Yankees legend Derek Jeter pursuing big venture built on ‘performance first’

MLB Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter is pursuing a big venture to provide athletes with premium quality apparel. 

The five-time World Series champ joined Liz Claman on Thursday, in a FOX Business exclusive, amid the launch of his new “athleisure” line, which he founded in partnership with Untuckit founder Chris Riccobono and ballet dancer Misty Copeland.

The venture, Greatness Wins, first launched a menswear collection last year, but has since partnered with Copeland in hawking its new womenswear line.

Jeter said every person likes to feel like an athlete no matter where they are on their fitness journey, and Greatness Wins is built just as much for professional athletes as the average joe who routinely works out. It is different from other athleticwear brands because it is built on “performance first.” 

“It’s quality, it’s consistent fit – But we are a performance brand, a true athletic brand, and we want to cater to not only professional athletes, but we want to cater to athletes that don’t do it professionally, but also the casual person that goes may go to the gym once or twice a week.”

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Jeter’s business partner, Riccobono, added that on the sales side, everything is going great as the Christmas shopping season gets into full swing.

“We love what we see. Obviously, customers are searching out deals more than we’ve been in the past, but we kind of expected that considering the economic environment,” he said.

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As for his own attention to the financials and other parts of the business, Jeter quipped he often ends up leaving that task to Riccobono, while the former Yankees star as well as Copeland focus on the products themselves.

The activewear market is extremely competitive, Riccobono added, saying Greatness Wins stands out by combining good-looking products with performance, while producing something that doesn’t yet exist in its own way.

“So it’s the same challenges that, you know, all entrepreneurs are starting a new company. It’s the competition. But I’m very happy where we are at this point,” he said.

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Asked by Claman about Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s unveiling of his new “cybertruck” – in which a man pitched a baseball at the vehicle to prove its damage-resistance — Jeter said the man likely did just as well as he would have in trying to dent the truck.

“To be quite honest with you, I don’t even think I’d hit the car or hit the truck – It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been active,” Jeter said. “So he did probably did a much better job than I could have.”