Hanes’ large scale, robust supply chain and direct-to-garment digital printing capability make tournament-specific graphic apparel possible for the NCAA national basketball tournament’s 9.2 quintillion matchup possibilities
Let the madness begin. Win or go home. Full-court press. Beat the clock.
Nail biters. Turns out, that is the challenge on and off the college
basketball court in March.
For the 20th consecutive year, HanesBrands’ graphic design,
screen-printing and logistics teams in Lenexa, Kansas, will begin a
monthlong mad dash to create art, print and ship almost half a million
pieces of tournament-specific apparel to game sites across the country
as soon as the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee reveals on
Selection Sunday this weekend which 68 college basketball teams will
take the dance floor.
“They call it March Madness for a reason,” said John Fryer, HanesBrands
president, sports and graphic apparel. “Come Sunday, we will begin an
absolute frenzy of activity to meet the daunting apparel needs of one of
the world’s greatest sporting events. We will need to refresh the
graphic artwork and print more shirts and hats each week as teams
advance, and we’ll do it with as little as 48 hours’ notice for three
consecutive weeks. March Madness is one of the most exhilarating,
exhausting and satisfying business challenges of the year.”
And come Selection Monday for the Division I women’s national
tournament, the madness of March will double with another 64 teams
announced.
HanesBrands’ Event 1 business, part of the company’s Sports Apparel
division, has served as the NCAA’s onsite apparel concessionaire for the
national tournaments since 1998. The company will operate multiple sales
concessions at the 14 different game locations for the men’s tournament
and 21 game locations for the women’s tournament.
T-shirts and hats account for about 80 percent of sales, but fans also
expect the availability of fleece, hoodies and up to 150 other items to
be available at each stage of the events.
The company’s Sports Apparel division’s retail business operations will
get in on the action as well. To provide tournament-specific apparel to
thousands of local mass merchant and department stores seeking to stock
fanwear for their area’s favorite teams, the company will utilize local
screen-printers around the country to provide specialized quick-turn
service.
“Onsite at the tournament games and in stores around the country, many
fans not only want apparel representing their favorite collegiate team,
they also want apparel specifically designed for a regional final, Sweet
16, Elite 8 or Final Four appearance,” Fryer said.
The March Madness magic for HanesBrands comes from utilizing the scale
of its largely self-owned manufacturing – including scores of in-house
graphic designers and direct-to-garment printing operations – along with
in-market contract screen printers that allow the company to customize,
produce, ship and sell apparel within 48 hours as teams advance in the
tournament, eventually whittling down the 9.2 quintillion matchup
possibilities at the start of the tournament to the certainty of just
one at the end.
The work begins ahead of Selection Sunday as the more than 50-member
graphic design team begins design work as teams automatically qualify
for the tournament. Immediately after the regional seedings are
announced on Selection Sunday, the team has just two days to create
apparel for the tournament’s play-in games.
More than 100 different pieces of art are produced during and
immediately following the announcement of the 68-team field, and every
approved design will be on press Monday and delivered in advance of the
first-round games. This process is repeated during each round,
culminating in the Final Four where HanesBrands has exclusive rights
this year to sell licensed fanwear at the Alamodome in San Antonio,
along with 15 NCAA sanctioned hotels, the March Madness Music Festival
and Fan Fest during the men’s tournament, and at Nationwide Arena in
Columbus, Ohio, as well as at six NCAA sanctioned hotels and Tourney
Town during the women’s tournament.
“The championship shirt adds an extra level of complexity to our
process,” Fryer said. “We produce shirts for both schools and, as the
final buzzer sounds, we begin stocking the shelves. So while close games
and buzzer beaters can be exciting for fans, our team typically hopes
that they can predict the winner a few minutes ahead of the game’s end.”
The tournament ends in a flourish as excitement builds throughout the
month. Approximately 25 percent of all the apparel sold during the
tournament is bought at the Final Four semifinal and National
Championship games.
HanesBrands
HanesBrands is a socially responsible leading marketer of everyday basic
innerwear and activewear apparel in the Americas, Europe, Australia and
Asia-Pacific. The company markets T-shirts, bras, panties, shapewear,
underwear, socks, hosiery, and activewear under some of the world’s
strongest apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Maidenform,
DIM, Bali, Playtex, Bonds, JMS/Just My Size, Nur
Die/Nur Der, L’eggs, Lovable, Wonderbra, Berlei,
Alternative, Bras N Things and Gear for Sports. More
information about the company and its award-winning corporate social
responsibility initiatives may be found at www.Hanes.com/corporate.
Connect with HanesBrands via social media on Twitter (@HanesBrands)
and Facebook (www.facebook.com/hanesbrandsinc).
