Springing Forward In Style

It has been a few weeks since the last entry mainly due to the busy spring season.  We have begun rolling out some new products including the UltraClub Men’s 100% Cotton Solid Color Egyptian Pima Golf Shirt and the companion UltraClub Ladies 100% Cotton Solid Color Egyptian Pima Golf Shirt both of which are priced just over $16 which includes a logo and delivery.   We are rapidly becoming big fans of the UltraClub line and will continue to add several products from the line each day over the next few weeks and expect to have the complete line up in the next week.  With free setup, free shipping and with up to 8,000 stitches and polybagging we believe we are offering a superior value.   Following closely on the heals of UltraClub will be Charles River which continues to expand their offering in this market.  After searching today Stellar Apparel appears to offer the best value currently on Charles River goods and services.  

 Back on the “green” side, UltraClub has also rolled out UltraClub Organic Men’s Ring-Spun Organic Cotton Short-Sleeve Tee which is made entirely of certified organic cotton.  One of the questions we keep getting is on the location of the cotton.  This will vary depending on the brand but is often times being sourced domestically.  We are trying to get official statements from each of the major brands and will report back what we find.  as so many new products are being introduced at one time it is making the rollout a little less smooth than normal for most of the major vendors.  This should ease in the coming weeks.   The popularity of these products is still high but with prices continuing to increase it remains to be seen whether consumers will choose the more expensive organic and recycled items over the regular cotton products.  Our guess is many companies will continue to purchase the “green” items as it not only makes sense for the environment but also produces favorable press in most cases.

Beyond the addition of the UltraClub line the Zippo Business Card Holder is one of the many new products from Zippo.  More ornamental than functional the holder provides a bold statement in a neat package.  It is also reasonably priced for a higher quality laser engraved item.  Zippo has introduced a bundle of products this season into the promo marketplace.  We are still uncertain as to the overall appeal but will continue to add them as is reasonable.

Despite the recession business is strong through traditional person to person selling as has always been the case.   Even with the difficult financial news banks and brokers continue to gear up for their spring and summer events at a pace consistent with previous years.  Obviously real estate offices are not purchasing like they did in previous years but that business is easily made up elsewhere with some foot and phone work.  With dedicated staff now selling in every region and with  the addition of our first partnered embroidery facility on the West Coast we continue to maximize our reach while minimizing costs to the consumer.   Indeed a price check of the items above today shows an average 10-15% cost savings at published internet prices.  With the removal of setup charges and reduction and or elimination in shipping charges the price value combination is very difficult to beat.  With the majority of products being offered by all of us in the industry coming from the same factories the only difference between businesses is the level of service and ultimately the price.   In addition a growing number of distributors are importing directly from China and likewise we expect to begin offering a limited number of items directly imported by June.  Unlike many others we expect to be able to offer these items on a reasonably quick turnaround that is comparable to traditional sourcing.  On average we expect the savings to provide an additional 20% discount over traditional prices.  These products are often identical and in many cases produced in the same factories as the “branded” products but at significant discounts.  We will not offer items that are in direct competition with our preferred vendors as we greatly respect these relationships but instead will look for adjunct products not carried by our current preferred vendors nor likely to ever be carried.  These products in addition to almost 2000 additional products will become active on the site over the next few weeks in a staggered fashion with a focus on the most popular products from the reputable vendors. 

Five Or Six For Friday

It has been well over a week since our last update.  Typical end of month business issues and other pressing matters slowed the normal update cycle of this journal which will now resume a more normal schedule.  Business continues strong with the golf season now upon us. 

High end promotional golf bags such as the Callaway Terrafirma X Stand Bag will likely dominate the market this spring.  Callaway is an ever popular name offering status, style and quality in one convenient promotional golf bag package.  Callaway offers a comprehensive line of products including golf balls, golf bags and other golf items and accessories.

We have also added a couple of new briefs including the Leeds Incline Deluxe Brief which is part of the larger line of incline products.  All are reasonably priced and offer excellent quality construction with 600d materials.  We like this piece as it features dual role capabilities as both a carry bag and a shoulder bag.  The Leeds Urban Passage Vertical Pack has a shoulder strap and hideaway backpack straps which means it too fits the dual roll as a shoulder bag or backpack.  Technically you could probably cram a small laptop in this pack as well but remember it is not heavily padded so you would want to be careful not to damage the laptop when removing the pack from your back.   The last dual role pack to be added this week was the Leeds Transit Deluxe Compu Messenger Bag at around $20.  This is another one of those promotional items that has a name that irks us a bit.  It would be nice if in the year 2008 ASI or PPAI could pull all of their members together and establish standardized names for products.  Some manufacturers would call this a straight computer bag, others computer brief and still others compu messenger bags.  Sometimes the manufacturers will use a dash other times they do not.  It greatly confuses customers as one vendors brief is another vendors messenger bag.  It does not appear to be intentional rather it is the result of confused marketing efforts in many cases.

Rounding out the golf bag category we have added two others on either side of the price spectrum.  Adidas is now into the golf bag market with the Adidas Ascend Stand Bag which offers our customers a name brand with high perceived value, snazzy colors and a reasonable price.  For those looking for the Nike brand we have added the Nike Slingshot OSS Cart Bag which is designed solely for cart use.  Like all Nike products this item must be embroidered with your logo prior to sale. 

 Beyond adding new products like all businesses we are dealing with the fallout from current economic conditions.  The slowdown has become particularly evident in the later part of February and March with many vendors reporting sharp slowdowns in sales.  Regions hit hardest by the housing woes are subsequently the slowest for our business and most businesses at this point in time.  The benefits from tax rebates obviously have not hit yet and the trickle down effects to the small business sector will not be felt for months.  In the meantime like all other small businesses we continue to actively promote our business.   Right now that means longer hours and days to maintain growth.   As has always been the case we continue to actively promote our business through sales in the field via telemarketing and other person to person selling methods.  To date these remain by far the most effective.

Moving on to politics – and again we do not endorse or make donations to individual candidates or parties, the events of the past week are remarkable.  Senator Clinton has gone from front-runner to odds on favorite to quit the race on Wednesday to once again be considered the leading candidate.  Neither candidate can win the number of delegates required to win the nomination and will have to rely on super delegates to secure the nomination.  Looking at the national polls from various site aggregators the gap has been closed and is now within the margin of error.  Stunning really that this is evidently going to come down to the home stretch when a year ago it looked like Senator Clinton was the easy winner and two weeks ago it appeared Senator Obama was the easy winner.  My take is that it will come down to who hits the hot streak over the next few weeks.