Nicolita
Nicolita

In the season two premiere of “Billion Dollar Buyer,” Tilman Fertitta meets with Nicole DiRocco of Nicolita Swimwear, inspired by her Cuban heritage. They have been forced to start over after failing to move forward.

Their no pinch Cuban-style swimwear aims to better flatter women’s figures and Fertitta finds it unique, backed up by customers. He calls it “a great American success story” but, given they’ve been in business for 13 years, Fertitta is concerned over their low sales and lack of brand building. Sixty percent of her sales come from private label, meaning that the Nicolita name is not promoted, while 40 percent comes from the website. He believes she needs to get into retail to really increase sales.

Nicolita’s challenge is to test her swimwear options with the H2O swimwear uniforms. At her warehouse, “Bikini Expert” Fertitta reviews their process and new uniform prototypes. Fertitta says the uniform designs are disappointing given that they are so similar to the existing uniforms. He likes the cut, but not the price point. He encourages her to do a product test after changing the design a bit more.

Presenting her new designs, which include a solid color palette and sexy factor, Fertitta asks if the designs are a joke given that they are not family-appropriate. The next option, a tankini, doesn’t totally win them over either given that there’s still sheerness in the fabric. The last design goes over extremely well given its “fresh,” “clean” look.

Bringing her uniform designs to the meeting with Fertitta, he says he likes the different styles while DiRocco proposes that he buy 200 bikini/sarong sets for $67 each and an additional 200 bikinis and 200 cover ups for $64 and $50 each, respectively, for retail sales. Fertitta is concerned as to whether or not she can handle selling in retail, which she assures him she is. He ultimately offers to buy more than 1,000 uniforms at $67 each, in addition to putting the swimwear in seven stores. She accepts the deal, valued at more than $175,000—having successfully “scaled up” rather than gave up.

Social Media Reacts to Nicolita’s Appearance on “Billion Dollar Buyer”

What did you think of Nicolita swimwear? Did you like Fertitta’s offer? Sound off in the comments section below!