HALIFAX – The success story of a young local entrepreneur continues to unfold.
Labatt has teamed up with Alex MacLean, founder of the EastCoast Lifestyle clothing company, to offer free t-shirts in cases of Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale as part of a two-month promotion.
MacLean said partnering with Keith’s, another company founded in the province, was a good fit.
“The whole purpose of this collaboration is to give back to the people of Nova Scotia and our roots that really started this brand off so successfully,” he said
It’s been a crazy ride for MacLean, 22, who came up with the idea of selling t-shirts and hoodies as part of a class project when he was attending Acadia University.
He said it’s surreal the way EastCoast Lifestyle clothing has taken off — and not just in Nova Scotia, but across the country. The fledgling company has already sold more than 250,000 items and is being carried in retail stores from coast to coast.
MacLean recently won a national student entrepreneur contest and will represent Canada at a global competition in April.
He said he’s run into one problem that comes with his phenomenal success — imitators.
“We’ve had knock-offs in the brand,” he said. “It’s obviously stressful to have the knock-offs there because it’s been my baby since day one, so I want to protect that.
“We just kind of keep our quality up, so that people that buy the knock-off don’t have as good an item of clothing that we carry. We’re always improving our quality, keeping it local.”
MacLean said continuing to expand the business is his top priority.
Comments