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Wearables remains the top-selling promotional product category Sales estimates of promotional products indicates that wearables remains the most popular category, accounting for 29.9 percent of distributor sales, slightly higher than last year’s 29.5 percent. The Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) report of 2004 distributor sales states that the apparel industry has continued to show steady growth during the last three years. “It makes sense that logoed apparel has a long-standing place as the largest product segment of the promotional products industry because they exemplify the essence of what a promotional product is designed to accomplish,” says PPAI President Steve Slagle. “They are practical, personal, useful and appreciated. And when the recipients wear them on the golf course, to work, to the grocery store or at the mall, they can be a very powerful  advertising medium for any business, serving as a third-party endorsement.” The growth of the wearables segment continues to be impressive. A full 47% of respondents to the distributor survey reported seeing the greatest increase in sales in the wearables category compared to 2003. When looking at products in particular, they went further to specify that they had seen increasing sales of products like golf shirts. The second largest category in terms of sales continues to be writing instruments, a decade-long tradition, with 10.6% of the market, followed by calendars (7.4% of the market) and a new category, drinkware (6.2% of the market). The components of the drinkware category were distributed  across several different categories in previous years.

Fashion is taking a backseat to functionality, but in most cases you can have it all

Pat Grady remembers a particular hunt for women’s corporate branded apparel that felt more like stalking an elusive antique.

“It was only five or six years ago,” says Brady, the senior design manager for the Promotional Products Group at BI, a business improvement company based in Minneapolis. “The client was looking specifically for women’s apparel and I struggled to get half of a rolling rack of merchandise. I wouldn’t have worn any of it to work, but I brought it in to show her that I made the effort.”

That was then. Now, when clients request to see what Grady has to offer in women’s wear, it’s a veritable fashion show.

Fashion Fast Forwards

The swift emergence of women’s lines in the world of corporate branded apparel coincides with the increased presence over the last five years of name-brand fashions and the more immediate availability of contemporary styles. If it’s hot at retail – whether it’s Nike, Perry Ellis or Bill Blass – there is minimal lag time between its introduction at Saks Fifth and its availability with suppliers like Grady. Suppliers that always have focused on the corporate apparel market also have drastically increased their women’s lines, a welcomed if not tardy shift in attitude.

“There just weren’t many options or choices,” Grady says. “Anytime I asked a supplier what they had in women’s apparel, they’d look at me and say, ‘We’re not in that market. It really doesn’t sell.’ Finally, enough women complained and [suppliers] realize now that if they are not in the women’s market, they may not be in the men’s market. Corporate America realizes that women comprise a big portion of the work force and it wants to make sure that they are taken care of.”

“Women are at least 50 percent of the market,” agrees Ira Neaman, president of Vantage Apparel, a leading provider of corporate branded clothing. “The women’s piece doesn’t have to be a downsize of the men’s version. It’s a unique silhouette with unique attributes that make it very fashionable. They are built with the style and fashion of anything that would be found at retail.”

Neaman says Vantage’s new lines for women introduce more color options and customization can be a better fit for women’s clothing. “The palette has broadened and you might even use a different logo that is a soft cursive and more tonal.”

Beyond Polos

The move to accommodate women’s branded apparel initially meant offering the classic polo shirt in a woman’s cut, but it has moved well beyond that. In fact, ladies’ polos do fair at best, says Bruce Ross, founder and president of Imagemark (www.imagemark.com), a Milwaukee-based branded apparel supplier.

Imagemark’s understanding of what works in women’s corporate lines stems from the company’s roots in women’s fashions, Ross says. Current trends include three-quarter sleeve blouses and cotton or mercerized fashion silhouettes. The objective is to get something that your recipients would wear if it wasn’t being branded.

“The real test is to cover up the logo that you’re putting on an item and then look at the piece. Would you buy it? Would you wear it? If you don’t like the style, how it feels or how it fits, the fact that it has a company name on it doesn’t automatically mean it’s going to be worn. That’s retail 101.”

Take some chances, advises Doug Kitrell, director of the Promotional Products Group at BI. One BI client, a Minneapolis-based direct seller of scrapbook materials, has a sales force that is predominantly made up of women. A company like that brings specific needs to the table, Kitrell says. Ultimately, what they use has to match up with what they’re trying to accomplish. He feels the typical corporate collection has been too safe for too long, favoring neutral tones that allow for using logos in conservative ways. BI introduces items for seasonality, just like the retail world.

“When your audience is primarily women, they generally have a more flamboyant fashion sense. You can’t just give everybody a basic white polo and change the logo every now and then. You have to have a point to what you do.”
 

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