Looking to expand more into the multi-sport business and wondering what apparel, gear, line we should go with?
Tyr, Speedo, Nike, Hind
I don’t know many people at all that wear Nike, except for maybe running shorts.
As far as the multi-sport shorts go, I personally like DeSoto, Pearl Izumi, Tyr and Zoot
Of that list, which looks more like swimming than multisport, I would go 1) Speedo 2) Nike 3) Tyr 4) Hind. Tyr quality to me is not the same.
For multisport, I would go 1) Zoot 2) Desoto 3) something else. Just realize that Zoot and Desoto are multisport companies, not cycling or swimming companies making multisport clothingl like Pearl, Tyr, Speedo, Descente.
For high end stuff (and for the wealthy) - add the Craft line as well.
For whatever reason, those companies’ tri stuff doesn’t seem to sell terribly well. You’d probably do better sales-wise if you went with De Soto, Zoot, Louis Garneau, QR, Cervelo, Craft…
As a swimmer, triathlete and gear freak I feel I can weigh in on this… disclaimer though… I am sponsored by TYR.
I have been very disappointed with the speedo TRI products up to this point. I am very interested in getting a look at the Fast Skin II Tri suits they appear to have upped the ante… unsure of the lower tiered clothing option. Beyond Tri suits speedo really does not offer much in the way of options.
TYR is okay. I like the stuff and it is comfortable. From a marketing stand point they offer many color options and types of apparel. Tanks, square cut tops, 5 inch shorts, 9 inch shorts etc. They also offer a complete line of swimming goods.
Hind keeps coming and going out of bankruptcy… not sure where they are at this point. Nike I am not sure offers a multisport line.
Good luck!
TYR’s got a really nice line up color and style wise. I’m guessing you’d sell more TYR from my experience with them than the other brands. Problem is that also in my experience, TYR quality control sucks. I first ordered them where I work, sold really really well, got lots of complaints, finally dropped them last year. They would still be a great option but we had 5 other tri lines and we’re not even a tri speciality store so someone had to go. Our TYR stuff just wasn’t consistantly sized, the stitches were often off a bit, stitch finishes were often left sticking out and in some places like the pad this was bad news, the stitching around the pads kept our body glide sales way up though!
I like the New Speedo stuff a lot. The Fastskin suits are awesome but their price points may kill you depending on your clientel. The NEW Xd Skin stuff looks great as a more price point competitive oriented tri line but they only offer everything in black… Maybe I’m wrong and there is a 2nd colorway but I’ve only seen the black. That might kill some sales there.
For running I like the Nike high end stuff (not a big fan of the shoes). Hind also has good running stuff but at a lower price point.
My problem is minimum $ rrequired to open an account. I hate to dump big bucks to open an account and then discounting it 9 months later due to poor sales. Nike is very lenient but inventory is usually low. Tyr is impossible to get a rep to respond, and Speedo is carried everywhere and require $$$ to open.
Might want to look at Sugoi as well. Also Oomph makes some nice product.
Rick.
Hind is now owned by Saucony, which bought the name and goggle patent for Compys after the original company went out of business.
I agree with Tai, TYR quality has not been all that great, in my experience. The stuff I have had from TYR just doesn’t hold up or last as long, especially the stitching.
I really like Zoot and Orca, although I wish Orca would fine another method of putting their logo on, it always seems to start peeling off after a few wearings. But structurally, their clothes are great. I love the Orca high end race attire. DeSoto is right there with those 2, I really like the new DeSoto tri shorts long, with mesh pockets.
who do you carry now? sigh, yes our TYR rep out here is hard to get a hold of as well. Does everyone really carry Speedo tri stuff? Pearl has nice stuff and thier ordering minimums don’t seem all that high although I don’t know what the startup order has to be. Also depends on what others dealers around you are carrying I guess.
I guess I might be asking too much for a one stop brand that carries swim(jammers, drag suits, goggles etc) for the college and HS swimmer and tri-suits, wetsuits for the tri-people. I like Sugoi, Zoot, Pearl,etc for tri stuff but limited swim.
Hmm, depends on your clientel and competition. For what you’re looking for TYR or Speedo are probably your best options and will probably serve better than any of the other brands. If there’s no competition nearby you’ll probably still do pretty well on the tri stuff with only the one line. If not why not go heavy on a complete line of TYR and pick up a can’t miss line like Desoto or Zoot just limited tri stuff. Just go light on their stuff, mainly tri shorts, tops and tri suits. One nice thing about Desoto (I love their stuff but they are way behind the times) is that they don’t have model years so you rarely run into discontinued stock problems. This will give you all your swim stuff and at least one other tri-line so consumers can at least comparison shop within your store rather than at your store and somewhere else.
As a long time swimmer I stayed away from TYR stuff - not sure why. Have never gone to their tri stuff.
I like Nike stuff but don’t think of them for tri specific appearl - use a lot of it for general training though.
Hind - have a few of their items - they seem nice - but again not a line i think of for tri or biking
Was always a Speedo guy when swimming - really liked their stuff. Have never bough any of their tri stuff but would guess it is pretty good - seems pricey
Any store that is serious about multisport should carry DeSoto. In my opinion it’s the standard by which all other are measured. Some may be better but I feel I get the most for my money with DeSoto.
Other Favorites of mine are Sugoi and Quintana Roo
From your list the only multisport apparel I’ve used is Speedo - Swim suits and a Tri-Top.
jaretj
Look into Orca too.
I use to work for a swim shop in Michigan and I can tell that both speedo and tyr aren’t the most relable. If something isn’t in stock then items are hard to get. If I had to pick one of the the over…go with tyr. Speedo’s line of tri clothing is boring. Nicole Deboom’s tri skirt company matches the tri line from tyr. If you carried both these lines, you would be sure to have at least have all the tri women in your area buying from you.