Secrets of Flexfit caps and its creator

There are a total of 10 standard sizes for caps and cap makers have agonized over how to reduce the number through fitted products.

Traditional solutions were based on buttons, Velcro and straps but they were not enough to cover wide ranges of sizes.

Against the backdrop, Sonette Chairman Cho Byungtae came up with a game changer in 1996 called Flexfit, which adopted a crazy new fabric called polyweave spandex and an elastic band.

Three sizes were sufficient to cover all people — one for kids and two for adults.

The first-generation Flexfit ruled the world’s cap industry thereafter and a flurry of professional sports players used the highly elastic products in a host of countries like the United States and Korea.

The second-generation Flexfit eliminated the elastic band but just two sizes covered all the cap bearers on the back of the elasticity of the fabrics. It debuted in the mid 2000s and is currently taking center stage.

Cho is poised to launch the third-generation Flexfit, which he says is a genuine one-sizefit-all product. With regard to its secrets, he was tight-lipped, just saying, “It will hit the shelf next year. It got the U.S. patent and amazed buyers. I am sure that it will be a success to dominate the market during the next 15 years before its patent expires.”

The popularity of the fitted caps skyrocketed in the new millennium when a mounting number of people started enjoying action sports such as wind surfing and motor cycling across the world. A majority of them take on Flexfit caps.

Flexfit creator

Asked about the secrets of his success in developing the innovative products, Cho said that entrepreneurs should not be content with the past successes — as soon as they become complacent, their rivals will beat them. In particular, he said that strong-willed Koreans have good characteristics to become successful traders or merchants.

“Koreans are smart, agile and persistent. In a nutshell, they have guts. In case they seek after business opportunities with a neck-or-nothing mindset, they have a huge chance to succeed,” he said.

To help potential-laden ethnic Koreans and make networks among them, Cho took charge of the World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Association (World OKTA) from 1996 to 1998.

One of his most outstanding achievements was to hold a conference of gathering Korean businesspeople from across the world in 1997 in New York for the first time.