The Backpack: Issue #60

Friday, May 2

• Trend Alert: Luxury hotel merch is (still) white HOT
• Top commonsku News: AI workshop added to skucamp
• Vibe Check: Your very own bouncy castle
• Can’t Miss Content: NHL’s upscaled merch

Luxury hotel merch is (still) white HOT

What can we learn from the hottest Spring trend in luxury hotel merch? A masterclass in class: from Frame x Ritz Paris, to Olivia Von Halle x The Carlyle Hotel, to Lingua Franca’s gorgeous collab with The Bowery, and even Sporty&Rich’s collab with Le Bristol. Luxe hotel merch is the new merch flex. What to learn: impeccable design details, thoughtful curation, select products, and beautiful fabrics. And if you’re gonna make us pick a fave, we have to say we’re partial to Sporty&Rich’s simple take on elegant merch, take note of their lifestyle pics, backpacker!

Wrangler’s “Last of Us” merch drop 

No spoilers here, but some say the season went too far. Which is really saying a lot when you got White Lotus staring down your ratings. Heh. Anyways, you gotta give it to Wrangler for this killer 😜 collab that Pop magazine called “post-apocalyptic cowboy.” Check out the whole collection here. Our faves? Not the Wrangler products (shocker), but this other collab that “Last of Us” did with Four Sigmatic for survival style mushroom coffee. Smart.

The AI-First Promo Agency?

An interesting trend emerging: The AI-first agency (Supernatural AI) also has a “human-centric” hands-on branch of their agency (Supergood) and even a merch component through a partnership with Market Studios. What does this mean for promo companies? We think it signals a few trends: The rise of agent-driven firms who use AI as teams, and also an emphasis on a “human-centric” approach to merch. To see how AI is reshaping work, check out Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Report. Question for our regular readers of the backpack: How are you using AI? Want to join us on a future skucast or webinar? Hit that reply and let us know, we’d love to feature your AI-inspired work!

 

commonsku + Zapier + PromoPilot

commonsku + PromoPilot have partnered to help distributors automate operations through the ultimate no-code solution: Zapier! PromoPilot, led by Zapier Solution Partner Eric Granata, helps distributors automate workflows. commonsku users get 25% off PromoPilot’s coaching services for automation with Zapier. What can you do with this? Track low margin orders, track sample orders, and much more, check out these top 9 use cases with the new Zapier integration!

New AI workshop added to skucamp!

The AI revolution is here, and leading distributors and suppliers are using the power of AI in their daily work to drive growth and create efficient workflows. But how are distributors and suppliers using AI now? In this workshop, we'll unpack survey results from attendees on how they are using AI to shape their business. And in a hands-on, peer-to-peer discovery-share, you'll gain actionable insight, discover powerful new tools, and leave equipped to lead your team into an AI-powered future! It's time to level up together, only a handful of tickets left, grab yours today! 🚀

How design thinking drives promo sales

Design in the promo business has radically changed. No longer are simple logo slaps enough to win in today’s climate: You need some serious design skills to match an ever-increasing audience taste. Tom Havens, one of the industry’s most experienced design pros, discusses the importance of design thinking in promo and how it amps the sales experience. Tune in to hear Tom’s how great design leads to big projects, plus Tom's tips on outsourcing and working with designers!

Best artist merch drop of the year goes to … 

Bon Iver. Confession: We may or may not have already bought some merch. But, I mean, check this wild merch: Salmon? Salmon that’s sold out!? And merch as fragrance? Of course, the Field Notes are dope. And I think we can now call a cassette merch since it’s basically a collectible. But our faves might be the tote and Salmon hat. Lesson learned? Color. Color as a brand. And no, we’re not obsessively spinning Day One, silly, we’re workin’. Merch workin’. So get back to it.

White Castle goes bouncy; Atari goes earthy

Surely this is the biggest promo item in existence, White Castle lets you buy your very own bouncy castle. “There is no more epic way to celebrate than with a Castle of your own!” said VP Jamie Richardson. Made to order, it’s $3k. You gotta give it up to White Castle, the great merch slayers, it’s pretty bold. And we dig what they do with merch like this bucket hat and retro lunch box. But why a bouncy castle? For the plot, maybe? Meanwhile, Atari dropped a rad collection for Earth Day (which, as our friend Denise says, “every day’s Earth Day”): trucker hat, overalls, Fuji tee, and cropped sweatshirt. For every order, they plant a tree. Backpacker approved!

😎 Crushing on: Jeff Goldblum’s merch drop.

⚡ 1 million shirts!? In a world that demands personalization, we gotta remember the simple power of everyone wearing the same t-shirt.

🎤 Not crushing on: Taylor Swift’s new brown cardigan. But, Swifties rejoice: new merch.

🐭 An interesting take on an industry-adjacent biz: How tariffs are going to impact Disney merch.

🎰 We love watching Tyler the Creator do merch.

👀 Um, Biebs is wearing his own merch. Isn’t that against some kinda fan-merch rule? It should be.

🎙️ This will likely be one of the biggest tours of the year: Kendrick Lamar + SZA’s Grand National Tour. How’s the merch? Sick: Hi-Vis vest, GNT hoodie, “wacced out mural tee” and this we love SZA camo shirt.

⛳ In one week, The Masters was estimated to sell $70 million in merch. Town & Country highlights the bougie merch-fest here.

🍻 Samuel Adams x Celtic’s guard Derrick White drop a merch collab.

🏒 NHL upscales their merch with fashion brand Todd Snyder, we dig this luxe cashmere crewneck and cashmere rugby.

🎬 NBC Universal phoned it in on their 20th Anniversary Pride & Prejudice (movie) merch drop. I mean, they at least did Mr. Darcy’s famous anxiety-hand on a tee (props for that) but the whole collection is more a meh, or what Mr. Collins might say, “a superbly featured merch drop with excellent boiled potatoes.”

🎩 There’s something poetic about how terrible the embroidery is on this A24 “Male Friendship” hat.

🙌 Real-time, big time! Cutter & Buck now supports decorated ePOs on commonsku!

🤖 Pssst. You heard about our new AI workshop at skucamp right? Join us!