Please find some links and notes from the 2 Regular Guys Podcast. Over the years we have talked all sorts of techniques for decorating, but rarely have we discussed the actual blank products that you are decorating on. Well, this week we are going to tackle that subject with the VP of Activewear Marketing/Merchandising for Fruit of the Loom/JERZEES. Jeanene Edwards will be joining us to discuss the state of apparel manufacturing, current trends, and tips that decorators can use. Plus enjoy the 2 Regular Guys having a little fun by asking the hard-hitting questions about The Fruit Guys.

Sponsored by: Equipment Zone and Siser N.A.

Our regular listeners know this, but 2 Regular Guys are all about garment decorating, a bit of fun, and no rants or lectures or selling. We are not doing this for our employers, but rather for our industry. Since February 2013, The 2 Regular Guys have been the first and the most listened to garment decorating industry podcast on this planet! We are humbled by all of you tuning in each week. We work hard to bring you information that will make your business better, and our industry better. Take a look at our incredible weekly guest list and you’ll understand where this industry goes for news, interviews and the heartbeat of garment decorating. Thanks for listening!

News and Notes

Vastex Intl., Allentown, Pa., has broken ground on its new corporate headquarters, a 37,500-square-foot facility to be located in Bethlehem, Pa. The manufacturing portion of the purpose-built facility will house inventory, metalworking, electrical, assembly, and shipping, with the remaining space devoted to offices, a showroom and a large, hands-on classroom area with a full complement of screen-printing equipment for Vastex University, the company’s training program for entry-level to professional screen printers.

State of Apparel Manufacturing

Terry: Thanks for joining us today, start off by giving our listeners a little background on you and your role with Fruit of the Loom.

Jeanene:  I am basically the jack-of-all-trades when it comes to my role at Fruit of the Loom in regards to the apparel we design and produce for the printwear channel.   I’m responsible for determining the direction of the product line for the upcoming season to figuring out what’s the “big stories” that we need to market and how we need to position them.  However my favorite thing to do really is the trade shows – not so much the set-up and tear-down of course – but being able to speak with our customers about our brands and products.  It’s always great feedback. Most of the time you hear about how they love our brands and use our products.  Occasionally someone has a great product idea – such as why don’t you have retro heather coral in your fleece?  There was one trade show we must have heard that from 3-4 customers – all of whom were either in the cheer/dance business or serving the tourist/souvenir gift market.  So we put it in our Jerzees hood the next year.

Aaron: Where does Fruit see the decoration market for them? Growing? Healthy?

Jeanene:  We’re in the blank apparel business so we’re at the start of the food chain.  We see the market as continuing to grow and incredibly healthy as it diversifies and expands into more fabrics and styles.  We divide the market into Basics, Fashion, and Performance when we evaluate the total landscape.  And there’s no question that Fashion and Performance are both growing segments of the market.  That said, there’s also price-pressure that’s occurring in the Basics segment of the market which means very tight margins for ev...