sportstyle

6 • May/June 2023 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com S ky Manufacturing, which started as a private label sock brand in 2019 has quickly grown into a top private label apparel brand for running stores across the country. And now the company is expanding into the outdoor market as well. "Sky's goal is to help every one of our accounts build the best brand on the planet — their very own brand — 'e Best Brand Is Your Brand,'" explains Carrie Larscheid, sales manager at Sky. "Our goal is ease of business, best in class service, and quality products to cover all private label needs. In fact, our entire product collection has been built through collaboration between our retail partners. We truly listen to our retailers needs and value their feedback." Founder Keaton Hendricks, who initially launched Sky to fill what he saw as a need for a private label running sock, quickly saw more potential and expanded to apparel. Sky now has a full private label apparel collection for stores to display, sell, and make excellent margins. Sky does not sell anything with the "Sky logo" — it focuses on building the products its retail partners are requesting. A few reasons why Sky believes so strongly in private label, according to Larscheid: Customers go back to the store they purchased from — no going online or to a direct website to purchase additional colors and styles; Margins: 60% starting margin for all Sky apparel; Price Points: Stores can sell their own premium brand at a lower price-point with better margins; Branding: Customers want to support their favorite local stores and retailers can build their own brand with premium products. Sky currently works with about 250 running specialty accounts across the U.S. and is working on opening outdoor accounts and expanding into the outdoor world. Sky is attending the Outdoor 360 and Grassroots trade events this June for the first time. "Quality is the most important thing to us as a company," says Larscheid. "We send a lot of samples out so our customers can review fabric and fit to determine what is the best assortment for their store." Its broad range of offerings include everything from running apparel that is lifestyle/active focused to technical apparel. EcoTech is a new private label apparel offering at Sky available in its Spring / Summer 2023 line in Women's Short Sleeve, Women's Strap Tank, Men's Short Sleeve, and Men's Singlet. EcoTech is sourced entirely from repurposed plastic. It is designed to behave like polyester, yet delivers exceptional comfort, durability, and high-level performance. Newly launched this spring, the men's Hydrotech Ever yday Short and women's Essential Running Short from Sky are packed with style and performance features. n REACHING FOR THE SKY Sky Manufacturing's range of apparel offerings includes the new Hydrotech Everyday short, shown here. Sky Manufacturing THE BUZZ

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