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 Company: Teamwork Athletic Apparel, San Marcos, California
Company Description: Founded in 1988, Teamwork Athletic Apparel is one of America's largest and fastest-growing manufacturers and distributors of team athletic uniforms. In spite of enormous competition from overseas supply chains and larger venture-backed competitors, Teamwork continues to grow at a desirable pace. The company currently employs 239 people.
Nomination Category: Products & Product Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best New Product or Service - Manufacturing
Nomination Title: Teamwork Athletic's New ADV Product
- Tell the story about this nominated product or service (up to 500 words). Describe its function, features, benefits, and sales to date. You may include hyperlinks to product photos and data sheets. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
Remember being part of a sports team in your youth, and – whether it was
because you joined up late, or there was a glitch in the order – but your
uniform was the wrong size, or was cobbled together, and – “Sorry, but you’ll
just have to make do”? Teamwork has developed a product and a patent-pending
process that virtually assures that team players won’t have to suffer through
that embarrassment again. Called ADV, it’s a combination of
custom “sublimated” uniforms and an incredible turn-around time that assures
teams they can have their order – large or just one piece – in seven days. In
contrast, all other manufacturers take a minimum of six WEEKS. The sublimation
process prints any shade of any color and any design onto the fabric; results
are clearer, truer colors that don’t fade after washings and give teams the
ability to put logos, names, and sponsors anywhere on the uniform. Coaches
have repeatedly told us that other players and coaches ask them, “Where’d you
get your uniforms?” This clear support for a new product introduction has
never before happened with any of our other products.
We’ve taken the typical sports uniform with just a name and team number and
made it into a combination of performance clothing and artwork. Detailed
artwork can even be printed on the sides of garments, along seam lines, and
still look crisp.
Coaches go on our website to design their uniforms and place their orders
using the industry’s first truly “what you see is what you get” 3-D design
tool. If they can use a mouse, they can design a great-looking uniform without
additional training or design expertise. Just a few clicks, and the style,
design and colors take shape. Add emblems, graphics, numbers and team names by
clicking pre-defined areas for each uniform. Once they design the uniform,
they can easily place the order, add a player, change a name or size, and
check their order status – all with confidence. There are no minimums or
minimum order charges. And even better: since we brought the product to market
March 1, 2007, not a single order has shipped late – not one.
Above and beyond any of these features, though, is the quality of the product
itself. During the product launch, we had a sampling campaign that allowed
customers to design their own samples and receive the product to be able to
touch and feel its quality. That’s when we got the real results – devoted
customers who truly love this product line. The colors are super-vibrant and
crisp, and our cuts and construction are engineered to be professional-athlete-
quality durability, including moisture management and anti-microbial technical
fabrics.
The look and durability of this uniform far exceeds anything else on the
market right now; and, coupled with our fastest-in-the-industry turn-around
time, this ADV custom uniform has created its own unique niche – and that’s
great for Teamwork. But for our customer – that last-minute high school
football player – it means a killer uniform.
- List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, product reviews, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
http://www.prleap.com/pr/97755/
- Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that developed this nominated product or service:
Matt Lehrer received his engineering degree from University of California at
San Diego in 1991. He joined Teamwork Athletic Apparel in 1993 as VP and
became
CEO and president of the company in 1995.
• Awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young in 2002.
• Named in San Diego Magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2003.
• Completed the prestigious Birthing of Giants entrepreneurial program at MIT.
• Attends quarterly Strategic Coach Seminars in Chicago.
• Provided a gift to endow the Matt and Violet Lehrer Scholarship via the UCSD
Alumni Association.
• Belongs to the UCSD Legacy Society.
• Member of the Young Presidents Organization.
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