In many ways, workwear is the opposite of fast fashion: It’s built to be rugged and durable, and the styles and colors tend to remain fairly consistent from season to season and year to year.
“One thing about workwear is that it doesn’t change a lot,” says Cary Heller, vice president of sales for All USA Clothing (asi/30171), a Michigan-based supplier that focuses on Made-in-the-USA apparel. “Once people get what they’re comfortable with, typically they just want the same thing over and over and over.”
Considerations like colorfastness and consistency, depth of inventory and size range, and longterm availability of styles are paramount.
“It seems like such a boring thing, and it kind of is, but if you’re providing a uniform program to a company, you have to be able to outfit everybody,” explains Aimee Say, senior marketing manager at Nashville, TN-based Workwear Outfitters (asi/98258), maker of the popular Red Kap brand among other lines. “You have to offer everything for everyone. If we’ve added something, we’ve added it forever. It always has to be on the shelf because the program is always on.”
Still, that doesn’t mean that workwear never changes, nor does it mean that it’s not influenced by (and an influence to) the fashion world. Consider the way streetwear style mavens have latched onto canvas jackets, work boots, heavyweight hoodies and other blue-collar staples (“Carhartt is king,” Heller quips) as essential to their aesthetic. Couture designers, too, are increasingly collaborating with traditionally rugged brands. Louis Vuitton, for example, recently released a workwear capsule collection that included Timberland boots featuring the iconic LV monogram and branding.
With that in mind, these insights on style and safety features, along with selling and decorating tips, will help distributors get up to speed on what they need to know to have success providing workwear to end-clients.
Staying Safe & Sound
Design elements that maximize style and increase wearability are a focus in workwear. “Durability and dependability are among the most important features of work items, as they must hold up to rugged environments and work,” says Erin Tricker, sales and operations executive for Broberry Manufacturing (asi/42057), a supplier based in Fayetteville, GA. “But a trendy look is also important for the modern-day worker who wants to be able to wear their work clothes after work as well.”
Shirt jackets, plaid flannels, snap-front Western-style tops and camo prints are among the trends in rugged apparel, according to Tricker. Workwear has also been taking a page from popular activewear brands, like Lululemon and Under Armour, and incorporating things like cooling technology, four-way stretch and moisture-wicking properties into apparel so that workers are more comfortable on and off the job, says Joe Moncada, an executive at Mahwah, NJ-based supplier Rugged Outfitters (asi/84143).
While style and performance elements are important, safety features remain mission critical. After all, having the right gear on the job could be the difference between life and death in certain situations. “If you’re on an oil rig or you’re climbing a pole for an electrical utility, you have to have something that’s going to protect you from arc flashes and other fire sources,” Say notes, adding that Workwear Outfitters carries its Bulwark line of flame-resistant protective apparel to meet those needs. Other industries, like construction or road crews, have their own specialized apparel needs, like ANSI-approved (American National Standards Institute) high-visibility colors and reflective striping.
It’s crucial to survey actual workers when designing workwear, supplier execs say, since that helps to target and alleviate real-world pain points. For instance, Red Kap developed and patented apparel technology called SafeCinch for its performance hoodies, hiding the hood’s drawstrings down the placket of the garment so they can be controlled through the front pockets. “It’s driven by the use case of the wearer, in that they don’t want anything to get snagged or pulled or caught in machinery,” Say relates.
How To Sell Workwear
Though it hasn’t always been top of mind for printers and promo distributors, selling workwear and uniform programs could be a natural opportunity to grow your business with a key account, moving beyond supplying hard goods or managing a company store, says Kelly Connolly, national account manager for Workwear Outfitters. “Promo is in the driver’s seat because they already have the relationship at the account level, and the relationships they have are just so solid,” she says. “We can come in and partner with them and give some great recommendations.”
And for distributors who are already selling workwear, look for ways to upsell beyond the basic uniform, says Jessica Joyce, owner of Fully Promoted Towson (asi/384705), who works with a variety of home builders, electricians, roofers and HVAC companies. For instance, she’ll often suggest logoed beanies to help create a headto-toe branded look for a work crew. If a client is reluctant, Joyce points out that workers will likely be wearing some kind of hat in cold weather anyway and “Wouldn’t you rather them wear a beanie with your logo on it when they’re going into someone’s place of business or house?”
The other key to selling workwear is education, whether that means learning about the various safety features and classifications of protective gear or taking a deep dive into the particular needs of a client. Joyce takes great pride in being able to find solutions her clients have never considered. At a recent prospecting call with a construction company, a buyer complained about purchasing easily snagged apparel in the past. Joyce was quick to recommend snag-resistant shirts.
“They weren’t offered that before, and she didn’t even know it was an option,” Joyce says. “It’s really about educating yourself so you can set yourself up as an expert because that’s how you bring value.”
