July 2007 - Cover Story

Ride the Wave

By Tonia Cook Kimbrough

It’s never too late to jump into swimwear sales. There are more markets for this beachy niche than you might ever have imagined. From swim teams to beach clubs, you’ve got a lot of folks to outfit for summer fun. The first key is to know what pieces and colors are sizzling for the season. Swimwear, more than most any other garment, offers the potential for trendy styles – not to mention a slew of accessories.

What’s hot?
Take a look at trendy Los Angeles-based American Apparel’s lineup of swimwear for the wholesale market, and you’ll see what’s cranking up the heat this summer. From itsy-bitsy bikini tops and bottoms in a range of bright and earthy colors to options with contrasting trims, these suits could appear in any fashion magazine. There are also unique styles such as the daring Maillot-V suit, with its plunging neckline. The riskier styles might be best suited for collegiate audiences and happening beach town surf stores.
The more modest of audiences might opt for a traditional one-piece look, choosing American Apparel’s nylon tricot triangle top one piece. This is a good bet if you’ve got a corporate audience on your swim agenda. Match up a women’s one piece to a traditional men’s swim trunk for a safe bet.

Bathing Suit Timeline 1975-Present Today’s bathing suit options are endless. With the thong’s release in the 1980s, leading designers have more freedom than ever to create designs that showcase the body.
▲ 1945-1955 When Micheline Bernardini, a French dancer, modeled this bikini in Paris in 1946, the concept was shunned when it arrived on American shores. Yet a few seasons later, Holly­wood starlets began wearing versions of the bikini: small tops, with high-cut bottoms covering the navel.	▲ 1955-1965 Women continued to wear the bikini through the late ’50s, and after the song “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” debuted in 1960, women began sporting the itsy-bitsy bikini.	▲ 1965-1975 By 1965, swimwear continued to shrink, and designs like this monokini were introduced, drawing mixed reactions from older folks. Yet by the mid-’70s, nearly all young women were sporting suits like this camouflage bikini on Brigitte Bardot.

Whether daring or modest, you can pick from fashionable colors such as the richly jewel-toned teal or the brightly fun poppy in American Apparel’s line. And, a loop terry resort robe in men’s and women’s styles can be coordinated with many of the suits for a complete look.

One recent fashion trend has been camouflage’s comeback. This didn’t escape Alexandria, MN-based New Oceans LLC. The supplier recently added a line called Wilderness Dreams camouflage swimwear. “It’s a niche product, but is getting more popular. With increased camouflage items sold by major retail stores, this is an opportunity for distributors to bring something new and unique to their customers,” says Craig Zwilling, president.

So far a wilderness-themed restaurant has ordered the suits with its logo on them to sell in its gift shop, and a beverage company purchased the bikinis for models to wear at an outdoor promotional event. The camouflaged suits can be embroidered or screen printed with a logo.

When White Marsh, VA-based Crispies Co. Inc./Peace Frogs introduced mix-and-match swimwear to its lineup of promotional apparel, calls began to come in from distributors interested in promotions for casinos and beach club restaurants. “These are custom inquiries for uniforms,” says Sandra Jarvis, manager. And, the range of styles and colors in the line allows for a rather easy method to mix up just the right combo for school colors or to match a company’s logo, which is typically heat pressed on the left front of the swim bottom, she says.

The opportunity to sell multiple swimwear-related items is easiest when you’ve got a corporate program in play, such as for incentive trips to an exotic location. “We get many calls from distributors whose customers are planning a trip and need items that their customers will use and appreciate,” says Juan Davis, vice president of Tampa, FL-based Fast Lane Clothing Co. “Sometimes the customer needs items that have matching men’s and ladies’ styles. There’s no easy way to fit a large group of ladies with swimwear, so instead we suggest wrap skirts because they fit almost everyone.”

Fast Lane offers a variety of imprint options. “When screen printing, the most common imprint locations are on the legs, near the hem,” Davis says. “Full rear imprints are a close second. Custom printed fabric is common for larger orders.”

Head to toe
Once your customer’s selected the suits she likes, offer accessories. This is where pool- or beach-related programs can bring you a wave of profit.

Swim caps, for example, are the billboards of the pool arena. Bobbing around the water in bright colors, these useful promo products can be purchased in either silicone, which is known for its long-lasting durability, or in a more budget-friendly latex version. Just keep in mind that some people have latex allergies. Resorts, hotels, clubs, swim teams and more – the list is endless for potential applications. Caps offer an excellent canvas on which to showcase sponsors for swim meets, for example. And, they’re easily included in direct-mail campaigns or as handouts at the beach.

Of course, towels achieve a similar billboard effect. Sherwood, OR-based distributorship Promopeddler.com sells mostly beach towels for its swim-minded clients who want to get their names out around the pool and/or on the beach. “The trend we’ve witnessed is fulfillment programs especially for entertainers such as Kenny Chesney,” says Dale Kirby, director of marketing. “We produced a big four-color likeness of him and actually repeated the order because it was such a huge success.”

