Applique Making Money with Jackets Embroidery Project

“Jackets are a good category because people expect to pay more,” says Mike Doyle, president, BuildYourJacket.com and CVC Sports, Rocklin, Calif. “I don’t know of anything that has such a high level of markup. It’s the best thing you can do on a singlehead machine. My singleheads are 100% dedicated to jackets all the time, even in the summer.”

Racing Jackets   Jackets for automobile and snowmobile racing have been a lucrative niche for Barbara Geer’s singlehead machines. These jackets are covered in logos from corporate sponsors, which drives the price up to $150 to $1,500 for leather ones, according to Geer.   Jackets for racers are the most profitable item for Barbara Geer, owner, Grand Slam Designs, Middle River, Minn. “They’re usually decorated with lots of corporate logos, the racers’ sponsors,” she says. “And the designs usually have high stitch counts.” Geer, who works with a manufacturer to custom make the jackets, says racers want embroidery all over the jackets, which are usually satin or leather. Selling prices range from $150 to $1,500 for leather ones. “It’s very time-consuming, and there’s a lot of digitizing because of all the logos, but our margin is really good. It’s about 200%,” she says.

Racing jackets tend to be a high-repeat sale because when racers get new sponsors each year, they need new jackets and embroidery. “Also, they’re really hard on the jackets, so they need new ones,” Geer adds. “They change garments often.” Racing jackets tend to be a high-repeat sale because when racers get new sponsors each year, they need new jackets and embroidery. “Also, they’re really hard on the jackets, so they need new ones,” Geer adds. “They change garments often.”

Letterman's Jackets

	Mike Doyle completely devotes all the output of his singlehead machines to doing letterman jackets. His shop, CVC Sports, Rocklin, Calif., sells more than 1,000 jackets a year averaging around $450 per jacket.

Advertising Tips

	Mike Doyle, president, BuildYourJacket.com and CVC Sports, Rocklin, Calif., caters to local schools with a broad selection of letterman jackets and says not a day goes by where he doesn’t get a jacket order. He advertises in school newspapers and football programs.

Avoid radio, TV and other traditional forms of advertising for letterman’s jackets, Doyle says, and instead try a cheaper option: the school newspaper. “Whether it’s once a quarter or once a month, run an advertisement with a coupon. It’s the cheapest way to advertise—about $25,” he says. “I’ve also had great response from ads in the sports programs for football games.”

Another promotional option is to offer free decoration on a letterman’s jacket that a student purchases. “Other kids will say, ‘That’s a hot jacket, where did you get it?’ ” Doyle says. “Because of that kind of word of mouth, we own our area.”

Leather Jackets

Darryl Klose, SanFranStitchCo., Cotati, Calif., found a lucrative niche focusing on leather jackets for the motorcycle industry. On top of specializing in leather, he also focuses on only high-stitch count designs, which allows him to charge $300 and up per jacket.

Leather jackets also are an area where you can set yourself apart from the competition, industry experts say. “If you can master quality embroidery on leather, you can own that market,” says Jenny Cox, president, National Network of Embroidery Professionals, Kent, Ohio. “It’s an upscale market that other embroiderers are afraid to touch.”

Although leather jackets are profitable, it’s best to sew on them before they’re assembled, using a panel program. If you make a mistake, only the piece is ruined, not the entire jacket. “With a panel program, the supplier sends you the cut leather goods,” Cox explains. “You embroider it, ship it back, and the supplier finishes the jacket.”

Leather motorcycle vests also can provide big profits for singlehead embroiderers, veterans say. “We’re talking a $300 selling price,” Doyle says. “That’s super profitable.”

Designing Jackets on the Internet

	At BuildYourJacket.com, a buyer is walked through the process of choosing a letterman jacket and deciding what type of decoration he wants on it. From chenille patches to stock embroidery designs to lettering, the jacket is customized completely by the customer and then the order is sent to the embroiderer to be fulfilled. This jacket template can be printed out and brought into the shop and used as an order form.

As if jackets weren’t already an easy enough way to make good profits, Mike Doyle’s BuildYourJacket.com Web site makes it even easier. The site lets customers design their own jacket online and send you the order.

“Kids spend hours on the Web site and make the sell themselves,” Doyle explains. “If you don’t know anything about letterman’s jackets, you can still make money from them. All you have to do is accept the customer’s order and do the embroidery.”

For an annual fee of $150, the embroiderer receives a customized version of the BuildYourJacket.com site. “It has the embroiderer’s contact information so it looks like it’s their site,” Doyle says.

The embroiderer can then send customers to the Web site to design their jacket, saving the shop owner the time and expense of walking the student or parent through the process. The fee includes additional perks such as free stock designs, thread, software, and wool leather and trim felt samples. Embroiderers can order jackets from their own sources or Doyle also will provide the jacket. For chenille designs, embroiderers sew on chenille patches, and Doyle provides contact information for chenille suppliers. For more information, e-mail: [email protected] or visit www.buildyourjacket.com.