for 20% equity between the two sharks. That turned out to be a pretty solid investment.
How is Red Dress doing now?
After their successful pitch, Diana Harbour said, "Mark and Robert are angel investors, and angels can give you wings. And with wings, you can fly." And the company certainly has flown as it continues to be one of the more successful businesses to come out for Shark Tank.
In an update a year later on a Season 7 episode of "Shark Tank," the Harbours revealed they did $1 million in sales six days after their episode aired and that their site crashed from so much traffic. They did $14 million in sales in 2014 and haven't looked back. Red Dress, as it was later renamed, developed their own line of clothing and cultivated an impressive online following with over 700,000 followers on Instagram alone.
In a 2018 Q&A with Shopify, Diana spoke about the challenges of switching ecommerce platforms and revealed that Red Dress was regularly pulling in $15 million a year. By 2019, she made the special announcement on Instagram that she became the owner of the entirety of her company once again. "It's been an awesome 4 years as a part of @markcubancompanies and having him as a partner but I was ready to own it all back. The fact that I was able to do so is a testament to hard work and our growth over the past year! Thank you to @sharktankabc for all you've done for me. Thank you @mcuban for your guidance over the past 4 years."