"It's actually up to us to be successful. We have the hat on ourselves."

ISPO.com: Mr. Carlstrom, John Hatter & Co. recently signed a license agreement with FIFA and will produce fan merchandising for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. How did this come about?

John Carlstrom: During the European Football Championship last year, I arranged to meet a friend in a French restaurant in New York to watch soccer, France versus Spain. Wall Street wasn't far away, so a lot of business people came in, taking off their jackets and putting on French national team shirts. Some fans were wearing the classic Équipe Tricolore dad caps (editor's note: classic peaked caps). I sat there and thought to myself, why aren't there any cooler fan caps? And indeed - after a quick search, I realized that soccer caps have always looked the same for 30 years and there are no trucker caps as fan merch. So I thought to myself, I can do better than that. So I went for it and simply asked FIFA if I could do it.

How exactly did that work out?

Well, it sounds crazy, but I simply wrote to info@fifa.com saying that I wanted to sell fan merchandising for the 2026 World Cup and who could I talk to? After a few phone calls and calls, I started negotiations with FIFA's licensed products department last August. After four months of negotiations, the license agreement with FIFA was signed at the beginning of this year.

What exactly can soccer fans look forward to, what does the license include?

We will be producing fan caps for every country participating in the World Cup - trucker caps. These will be available to buy in FIFA's official online store (store.fifa.com), at fan festivals or in the stadiums. I am particularly proud that we have managed to sell our caps in restaurants and bars. When I received the license agreement, I wondered why restaurants and bars were not listed as distribution options. FIFA hadn't thought about that at all and first had to validate it internally. Then I got the feedback that they approved my request and that I was now probably the only licensee allowed to distribute its products in bars and restaurants. I simply had to get this option approved because, firstly, the idea came to me in a restaurant and, secondly, sports bars are very popular in the USA. The next step will be to look for a chain to cooperate with during the World Cup.

How did John Hatter & Co. actually start?

I was CEO of an investment company for 12 years, had almost 50 employees, a very good salary and was successful. But I was bored and needed a new challenge. So I made an exit without knowing what was coming next. First of all, I went on a few trips with my wife and one day I had the idea of reinterpreting trucker caps. I realized that there was a gap in the market, nobody was producing exclusive statement caps at the time. And that was my plan. I wanted to create caps that would act as icebreakers or conversation starters. At the time, I knew nothing about wholesale, retail or e-commerce. But I said to my wife, I'm going to make hats. Hence the name "John Hatter". (Editor's note: "Hatter" means hatter in British). And then I designed my first collection. 80 different models, in Power Point. I still do that today. We went to China and probably visited 20-30 factories until I found one that met my quality standards. And then I ordered the first 10,000 caps and went out to sell them.

How exactly should you imagine this?

Caps are not accessories that you plan to buy. You see them and if you like them, you just take them with you. A hotel lobby seemed like a good idea to me. I flew to Miami, rented a fatbike, packed the caps in a rucksack and rode through the streets in search of cool hotels. The "W South Beach" was at the top of my list. Many movie stars, singers and pop stars stay there. At first they didn't want to, but when the first 30 caps were sold in record time, the whole business basically took off. And then we expanded into department stores, multi-brand stores and we are now represented at JD Sports and Snipes. I think that's also the reason why FIFA gave us a license. They know about our distribution capacity in a total of 50 countries. Last year, we sold a total of 180,000 caps worldwide.

What prospects do you expect from the license for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

Of course we want to open up new markets in the end. In New Zealand, for example, we are not yet represented with John Hatter & Co. Nor in some other countries that are taking part in the World Cup. We see this as a door opener, like the hotel in Miami in the early days. We could also imagine producing for international soccer leagues or clubs such as Real Madrid or Manchester City. And if we are successful next year, why not launch a collection for the upcoming Olympic Games or the European Football Championships?

How many caps does John Hatter & Co. want to sell as part of the 2026 World Cup, what is possible?

Realistically, I would say 500,000 caps. My dream target would be 1 million caps.

At the end of the year, "John Hatter & Co." will be part of ISPO 2025. What are your expectations?

Very few people know our brand "John Hatter & Co.", which also produces ski helmets, beanies and T-shirts. But FIFA is a brand that almost everyone knows. That's why it was important to me in the contract negotiations with FIFA that we were also allowed to appear at trade shows with our own brand alongside FIFA. Basically, we are focusing on finding new distribution partners. A large distributor with 2,000 or 3,000 sports stores worldwide can give our business an enormous boost in one fell swoop. And with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, we have the whole world as a potential buyer, so to speak. It's actually up to us to be successful. We have the hat on ourselves.

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