Team Insight

premium bells and whistles to help you perform at the highest levels." "There is a change of perspective when a sock becomes part of an athlete's gear versus being a commodity," says Margaret Newhard, direc- tor of product management for Wigwam Mills. "Socks can boost performance and enhance the fit of the shoe and they should be thought of as an investment and not a consumable good." Wigwam is introducing its SynchroKnit sock now. "SynchroKnit is a completely new tech- nology in sock construction that results in an unrivaled non-slip fit by strategically reduc- ing bulk and excess yarn, so the sock hugs the details of the foot, cradles the arch and provides just the right amount of room in the toe box," says Newhard." We are introducing it initially in a running sock but we anticipate the technology will be used in many other applications." I Need THIS Sock Technical socks engineered to meet the needs of specific sports are almost always an individual purchase. The more serious the athlete, the more they demand of their sock's fit and performance. Dealers with retail outlets carry a variety of socks depending on their market, picking and choosing socks that will move off the shelves. "We have a unique retail situation in that it is team-based," says Maddox. "We have a whole sock wall that features the exact same socks our teams buy – every color, every sport – so they can buy it online in the team stores or at our retail store." He also carries some specialty compression socks from McDavid, Zero Point and Twin City Knitting. "For baseball and softball, the FP0TK sock from Twin City is very popular. It's an over-the-knee sock with compression and protection zones for sliding," says Maddox. "It's not inexpensive at $19.95, but it's a very good true compression performance sock and we carry it in five or six colors." Nicklasson Athletic's More stocks socks from Under Armour and Twin City Knitting. "These are the socks worn by local teams. The most expensive sock in our retail store is a $10 sock from Under Armour," he says. Although not usually held in stock, team deal- ers will order specialty socks on request. "We have some tennis teams that order a specialty sock that is technically designed to accommo- date all the hot spots with all the starting and stopping," says Sutton. When custom socks are requested, sublimated socks from Twin City Knitting and ProFeet fit the bill. "These are all-over designs that we create on a builder. Sublimation allows you to do virtually any design in any color way," says Sutton. "We have some middle school basketball teams that order custom socks, as well as soccer teams who want a jazzed up sock as an alternative." Custom socks make a statement and celebrate team pride. Huckabee sells custom order subli- mated socks to some of his travel teams. "These are 100 percent custom socks that feature the desired artwork, name and number. We upload a build and get exactly what the team wants," he says. Maddox serves a few local private schools by furnishing a logoed sock approved to be worn with school uniforms. "We sell very few custom socks, but private schools with dress codes will order a very specific logo sock. This is a Twin City dye sublimation sock in navy with the school logo," he says. Sales of custom socks sales have declined for More's customers. "I know there are deal- ers in other areas of the country where custom socks are all the rage, but that is not the case here," he says. "With school budget cuts, our customers are not willing to pay extra for an upper-end sock." Boosting Sock Revenue Maddox sells additional socks online in high school spirit stores. "These are either socks that go with workout gear or socks that the coach has made a required purchase," he says. While sock margins are generally good, all-school contracts negatively impact prof- itability. "Around here the all-school brand contract deals have become a big deal at the larger high schools, especially for football and soccer. They want to wear head-to toe brand like the colleges," says Maddox. "Teams will even choose to wait for the branded sock to become available rather than ordering something else," he adds. "Because there's a contract with a set discount, there's not a lot of margin to be made. We would prefer to sell Twin City socks because there's more value — it's as good or better sock for less price." Sutton uses team web stores as a convenient ordering mechanism for recreation league uniforms, certainly including socks. "We set up a web store so they can order and pay online. This usually includes a home and away sock for baseball, same sock in two different colors," he says. "The sock market has changed with all the technical athletic shoes and it helps us sell more socks to some degree," says Huckabee. "There's not a whole lot of markup on socks, but we do make money and every bit helps. We occasionally have a sock in our online team stores." More doesn't usually sell socks in online team stores. "A lot of times the kids need the socks faster than the three or four weeks it takes to make delivery from an online store," he says. n 46 Team Insight ~ May/June 2019 teaminsightmag.com APPAREL SOCKS ASI 55752 UPIC GAME0001 SAGE 50417 PPAI 111401 800.688.GAME (4263) www.GAMESPORTSWEAR.com //STYLE 5000 //STYLE 500W Unmatched for over 45 years! Proudly Made in the USA Highest Quality Available Fast Turnaround on Stock Orders and Amazing Custom Jackets Full Service Design and Embellishment The Nation's Varsity Jacket Leader GSW_Team Insight 5000 Qtr Ad_v3.qxp_Layout 1 5/13/19 12:24 PM Page 1

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