New Era sets its sights on the world, and the Series
Chris Koch’s week got off to a great start last Sunday, when the New York Yankees clinched a spot in the World Series.
The flagship franchise from baseball’s biggest market, joining the big-market Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, set the stage for potentially strong demand for Fall Classic hats and gear made by Koch’s Buffalo-based company, New Era Cap Co.
Dick’s Sporting Goods took out a nearly full-page ad in Monday’s Buffalo News touting its Yankees gear. Other sporting goods stores brought in extra staff to prepare for the surge in sales that usually comes with a clash of big-market teams.
Then on Tuesday, the phone call came from Modell’s, one of the big sporting goods chains with a strong presence in both the Philadelphia and New York City markets, backing away from its post-season orders with New Era.
“The Phillies-Yankees should be a good option,” says Koch, New Era’s chief executive officer, still hopeful that the surge will come after the Series ends. “We hope to get a lot more out of the Yankees, but so far, that hasn’t happened.”
Blame it on the recession, which has cash-strapped consumers taking a hard line on discretionary spending. Rather than buying several caps, consumers might buy one, if they’re buying at all, says Koch. He says the depth of this downturn can’t even be compared with the other recent recessions the 90-year-old company has endured.
“It’s a challenging time,” Koch says. “Sometimes I think people make the assumption our business is recession-proof. The reality is that our business is feeling the effects, just like everybody else.”
The recession has hit small, urban sporting goods shops especially hard, wiping out a customer base that was a proving ground for some of the more cutting-edge fashion products that New Era made, not to mention about $17 million in sales, says Peter Augustine, New Era’s president.
Still, New Era remains one of the Buffalo Niagara region’s unquestioned success stories, which is even more noteworthy because its global growth—the company has a presence in 47 countries —has only strengthened its Western New York roots.
Koch says the company is pleased with its new downtown headquarters and flagship store, which he believes has helped it recruit new talent. He praises the region’s cost-of-living as an advantage. Augustine says the region’s colleges and universities also are an asset in recruiting talented workers.
Yet just like everybody else, New Era is hunkering down, waiting for the economy to pick up and sales to rebound. New Era, which employs about 240 at its downtown headquarters and store, and another 400 at its Derby factory, is holding the line on expenses and has trimmed some staff. Roughly half of its Derby work force is on layoff.
Still, Koch is thinking about ways to make New Era’s business grow even faster once the economy rebounds and consumers start spending again.
The company, which made upwards of 35 million hats last year, is looking to broaden its product line, adding new lines of fashionable caps and apparel to complement the traditional-styled hats and gear it has made for years. “We want to move from being just an accessory company,” Koch says.
It’s also looking to push into new markets, building ties with overseas sports teams and even getting into the retail market in China. New Era signed a production and distribution agreement last October with Mainland Headwear Holdings, a Chinese head wear manufacturer, gaining a foothold in the Chinese market, not to mention an option to buy 20 percent of the Chinese company. New Era now expects to open its first Chinese store—in Hong Kong—in about six months.
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