Warren James

Interview: Total Brand Licensing caught up with Kevin Ramsey, co-founder and CEO of Warren James, an exclusive merchandising firm.

Tell us all about Warren James.

Myself and Ben Wiedner founded Warren James around three and a half years ago, following stints at leading global companies Jazwares and Roblox, to develop brands, custom merchandise and e-commerce solutions for some of the biggest content creators in the world including Aphmau, Krew, Annoying Orange, The Boys, and Hasan Piker. Since launch, the company and team has grown to more than 60 employees with offices in Los Angeles, Guangzhou, and Manilla, while simultaneously helping to define standard DTC and DTR deals for the industry. As a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, CEO Kevin Ramsey’s entire career has been focused on leveraging online audiences to drive engagement and product purchases in both retail stores and online. “The passion and work Kevin has put into this economy has increased the exposure and opportunities for this genre of content within the licensing industry,” according to one licensing executive.

What is the ethos behind your work with brands?

Our end goal is to design, and bring to the market, products that deliver excitement to both the creator and the audiences they have. Whether it is a well-designed line of apparel to a collection of functional dog-related products, such as lick mats, we’re willing to go the extra mile, and across any product category, to bring visions to life.

Do you work across merchandise and activations as well?

The company works across merchandise, brand development, and activations. In 2022 alone, Warren James has just hosted LilyPichu’s live concert, Krew District’s Vidcon booth, and Hasan Piker’s Twitchcon booth. 2023 will be our first year with retail activations.

Can you tell us more about your recent partnership with KREW and what this means for the two companies going ahead?

We’ve been working with KREW on the KREW District apparel line since 2020. Since then, we’ve released many product launches, including our most recent outdoors-themed, Camp KREW launch which features products such as thermoses and blankets. Our partnership with them further deepens our relationship together to be able to continue delivering best-in-class products. With new resources at play, we’re able to expand into many new categories of business – for example, food and beverage lines.

Can you outline some other recent successful partnerships and brand extensions you have been involved with?

Some recent extremely exciting creator partnerships include building out Hasan Piker’s union-made apparel line, Ideology, in addition to developing the Hex brand with Dawko, collaborating with the popular game series Five Nights at Freddy’s and operating LilyPichu’s first ever live concert – ComfiBeats – and launching an exclusive collection on the same day.