- Oxford premium men’s clothing company takes flight as one of America’s fastest-growing private brands.
For Abigail Linton, the natural next step in her career was advancement to CEO of a premier clothing company.
Cue Blake Dubinski and Brice Noonan, who produced the idea of a premium men’s clothing company – GenTeal Apparel – over cocktails in Oxford in 2016.
Dubinski and Noonan first sold clothing at the historic men’s clothing shop, Landry’s, on Oxford Square. Now their trademark apparel is sold in more than 250 specialty retailers and country clubs in 22 states.
Inc. 5000 recently named Oxford-based GenTeal Apparel one of the fastest-growing private brands in America.
“GenTeal has seen tremendous growth over the past few years, but is still young for an apparel brand,” said Linton, who joined the company as CEO this summer. “Thankfully, we have significant opportunities to grow within existing partnerships as well as channels. We have only scratched the surface, like the collegiate, corporate and golf side of the business. Aside from sales channel expansion, our team has been restructuring our product development process and we’re very excited about some new designs and development launching in 2025 and onward as a result.”
Linton, a South Carolina native, earned a business economics degree from Wofford College.
“My first glimpse into the industry was an internship during my (Wofford) interim with Southern Proper,” she recalled. “My first full-time role after college was with a luxury belt and handbag American maker called w.kleinberg, based in Atlanta.”
Linton began honing her craft at Greyson Clothiers as vice president of inventory management and vice president of supply chain. She spent more than eight years in various roles at Peter Millar, including director of inventory forecasting and analytics, and director of financial planning and analysis. Most recently, Linton served as Chief Strategy Officer and COO at Onward Reserve.
In naming career challenges, Linton had to narrow them down. “There have been many! I’ve been fortunate to be with rapidly growing brands in my career, so challenges are at every corner. The biggest challenge was probably the mindset around that, and realizing challenges are opportunities to grow, learn, and mentor others along the way. As soon as you start to not have challenges, you likely are losing sight of your customers or areas to improve,” she said.
Peter Millar and Onward Reserve have clothing similar to GenTeal Apparel, branded with a blue-winged teal logo. As described online: “the distinctive blue feathers on the male blue-winged teal’s wings set it apart from other waterfowl. An agile bird, the blue-winged teal demonstrates an elegant flight pattern and undertakes a long migration journey each year. One of the first birds to head south in the fall and one of the last to return each spring, it’s driven by its next great destination.”
“Our products are designed with a focus on quality and performance that can transcend from every day to the more rugged and outdoorsy activities our customer enjoys,” said Linton. “This stylistic approach sets us apart from our competitors and is our niche in the lifestyle menswear space.”
Linton’s forte lies in identifying operational efficiencies to further establish a brand.
“Blake always says we need a great defense before we play offense,” she said. “There are so many aspects of building a product and a brand that occur before going to market. For example, inventory forecasting, system integration, reporting, and many supply chain aspects can either reduce the friction in the process, or can stand in the way of it. Focusing on improvements in the behind-the-scenes ‘defense’ will allow us to put our best foot forward for the consumer.”
The company’s three categories of men’s fashion are destined for adventure, the finest performance (golf), and rugged and refined.
“’Outfitting your next adventure’ is a phrase we use to describe how versatile our styles are,” said Linton. “GenTeal can be worn both for fishing and golfing – or just to the office. We lean into (our logo, the blue-winged teal) by designing styles our customers can wear on any adventure.”
Linton is enthusiastic about this season’s product launch of the Barlow Pant.
“It’s a versatile, five-pocket pant made of a stretchy, cotton/modal blend that’s comfortable enough to be worn year-round,” she said. “It’s quickly become everyone’s favorite around our office.”
GenTeal’s performance fabric products are the most popular, Linton said.
“Our Performance Polos feature sewn-in collar stays and moisture-wicking fabric, so you can be comfortable and polished from the office to the golf course,” she said. “Our Venture fabric products include our best-selling Performance Quarter-Zip that sells out each season. This year, we added a hoodie, crew neck and vest in the same fabric. These have been really popular as stand-alone products and embroidered for our collegiate and corporate customers.”
The collegiate collection has a dedicated customer base in the brand’s hometown of Oxford.
“Ole Miss products do very well,” she said. “Overall, our southeastern schools carry the most weight in this channel. We’ve recently added Tennessee, South Carolina, and Clemson to the offering, so we’re looking forward to growing in those regions, too.”
As a brand, GenTeal has room for expansion within new and existing categories that align with its customers’ lifestyles, Linton said.
Will GenTeal offer up women’s apparel anytime soon?
“For now, we’re continuing to focus on our men’s offering,” she said. “However, we haven’t ruled out developing women’s products in the future.
