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Wednesday
August 5, 2009 Sales Dish of the Day: Sell High-End Apparel DecorationFiled under: Sales Dish of the Day Four ways to convince clients on the use of more expensive decoration techniques, from Deborah Jones, founder of www.myembroiderymentor.com, and Joyce Jagger, the Embroidery Coach (www.theembroiderycoach.com): 1. An embroidered garment is more durable than a screen-printed item, so the customer will be wearing it to the mall a year from now, instead of wearing it while mowing the lawn. 2. An embroidered item is easier to care for than a screen-printed item. It can be washed like any other garment without turning it inside out or removing it early from the dryer. 3. Adding one-of-a-kind or exclusive designs to apparel (such as a custom monogram) will raise the value of the item and give customers the feeling of wearing designer clothing without the high-end price tag. 4. Offering uncommon add-ons such as sequins to a pair of jeans or a denim shirt can increase the item’s perceived value much more than a normal embroidered design and can command a much higher retail price. – Shane Dale – From Counselor’s 2009 State of the Industry
Sunday
January 18, 2009 Apparel: The Survey Says!My sixth-grade teacher once asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and, without hesitation, I blurted out “Game Show Host!” Of course, this admission became increasingly odder and more uncomfortable as each male student after me proclaimed aspirations of a more manly nature … you know, like cop, fireman or breakdancer (did I mention these were the 80s?). My shortsightedness to feign an interest in what was cool or acceptable at the time resulted in a good, old-fashioned playground pummeling, and I never again spoke about an interest in game shows … until now!
And today I get that chance … well, minus the kissing. WELCOME TO FAMILY FEUD, PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS-STYLE! With this month’s release of its annual Apparel Sales Survey, Counselor magazine has given me the opportunity I have waited a lifetime for … to take the big stage and ask you, the family audience, questions about a topic that we have surveyed — in this case, distributor apparel sales. DIRECTIONS: I’ll provide you with the question posed to industry distributors along with their top answers in random order, and you try to guess which one is the most popular. The winner gets, well, not much, maybe a mention in the blog and a Coke or something, but it’s the best we can do with the economy and all. So be sure to send your answers to feedback@asicentral.com with a listing of all your answers. Got it? Then let’s play the feud!
QUESTION 2: In 2008, which category specified had the highest percent of distributor apparel sales? Top 4 answers are on the board:
QUESTION 3: Relative to all distributor promotional products sales, how would you say sales of apparel have changed over the past year? Top 3 answers are on the board:
QUESTION 4: How did distributor sales volume in uniforms change within the past year? Top 3 answers are on the board:
QUESTION 5: What are the top three purposes for the promotional apparel distributors sell? Top 3 answers are on the board:
QUESTION 6: What are the top markets of apparel purchases? Top 8 answers are on the board:
QUESTION 7: Which category specified represents the highest percentage of overall distributor apparel sales? Top 5 answers are on the board:
QUESTION 8: How important do distributors believe brand names are to promotional apparel sales? Top 5 answers are on the board:
QUESTION 9: What percentage of distributor wearables purchases are manufactured outside the U.S.? Top 3 answers are on the board:
QUESTION 10: Compared to 2007, has the amount of product distributors decorated in-house changed? Top 3 answers are on the board:
QUESTION 11: What percent of all distributor apparel purchases are blanks? Top 5 answers are on the board:
Don’t forget to send answers now and check the blog often for results. Of course, if you want to see how you did, just check out the updated Apparel Research section of ASICentral for the Counselor Apparel Sales Survey … but not before you send your answers! “Love ya, will see ya here on the feud” (I just had to sign off like Richard — he’d be proud.) –TheKissingBandit
Monday
December 29, 2008 Wearables Apparel Design AwardsFiled under: Awards
Hot off the press, the 2009 Wearables Apparel Design Awards page is now live and available on ASICentral.com by clicking here. In this second annual awards program, Wearables — one of our seven magazines (www.wearablesmag.com) — went in search of the most attractive and functionally designed apparel and ad specialty accessories to hit the market. The following are the categories represented in the awards:
So, what are you waiting for?! Check out the Wearables Apparel Design Awards now! – DieselMC |
Plunked in front of a TV set like 
