After adopting a school-wide athletic apparel provider in 2018, