Fortress Clothing Update | Shark Tank Season 11
Dale Lewis pitched his extreme weather clothing company to
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview of what happened to Fortress Clothing after
Dale appeared on
Shark: | Result: |
Mark Cuban | No offer |
Barbara Corcoran | No offer |
Lori Greiner | No offer |
Robert Herjavec | No offer |
Kevin O’Leary | No offer |
Shark Tank Fortress Clothing Update
- Entrepreneur: Dale Lewis
- Business: Insulated extreme weather clothing
- Ask: $600,000 for 15% equity
- Result: No deal
- Shark: None
Dale Lewis is a self-proclaimed ‘serial entrepreneur’ who has had big success in the past with telecommunications. That said, his new company, Fortress Clothing, is completely different.
The offerings include ‘disruptive insulation,’ which allows wearers to be warm even when wet. The clothing is made for extreme temperatures, and the line includes a ‘base layer’ suit, jackets, parkas, hoodies, gloves, and more.
To demonstrate, Dale invites Robert Herjevac to step into a cryo tank. While it was absolutely freezing, Robert was amazed that he was warm under the Fortress Clothing base layer.
Although the sharks are impressed, things take a turn when Dale starts discussing business. When asked who his target audience is, or where his market is, Lewis neatly diverts the question.
It turns out that he’s done $3.5 million in sales, but that’s since 2012, seven years before the episode aired. The story gets worse when Dale reveals that he tried to license the product to clothing manufacturers with a stable base.
Unfortunately, he was told that his products weren’t proven to any market, so the deals never closed.
Lori Greiner is the first shark to drop out, stating that she doesn’t understand why the base layer doesn’t work on its own. She doesn’t think she’s the right partner.
Barbara Corcoran agrees, saying that the wealth of garments is confusing, and also that the base layer should be used on its own. She is out as well.
Kevin O’Leary doesn’t see a strategy going forward, and Robert has similar concerns about how confusing the message is. Both are out because the company lacks focus on its “wealth of opportunity.”
Mark Cuban is the last shark that’s still in. He basically says that the base layer will make the company different, plus Dale is all over the place. He’s out for these reasons.
Unfortunately, Dale walks away without a deal for Fortress Clothing. How is the company doing following
Research for our Fortress Clothing update reveals good news. The company is doing well, with an annual revenue that exceeds $5 million.
Even though the sharks may have thought that Fortress Clothing was all over the place, others have a different idea. Fortress’s all-weather gear is still going strong, with a website that includes new offerings.
In addition to the outer gear they showed on
You can find the other company updates from Season 11 Episode 10 here:
For even more on companies and products, be sure to stop by our Season 11 products page!
Andrew Smith is the founder and owner of Shark Tank Recap. He is a longtime Shark Tank fan that has been watching it for years and has seen every episode multiple times. His friends know him as the Shark Tank expert, because he can answer any question about the show! His favorite Shark Tank products are Bertello's pizza oven and Bug Bite Thing!