Jim Sweeney Talks Growing Apparel Sales in Houston

August 23, 2023 // Franchising.com // HOUSTON, Texas – Jim and Jane Sweeney are the house owners of the Minuteman Press franchise in Houston, Texas for the final 29 years; they first joined Minuteman Press in June of 1994. Jim and Jane have accomplished an amazing job constructing their enterprise over time. Most lately, they’ve really excelled in rising their attire gross sales.

Jim summarizes: “The previous 2 years have actually been fascinating. We’re presently (as of July of 2023) working 30.5% forward of 2022 gross sales, which was up 35% over 2021. It looks as if the world (or our world anyway) got here out of its 2-year lengthy malaise in 2022.”

Jim shares extra particular particulars about his middle’s booming attire enterprise and the way he and Jane’s Minuteman Press franchise in Houston have completed such sturdy development of their attire gross sales. Their middle is positioned at 1040 Hercules Ave (Clear Lake Metropolis); Houston – Clear Lake Metropolis, TX 77058.

Rising the Enterprise

On rising the enterprise over the previous two years, Jim says, “In the course of the early pandemic we pivoted to non-public safety merchandise, which naturally led to customized face masks. Whereas Jane was busy truly stitching 1000 face masks, I used to be offering customized brand material masks to hospitals, medical workplaces, service suppliers, and faculties. We offered about 40,000 customized masks throughout that point, and we both warmth pressed them or despatched them to a neighborhood display print vendor. We additionally donated plenty of masks to colleges, non-profits, and so on.”

He continues, “Lastly, in 2022, our conventional printing was lastly beginning to climb again to pre-pandemic ranges. Promotional merchandise additionally grew as commerce reveals and advertising calls grew to become extra the norm. We additionally had a giant spurt of enormous format work, however that really slowed down a bit after that preliminary spurt. EDDM printing has additionally grow to be a bigger portion of our print gross sales As soon as we registered as EDDM suppliers on the USPS web site, we undoubtedly noticed a really giant enhance in unsolicited mail typically. Enterprise Card printing has all the time been large for us, and the addition of the Graphic Whizard slitter, cutter, creaser has made it much more worthwhile. Our advertising efforts consists of: heavy group involvement; unsolicited mail postcards, particularly this yr with the Deal of the Month artwork supplied by MMP company; website positioning/SEM on the Minuteman.com web site, and social media, particularly because it pertains to Direct to Movie Switch gross sales.”

Constructing a Booming Attire Enterprise

Customized branded attire is without doubt one of the methods Minuteman Press helps companies market themselves and construct model consciousness. Jim explains:

• “We actually began getting severe about attire about 8 years in the past after we bought a business embroidery machine. Then, about 5 years in the past, Jane put collectively a fantastic foyer presentation. This space options attire, giant format, and promotional gadgets of curiosity.
• We added dye sublimation capabilities with the Epson F570, after which we added DTG printing for one- offs (we ultimately offered the DTG printer). Throughout this time, we had been utilizing plenty of display printed transfers, principally from 613 originals or FM expressions. The problem grew to become turnaround time. It could take as much as 2 weeks to obtain these transfers, after which after all we needed to press them.
• We bought a second, after which a 3rd Stahls’ warmth press throughout this time. That’s after we determined to maneuver in to the Direct to Movie (DTF) printing enterprise. After going by means of a number of desktop transformed printers to attempt to print our personal transfers, about 2.5 years in the past we bought our first giant format, twin printhead DTF printer and finisher. Along with producing transfers for our in-house use, we’ve sufficient capability that we promote transfers to different printers, display printers, signal outlets and Fb Group/Etsy house owners. We added further capability with a 4 head DTF printer in January of this yr (we are going to more than likely be including a 3rd printer within the third quarter this yr).”

Jim continues: “Wholesale Switch printing is now roughly 20% of our month-to-month gross sales; we ship everywhere in the nation, with a every day capability for printing hundreds of transfers. Including embroidery and our in-house t-shirt gross sales makes attire roughly 30% of our month-to-month income.”

He provides, “Concurrently with this development in switch gross sales, the embroidery enterprise was taking off. We recurrently obtain orders for 10-50 polos or button-down shirts for embroidery. We landed a grocery retailer chain and a couple of native hospitals, and the orders grew to become 150-200 shirts at a time. This previous fall we accomplished a $24,000 jacket embroidery order, and we simply delivered $32,000 jacket order to that very same consumer, a hospital. After all, we use a trusted native vendor for bigger portions of jackets.”

“Our attire enterprise continues to develop weekly with extra, and bigger, in-house turn-key t-shirt gross sales actually ramping up.” -Jim Sweeney, proprietor, Minuteman Press, Houston/Clear Lake, Texas

3 tricks to develop an attire enterprise

Jim shares the next 3 recommendations on the right way to develop an attire enterprise:

“1. We really feel that the #1 factor that’s persevering with to drive our attire gross sales, along with the wholesale switch gross sales, is our foyer show. A number of years in the past, we put this show of attire samples, promotional gadgets, and a few of our giant format samples in our store. Every time a brand new, and even an present buyer comes into the store, invariably they’re drawn to this show. About 1 in 5 individuals who stroll into the store asks about one thing that they see on that show. We flip about 85% of these inquiries into gross sales.

2. It additionally helps that our CSR could be very educated about all features of attire, as she is about all of our services. Our CSR/manufacturing supervisor, our daughter Allison, was the shop supervisor at our Galveston location (which we offered in August of 2022), and has labored in each facet of our enterprise over time. I understand that not everybody could be this fortunate, nevertheless, that doesn’t cease you from coaching and offering your workers with the instruments that they should do their jobs effectively. SanMar has nice attire catalogs with swatch samples, and you may put collectively a easy attire web site utilizing their advertising instruments. After all, it additionally goes with out saying that everybody in your workers needs to be sporting brand shirts, to additional showcase your capabilities.

3. When you’ve got the chance, attend a neighborhood attire trade commerce present, an ASI present, and most particularly the MMP Worldwide World Expo. Educate your self, request samples, buy warmth press, begin small, with your individual shirts, then go to your present purchasers to indicate them your new capabilities. Attire is an ideal tie in to all the different providers that our outlets present to our purchasers. Attire gross sales spur printing gross sales, similar to printing gross sales ought to spur attire gross sales.”

Shopper Instance

Jim explains how he has helped meet all the attire wants for one in every of his purchasers, a neighborhood hospital. He shares: “Considered one of our common ordering attire purchasers is a neighborhood specialty hospital. Along with their hospital facility, in addition they personal or accomplice with 15 different bodily remedy facilities within the Houston area. We began out offering them with the same old printing and huge format merchandise, then contracted with them to offer new constructing signage for every of the outlying workplaces, after which grew into attire with them. We’ve them arrange on 2 Stahl’s Spirit Sale web sites. Considered one of them is for workers to buy branded attire, and the opposite is for the hospital to buy attire for brand spanking new staff. Along with customary company attire, every division has their very own branded t-shirt.”

Jim continues, “No less than a few times per yr, this hospital does a bulk buy of 430 t-shirts for all of the workers members. The acquisition may embody jackets, rain jackets, backpacks, different specialty gadgets, or t-shirts. We’ve supplied $200,000 or extra in simply attire and high-end promo gadgets to the hospital within the final 3 years. This hospital then referred us to the hospital that I discussed earlier within the article, who has simply taken supply of their second giant jacket embroidery order.”

Attire Recommendation for Others

When requested what recommendation he would give to others companies about using customized attire, Jim solutions, “Attire is a straightforward promote. Put on your brand. Discuss it up. Ask for referrals. Don’t be afraid of it simply since you haven’t accomplished it earlier than.”

For extra data on Jim and Jane Sweeney’s Minuteman Press franchise in Houston/Clear Lake, go to https://minuteman.com/us/places/tx/houston27/.

Be taught extra about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise alternatives and browse Minuteman Press franchise opinions at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com.

SOURCE Minuteman Press Worldwide

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Media Contact:

Chris Biscuiti
Minuteman Press Worldwide
631-249-1370
[email protected]

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