We met the awesome team at Rugged Seas at Portland's Annual Regatta in August 2021. Rugged Seas was operation out of an OpBox, another one of our partners. Immediately, their unique apparel and compelling mission statement caught our eyes and business cards were exchanged. Fast forward to October 2021, we launched our first growth initiative. Sawyer Island provides capital and consulting expertise to kickstart the next chapter of the Rugged Seas journey.
We met the awesome team at Rugged Seas at Portland's Annual Regatta in August 2021. Rugged Seas was operation out of an OpBox, another one of our partners. Immediately, their unique apparel and compelling mission statement caught our eyes and business cards were exchanged. Fast forward to October 2021, we launched our first growth initiative. Sawyer Island provided capital and experience to kickstart the next chapter of the Rugged Seas journey.
By the time we met the Rugged Seas team, their product line had already started to turn heads. With proof of concept in hand, the solution to scaling was to implement scaling initiatives along the two primary apparel verticals, Retail and DTC E-Commerce. For each vertical we implemented a unique approach while maintaining the integrity of Rugged Seas' powerful brand. In the case of retail, we increased exposure by engaging in multiple in-person events with high foot traffic. For the E-Commerce vertical, we are focused on solidifying the supply chain to serve a growing digital customer base. Across all verticals we deployed existing and invested capital carefully according to a high yield use-of-funds plan.
Rugged Seas' is a company to which we have dedicated our entire range of services. In turn they have without a doubt become a longstanding part of the SIC family. In terms of consulting, we evaluated and helped revitalized their operations from top to bottom. We supported growth initiatives with careful oversight and invested capital. Furthermore, we have placed boots on the ground within the Rugged Seas team. Sofia Canning joined Rugged Seas in 2021 to assist with the execution of day to day operations and future growth initiatives.