Well I returned from the SGIA show sometime ago and have been following up with prospects since….The show went very well for us and I was able to speak with a lot of folks about where they think the industry heading. From my gatherings the decorated apparel industry is gradually moving its way more and more towards personalization/one offs. The popularity of direct to garment printing, overall heat press sales, and overall interest in something that trumps garment printing exemplifies this.It seems that screen printing is still pretty strong, but it is my interpretation that this technology is becoming highly competitive and profit margins are steadily decreasing as more competition (both nationally and internationally) enter the picture. It still appears that the most successful businesses, regardless of the process are gaining the majority of their business by targeting a niche market from a marketing standpoint and expanding from there.
For instance, one company advertises their ability to service one off text based personalization with a variety of special effects such as glitter, metallic, flock etc. After they get a customer to try them for a small order they expand into bulk orders, stickers, mugs etc.
Its all about getting a customer to try you in some capacity and garnering their trust for larger orders and smaller orders of different types. In order to do this its important to have versatile equipment and/or a variety of equipment to service the needs of your clients. It is also important to network and obtain key contacts to where you can contract out certain types of jobs until you have the money to invest in the equipment needed.
Anyways, the show was great and more info to come….
Hope everyone enjoyed their Turkey Day and retail sales Friday! Hopefully, you’ve found a way to garner sales out of the holiday season – because Christmas is a great time to be in the personalization business. Get a heat press.
