Tackle Twill Limitations

1. Expensive

• A limitation of the tackle twill technique is that it can be fairly expensive, especially when multiple colors are used.
• Tackle twill is an embroidery technique in which "custom-cut twill patches or appliques" are sewn onto fabric and results in very durable items.
• The reason that tackle twill can be expensive is that the stitch count of embroidered items determines the price and tackle twill involves custom sewing. Specifically, the tackle twill process involves "stitch[ing] around the edges, so it’s extremely tough to remove" and is thus very durable.
• The more detail involved in a twill patch, the more stitches required, and the more expensive it will be.

2. Graphics Are Limited

• Another limitation of the tackle twill technique is that it only allows for "limited graphics."
• This is a limitation because the amount of detail that can be added to an embroidered design via the tackle twill technique is reduced because the printing of such detail is done with thread and a needle, which are only capable of adding so much detail.
• Concrete Pond, a company that makes hockey jerseys, states that "[t]ackle-twill patches are often used when a logo is comprised of just letters or is of a basic design[,] as high levels of detail can not be achieved."
• A sub-limitation of this limitation is that with the tackle twill technique, matching colors can be challenging.

3. Time-Consuming/Slower Production

• A limitation of the tackle twill technique is that it's time-consuming. As a result, items made with the tackle twill technique take longer to produce compared to other methods.
• The tackle twill technique is time-consuming because the design has to be custom cut and "precisely line[d] up [to] the required stitch path for" the letters/design, plus the design process involves multiple layers.

Research Process

Lids

• Lids' website can be found here.
• The company's competitive advantage is that it is a recognized brand in malls across the United States and it has its line in Macy's stores as well. Additionally, Lids customers can customize their team gear in store and choose from "hundreds of popular graphics, fonts and templates." Many stores also offer "custom embroidery capability that includes embroidered autographs of professional sports athletes."
• Lids uses tackle twill on its Locker Room product line, which includes college sports team pullover hoodies and college sports team full-zip hoodies.

Fanatics

• Fanatics' website can be found here.
• The company's competitive advantage is a "proprietary sales system known as 'Cloud Commerce,'" which "tracks every click, search, and purchase on every site run by Fanatics, and tracks emails, ads, and sales from physical stores" and "monitors social media and the news for information on players—injuries, trades, and the like—all of which helps inform the company’s retail decisions."
• This software has allowed Fanatics to be able to produce jerseys for just-traded sports stars and up-and-coming players before its competition.
• Fanatics uses tackle twill on its professional National Basketball Association team jackets.

School Apparel

•  School apparel can be decorated with tackle twill. Decorative options can include a student's name, the name of the school, the school mascot, and/or specific sports (like 'baseball,' 'football,' etc).
•  Letterman jackets are another school-associated type of apparel which can be decorated with tackle twill. These jackets can be made of leather, wool, vinyl or a combination thereof.

Club-Affiliated Apparel

• Similar to school apparel, tackle twill can also be used for club-affiliated apparel. One example is for Greek organizations.
• Greek organizations prefer tackle twill for its durability.

Logos and Patches

• Although tackle twill logos are often used for sports and sports uniform apparel, they can also be used for corporate logos.
• This type of tackle twill patch is useful when the logo has a large colored area or background color. These larger appliques are most suitable for sturdy garments, such as jackets and hoodies.

Business Outlook Survey

• According to a survey conducted in 2015 in all 50 states of the US, 70% of the respondents believed their businesses will see a rise in revenue. The survey was conducted with embroidery businesses.
•  Most of the respondents were between 45 and 59 years of age and resided in Texas, Colorado, California, Florida, Ohio, or Georgia.
•  47% of the survey respondents had been in business for over 10 years, while 36% had started their business less than 5 years ago.
•  Over 70% of the businesses, whose owners responded in the survey, generated less than $100,000 in revenue annually.
•  46% of businesses had only a single employee while 48% had between 2 and 5 employees.
•  98% of respondents owned an embroidery machine while 14% owned a direct-to-garment printer.
•  35% of the respondents expected to purchase a machine in the next 12 months.
• According to the survey, the top segments included Personalized Gifts, Hats & Headwear, School Apparel, Team Apparel, and Club Apparel.

Embroidery as a Market Segment

• Embroidery has been a prominent market segment in the global decorated apparel industry.
• As per a market research report, the embroidery segment is gaining hype thanks to its increasing popularity among jackets, polo shirts, button-down shirts, bags, and hats.
• Another reason for the increasing popularity of the segment is "the rising demand for customized or personalized apparel across the globe."
• North America will experience a CAGR of 12.25% in the decorated apparel market during 2019-2025. A large chunk of this growth will be fueled by the use of heat printed and embroidered products due to the popularity of cross-cultural apparel in the region.

Embroidery Equipment

• The use of embroidery machines has widespread use in fashion sewing, which accounts for 63% of the embroidery machines market globally.
•  Textile sewing is not that popular as opposed to fashion sewing.
• As opposed to Japan and Germany, the "USA mainly relies on imported embroidery machines because the development of this industry is not as advanced."

Research Strategy

Market Size and Projection

• According to IBISWorld, the commercial embroidery industry in the United States recorded a total revenue of $1.1 billion in 2019 with an annual growth rate of 0.2% during the period 2014-2019. The report also reveals that the commercial embroidery services market in the United States is highly fragmented.

• With an annualized rate of increase by 0.2% over the next five years, the market size of the commercial embroidery industry in the United States is estimated to reach $1.11 billion by 2024.
• Estimated market size in 2020 = [Market size in 2019 x (CAGR + 1)] = [$1.1 billion x (0.2% + 1)] = $1.1022 billion
• Estimated market size in 2021 = [Market size in 2020 x (CAGR + 1)] = [$1.1022 billion x (0.2% + 1)] = $1.1044 billion
• Estimated market size in 2022 = [Market size in 2021 x (CAGR + 1)] = [$1.1044 billion x (0.2% + 1)] = $1.1066 billion
• Estimated market size in 2023 = [Market size in 2022 x (CAGR + 1)] = [$1.1066 billion x (0.2% + 1)] = $1.1088 billion
• Estimated market size in 2024 = [Market size in 2023 x (CAGR + 1)] = [$1.1088 billion x (0.2% + 1)] = $1.11 billion

• The commercial embroidery market can be segmented into standard embroidery services, 3D embroidery services, applique embroidery services, and other services. Among the various segments, the standard embroidery services segment used primarily for employee uniforms has the largest market share within the commercial embroidery market.

• The commercial embroidery market is a segment of the decorated apparel industry. According to a report published by Grand View Research, the global decorated apparel industry was valued at $26.75 billion in 2018 and is projected to increase “at a CAGR of 10.91% over the forecast period of 2019 to 2025” reaching an estimated $49.79 billion by 2025. The report also revealed that the commercial embroidery segment within the decorated apparel industry accounted for the largest market share of 42% in 2018.

Embroidery Machine Segment

• In terms of machinery and equipment, the global embroidery machine industry was valued at $460 million in 2019 and is expected to reach $510 million in 2024 at a CAGR of 1.8% over the forecast period 2019-2024, according to a study published by Global Info Research.

• The North American embroidery and sewing machine market is found to have a slower incremental growth than the APAC and the EMEA regions. Computer embroidery machines and general machinery are the broad classifications of the embroidery machine market. The market size of the commercial embroidery market in North America is expected to see a considerable increase over the next five years due to the rising demand for the creation of high-value embroidery work.

Research Strategy