With cooler winds prevailing, this past weekend marked the annual dig for my beloved blankey of a sweater, my cashmere cardigan. While deep in the throes of digging through my closet, I was also able to unearth my beaten and battered, holey and torn, unthrowawayable (do you think thats a word?) college sweatshirt. Both were purchased ages and ages ago, both can no longer be worn in public, and both are my favorite pieces of clothing for curling up next to a fire and watching old movies. One is promotional, my dear old college sweatshirt bought my freshman year with a huge smile and great pride. The other, I am pretty sure I stole from my sister right around the same time.
For those of you who are out there selling sweatshirts and tees to colleges, you can tell them this is a product that will have long lasting brand visibility. That sweatshirt of mine has been around for 20 years. It even endured being washed with a bright red T-shirt, turning it pink and then being bleached back to its orginal silver/gray glory. I am not sure how she has survived all these years, but I fully intend on keeping her around for another 20. By that time I guess I’ll be ready to retire her for one from my daughter’s alma mater.
Sweatshirts and sweaters equal comfort. They are like, the smell of turkey in the oven on Thanksgiving or sipping hot cocoa in a toasty warm room while the snow falls outside. They are kept for long spans of time by everyone. I am able to make this blanket statement, because I am willing to bet if you peek in your closet, there sits your old war-torn college sweatshirt friend.
By this time, you may be thinking to yourself, “Jeez, I gotta wait another 20 years for her to buy another darn sweatshirt! This can not be good for business!” But you shouldn’t panic yet—the national average of students going on to college is 67.2 percent. 2009 estimates of students in grade 9 through 12 is over 16 million. 67 percent of 16 million is aproximately. 10.7 million students over the course of the next four years. That being said, if the average college sweatshirt costs somewhere around $40.00 mulitplied by 10.7 million (okay so not everyone will buy one, but most will and probably for their mom’s and dad’s too, so we are back at 10.7 mil) that equals $428 million, which in turn equals happiness
Moral of the story: sell college sweatshirts.
