In the last decade, the ASI industry (advertising specialty incentives) has boomed. Many in the apparel industry are finding that the addition of ad specialty products is working wonders for them. Uniform and career apparel manufacturer Executive Apparel is one such company. "We've focused on the ad specialty sector in recent years as one of our primary marketplaces," relates Donald Singer, the company's president. "We have seen the level of enthusiasm for our products there grow drastically since the days when our sole focus was the police and fire uniform market where the sales strategies were more traditional. There now seems to be a new spark of creativity that is less dependent upon the clothing itself and more dependent upon results and feelings that the clothing generates for the end user. I, myself, find this aspect very stimulating."
It is exactly this sentiment that may explain part of ASI's popularity. Erwin Schiowitz, the senior vice president of special markets at Van Heusen, a manufacturer with brand names in numerous industries, understands that ad specialty is more than just promotional products. "Apparel is a lot more personal of an item. Who cares about the quality of a paperweight? The only thing that matters is that it is heavy. With apparel, however, we are talking about a personal garment that people are going to wear--and it has come a long way from the early days when it was limited to T-shirts, caps and sweatshirts."
Gone are the days of only simple items, replaced by a diversity of items ranging from fleece pullovers to logo'd collars and cuffs to imprinted hosiery. As an example, Schiowitz cites golf shirts as an effective means of mobile advertising specialty, whether it identifies a company or the name of a sports outing or some other event. He says, "There are so many options today of first-rate quality with subtle embroidery--that a stock knit shirt can look every bit as good as designer wear."
Aaron Krumbein, president of Images Alive, a Deerfield, Ill.-based ad specialty dealer, relates that when he entered the ASI business over 12 years ago, it was a whole different ball game. "Back then, if you wanted a golf shirt with a red and blue stripe on it, you had to go buy the yarn, have it knit into fabric, sized, and then have it cut and sewn. In the last five to seven years, many major mills and hundreds of micro-mills have spun off from their parent companies--CEOs have decided to open their own businesses--and can produce a line of 20 golf shirts and show them to clients without the need to produce something that is precisely custom. Today, the stock variety out there is vast, whereas before it wasn't." Krumbein points to the sheer size of apparel catalogs, which a decade ago numbered 50-60 pages and today can be as large as 250 pages, as evidence of the market's growing popularity.
Donald Singer echoes this notion of ever expanding product lines that include more choices then ever before. "Companies that hope to capitalize on the apparel end of the ad specialty products market must come to grips with a marketplace that has always sold a simple product; simple to make, simple to personalize and supplied by companies who are exceptional in providing instant service. Simple alpha-sized clothing is the obvious apparel product of choice in this marketplace."
When it comes to employers purchasing ad specialty apparel for their employees, Krumbein advises them to make sure that in this day and age when people are looking for more money--that money isn't necessarily the answer. "Personalized, logo'd apparel is a valuable way for an employer to demonstrate his appreciation for what an employee has done."
He continues, "In a resellers' market, it is the person's job who is selling to those end users to make clear what is available, to make clear that the project an employee is working on is a stepping stone to something else and that employees are supposed to be doing this all the time. The Christmas season shouldn't be the only time an employer gives something to his staff. It should be done throughout the year. In fact, Christmas is probably the worst time, since you're getting stuff from everywhere else all at the same time."
It should be an ongoing practice, according to Krumbein. "The salesman's job should be to say, 'Okay, what are you doing to give your employees incentive--to wipe up an oil spill on the floor so someone doesn't slip and lose a workday.' So it is our job as the people who are selling to those end users to say, 'here is the merchandise you can offer to companies to give as incentives to their clients and to motivate their employees.' "
He cites an example of a client for whom Images Alive developed a system to help managers motivate employees to increase productivity without further constraining their budget. This was done through a program of "symbolic currency." "Basically, every time a manager notices an employee doing something on his own (without being told)," explains Krumbein, "the manager awards him with one of these 'dollars' which he can use to buy company-branded merchandise. There are different levels; for 25 company 'dollars' an employee can purchase a quality embroidered golf shirt; an embroidered parka for 40; and a logo'd commuter mug for five. They do, per division, probably $50,000 a year in apparel business with Images Alive. I would guess that the $50,000 is maybe going against $250,000 worth of perceived money in raises and/or bonuses. Employees appreciate it, and management sees improved employee motivation in taking on tasks they otherwise might not seek out."
When asked about advice for dealers, Singer focuses on service: "The ad specialty marketplace is providing services in almost every venue that does business in the U.S., not to mention worldwide. They are providing a useful service and doing it well. We all need to recognize the many parallels that exist between their vision, and the vision of the traditional white and blue goods uniform dealers. Therein the opportunity lies."
Schiowitz recommends dealers who concentrate on the traditional uniform business in which they are successful should familiarize themselves with the distribution avenues and the suppliers in the ASI market. Furthermore, he suggests that dealers have their outside sales force get into this business. "And I would suggest career apparel uniform dealers become specialists in wearable ad specialties. Don't try to compete with them on other items based on low margins. Compete on the wearable side of the business. Concentrate on the merchandise you know best in traditional uniforms AND wearables."
The best word to describe the change in the ASI business is probably "convergence." The lines are continually being blurred between who's buying and who is selling. Schiowitz agrees. "Not only is the end use blurred, but the method of marketing is, as well. In the old days, it was the uniform dealer and distributor that would get an order for a company who wanted to outfit 30 salesmen for some kind of outing or event. They would come through him in his capacity as a uniform retailer. But now that apparel is available via the ASI niche, the customer may now go to the guy who sells him the paperweights--because he is able to get him a shirt--and have it produced with the company logo--and have it embroidered for him just as easily as he could get the paperweight."
Singer relates that this ASI specialist is now calling on companies that purchase uniforms with the sales pitch, " 'If it is basically a pique shirt or a white oxford with your company logo that you need--we can do that, too.'
"Currently, with promotional product reps there are more outside sales people--pushing and selling--and they are often reps who never touch the merchandise. These are the guys who sometimes get forced into the uniform business. It's harder for them to understand the uniform business because once they are into the simple wearables business, they don't always understand the more complicated uniform side of it."
On the other hand, Singer notes that the uniform guys who sell security guard shirts, fire, police and some career apparel may not have the same contacts and ability to sell ASI as those who specialize in it. Those companies still need to look at promotional products, Singer feels, "because of a lot of other factors, not the least of which is industrial launderers and other manufacturers selling direct. This is leaving uniform dealers with bits and pieces out there and they are getting squeezed between their traditional competitors and an army of ASI reps, maybe 30,000-40,000 people selling it. In the uniform business you can add up maybe a couple thousand people involved in selling. So there is a squeeze." In other words, competition. The industry will continue to be in flux, that is without a doubt. But there will surely be many who rise to the challenge.
It's messy out there, but all agree that the pens and paperweights of yesteryear are on the wane as the variety of branded apparel begins to expand. Says Krumbein, "I think that the business consumer is more savvy to the fact that spending more and giving a highly perceived value item is better than spending less and reaching more people but giving them trinkets that they will toss in their circular files."
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