Kirby says the biggest challenge he’s come across in selling beach towels is quality. “In this instance you really do get what you pay for, and we’ve earned business because of clients’ dissatisfaction with other distributors’ jobs,” he says. “We give the client towel samples with the different imprint methods to see what their expectations are for their program. We’ve also won business because of poor imprinting methods where clients complained about thick, scratchy ink.”

Suppliers also offer options for pool or beach footwear. Gardena, CA-based Footprints USA and Oceanside, CA-based Neet Feet offer a wide range of custom-imprinted flip-flops that will leave an impression in the sand.

Swimwear uniforms
For serious swim programs that require competitive swimwear or for lifeguard crews, you can also find many fine choices from advertising specialty suppliers. Pleasantville, NY-based Gulbenkian Swim Inc. offers hundreds of choices from the best in team swimwear to the most traditional, standout suits for lifeguards to fashion picks for beach-side waiters and waitresses.

When you outfit a team or staff in a swimwear uniform, it’s important to ask a few questions about the purpose and styling required. For example, lifeguards sit in the sun for long hours so a performance fabric that incorporates a ultraviolet protection coating is an excellent choice. Also, their suits must be brightly colored, usually in a traditional red or orange, so that they’re easily spotted on the beach or at the pool. The suits must be comfortable and quick drying. You may also want to suggest “guard shorts” to accompany a swim uniform. Female guards, for example, can slip on these rapid-drying nylon shorts that have an elastic waistband right over their suits as a comfortable cover-up.

A supplier such as Gulbenkian can also guide you as to certain key items that swim teams and lifeguards need for their facilities. Imprinted plastic “rescue cans,” whistles, stopwatches, floating stretchers and waterproof blankets to help retain body heat are a few of the many items a swim organization might consider having for coaching, monitoring or rescuing. Why not logo them for the extra exposure?

If you have a client who wants to stock swimwear and accessories either for a team, lifeguard crew or even a corporate apparel program, timing is important to the program’s profitability. “As for stocking, I always want to have items available early in the season,” says promotional fulfillment expert Mitch Emoff of Nashville, TN-based Goldner Associates. “In other words, I have my spring-summer stuff on the shelf by March 1, and I have my fall-winter items available by September 1.” He does keep beach towels, however, year-round since they’re often gifts or need to be available for warm climates.

Swimsuits would typically be considered a closeout candidate for the end of the season. “I discount my summer seasonal items on August 1 so I can get some exposure while the weather’s still good,” Emoff says. “I found it a lot easier to induce impulse buying that way versus playing to the plan-ahead audience that’s buying for the next year.”

Dive in deep
It’s clear that the industry is up to its eyeballs in trendy swimwear options. So where do you sell the stuff?

First, look in your local Yellow Pages under sections such as “swimming instructors,” “swimming pool contractors, dealers and designers,” “swimming pool enclosures,” “swimming pool equipment/suppliers,” “swimming pool service/repair,” “swimming pools private/public” and “swimwear retailers.” In a city of any size you’ll find hundreds of listings of businesses that could all benefit from having their logo imprinted on swimwear, goggles, floaties, swim caps and more. You can plan a targeted mailing in early spring that shares a few promotional ideas with this group on how to get the word out about their
services for the summer months.

Also, begin to research and cultivate contacts in key swimming associations (see “Swim Associations” sidebar). For example, the Texas Public Pool Council is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information and education to aquatic professionals. It has more than 350 members ranging from universities to community swimming organizations, from swim teams to country clubs, from pool maintenance companies to coaches. The great thing about such organizations is that they typically post their member lists online so you can find good targets for pool-related promotions. And, most host annual conventions. TPPC, for example, will hold its 2008 Aquatic Conference in Waco, TX, from January 4-12, 2008. Last year, the event hosted nearly 200 attendees who participated in workshops.

Many swim-related organizations look for ways to not just promote themselves but to promote water safety. For example, Goldner Associates created an award-winning campaign for a local YMCA, which launched a program to educate parents about the risk of toddler drownings. “To gain visibility and participation, they barraged the parents with a wave of water-related items to get their attention,” Emoff says.

Enrollment in the program increased by 200%, which shows that summer water promotions can have splash to go with the flash. The program included a wave of ad specialty items – including diaper swim-covers – imprinted with a rubber-ducky logo that said “Safe Start.”

Finally, you needn’t have a client directly related to the beach or pool for swimwear products to fit in a campaign. Lots of corporations, for example, do summertime incentive programs for their employees that could revolve around a swim theme. Imagine a “Make a Sales Splash” campaign that feature a series of promotional products to remind salespeople of their goals. Kick off the campaign with a kickboard imprinted with the program’s logo, along with the goals and rewards involved. Goggles can be given out later with a note to “keep your eyes wide open and on the prize.” Competitive style imprinted swim trunks and suits can be gifted when participants reach a certain “championship” level of performance, with a note that “now you’re in-the-deep swimming with the sales sharks.” There are as many fun directions to take such a campaign for any type of company or organization.■