Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1510838
With supply chain concerns lessened, new challenges impact the sock business at the team level. By Carly Russo TEAM SOCKS CHANGING SOCKS J ust like every other segment within the team sports business, the team sock market has experienced a basket full of changes in the past few years, from supply chain issues to ditching custom for plain socks last season to a point where teams had to adapt to wearing any sock that was available to them. Now a new challenge has arisen — one that has come as a surprise to some team dealers who typically have a reliable sock business season aer season. It seems that teams are buying less socks than in the past. What was once a uniform staple seems to be an aerthought for teams, with much of the sale now being made directly to individuals, oen through online team stores. "Most of my teams do not spend money on socks, it's an extra add-on that the pro- gram fundraises for," explains John Kennedy, owner of Sportsmen's Den, Mt. Shasta, CA. e cause most likely stems from supply chain challenges the past few years to limited sock options. As a result teams were resorting to plain styles of socks in order to have a complete uniform. Even though there has been a slight return to previous product and style demand, buying habits do seem to have been changed. "Nobody is buying socks. People might be buying them online or elsewhere," laments Ryan Nan, manager of Yours and Mine Sports, Modesto, CA. A large component of this may have to do with the influence of coaches, especially younger coaches who are less focused on the accessories associated with uniforms such as socks and belts. "People forget about socks, belts and pants because they forget to order them when they're shopping online," says Nan. "For me, socks are still prevalent, but the change I've seen is that coaches are not em- phasizing consistency with shoes, which is affecting socks," says Jeff Covington, owner of Sports Spectrum, Chattanooga, TN. With shoes becoming more of an individu- alized choice, especially in basketball, players are given more liberty to choose what socks they want to pair with their shoes to help differentiate their personal style. "I am not seeing the team aspect in basketball as much anymore," says Kennedy. Player Styles Change Players seem to be more particular about their appearance, which has also sparked new trends, especially in baseball where players are wearing their pants rolled down, which makes their socks less apparent as part of their uniform. "Everyone being out on the field in the same sock is not as important as it once was," says Covington, who has certainly noticed this trend among the teams in his area. How this new buying trend in socks affects each team dealer's business varies. Some have felt the decrease in sales, while others may not be as focused on the decline in their sock business. "Our sock business these days is minimal at best, consisting mainly of solid color multi- sport tube socks purchased either by a school or travel team or by a parent at retail," says Jerry Luna, owner of First String Sports, Fresno, CA. "ey are definitely not a money driver in our product mix." Last season, many team dealers reported that the coaches treated socks as an aerthought, still wanting to order them but forgetting to include them in their initial orders. is caused dealers to plan ahead and order to help mitigate 31 • Team Insight ~ November/December 2023 teaminsightmag.com Photo: FilippoBacci/istock