Team Insight

any delays in teams receiving their shipments. However, those who tried to prepare this year came up short as sock sales did not come in as hot as planned. "Typically you can anticipate a certain level of sales, but this year is a weird year," says Nan. "For the most part sales are down across the board." Fortunately, in these times of uncertainty in the sock market, not all dealers are feeling the hit of losing their normal level of sock business. "Socks are just an add-on for me, so the drop in sales is not as prevalent," says Covington. Although the sales are down, they are not gone completely. Dealers are still fulfilling orders for socks on some levels, but not in the same capacity. "Seventy-five to 85 percent of what I sell is the basic sock for baseball," says Kennedy. ough Kennedy reports he is still doing some custom business, it is only roughly 10 percent of what he sells these days. Teams seem to be happy with just a plain and simple sock, which was also the norm last season and a trend born in the COVID-induced supply shortages of the past couple of seasons. "Teams are ordering mostly stock from us," says David Mauch, who handles purchasing at Lima Sporting Goods, Lima, OH. Another common theme among teams this year is lack of brand preference. Whereas certain vendors used to be popular among coaches and athletes, the name brands don't matter as much this year. "Coaches seem to be instructing players to wear certain colors, not certain brands or styles," says Covington. "We still try to support sock manu- facturers and buy, but it's not what it used to be." Part of this decision comes from the players, who are consumed year-round with sports, with little time in between seasons. As a result, socks are of minor importance to athletes who are gearing up for a different sport each season. "A lot of the kids that help coaches make buying decisions are multi-sport athletes, so they are not thinking ahead to the next season," says Kennedy. A positive for team dealers is that supply chain issues seem to be a thing of the past, which means ordering uniforms as a whole has become relatively painless in comparison to recent years. "Supply chain has been really good compared to the past couple of years," says Nan. Though Kennedy reports that his retail business is still seeing some delays, his team business is back to normal standards. But now a new challenge has raised its ugly head: Rising costs. "It's crazy how much costs have gone up," says Nan, who feels that many people order individually online from large sports retailers rather than with their teams at their local store to save money. With that in mind, Covington feels that manufacturers have had to re-invent their sock business to keep up with the ever-changing consumer demand. What used to be standard across the board seems to change from season to season as sock vendors are offering more features such as sublimation. "I think the times are just changing," he says. n teaminsightmag.com November/December 2023 ~ Team Insight • 32 Fully Complies with New NFHS Rule As of the 2023-24 seasons, all female high school wrestlers must compete in a bra designed specially for wrestling. Our new bra provides the right amount of coverage while still matching up with the cut of a singlet. HEARD NEW RULE? HAVE YOU ABOUT THE Shop our website! www.cliffkeen.com Sport Bra intro - Team Insight Half Page.indd 1 Sport Bra intro - Team Insight Half Page.indd 1 10/31/23 2:55 PM 10/31/23 2:55 PM

• Cover