Team Insight

The team headwear business continues to face down supply chain disruptions and style changes. By Carly Russo TEAM HEADWEAR L ast year's many headaches in the team headwear business were largely due to the residual effects of lockdowns and varying state mandates as a result of COVID-19. But one problem certainly reigned supreme, causing the biggest migraines for team dealers across the country — supply chain disruptions. Shipment delays, backorders and limited stock made it very difficult for teams to get their heads into the right caps in 2022 and many team dealers could not foresee any improvements happening in 2023. ough their prospects were grim up until just about six months ago, to many dealers' surprise supply chain issues have started to ease as the upcoming spring baseball season approaches. "It's significantly improved, but teams are still ordering what's available," says Matt Clark, owner of Posey's Sports Center, Natchitoches, LA. "Pacific Headwear and e Game have been great at delivering on time." Last year many teams had to deal with slim pickings when it came to selecting their caps, with little guarantee that they would even receive the caps they ordered. is year, it seems that there are still specific styles that are hard for teams to get their hands on, but the caps they order are much more likely to be fulfilled and delivered on time. "A lot of companies have decreased the amount of SKUs they have in stock. You can get everything but one size sometimes," reports Betsy Frey, owner of Holyoke Sporting Goods, Holyoke MA. Gaps in inventory were a frequent problem in 2022, with many dealers scrambling to find other suppliers that could fill the holes in their orders, in addition to distributors who were buying up stock and selling it at a higher price, which created some concerns for coaches last season. According to Clark, companies are doing a better job this year supplying caps at all levels. "Cap America and Pacific Headwear are doing great for youth sports," he says. Completing the Order is problem with missing inventory may not be totally resolved in 2023, though it seems dealers aren't feeling as pressed to turn to ad- ditional suppliers and distributors to complete their orders. For Frey, this concern is definitely not as prevalent as it was at this time last year and hasn't posed as much of an issue for the teams in her area. She, like many others, started ordering several months ahead of time to ensure they would get what they wanted. Last year, the struggle of finding matching caps and shirts to complete teams' uniforms was paramount, with lead times taking up to a minimum of six weeks. To prepare for this year, Frey did everything in her power to avoid the stress she felt last season. "I wasn't putting up with that mess," she says in reference to the number of backorders she experienced the year prior. "I only have one school missing their shipment. Everyone is getting the styles they want unless the company has discontinued it." is proves to be a big improvement from last season when Frey had to give teams whatever styles she could get in stock. Even the All Star teams had to sacrifice their special uniforms and swap them out for simpler styles in order to be sure they'd have caps that matched their shirts. "Most of the experienced coaches ordered earlier," says Clark, who took the same approach as Frey to avoid as many obstacles in outfitting teams as he could. Although for newer coaches in the game who did not order as early, they can expect to run into some minor issues with backorders, he reports. at's not to say that 2023 supply chain challenges have alleviated for team dealers everywhere. While those such as Clark and Frey are feeling more at ease this year, other dealers are still struggling to receive their shipments from overseas. "I see 2023 being another challenging year. e supply chain shortages remain a 20 • Team Insight ~ January/February 2023 teaminsightmag.com BACK ON TOP

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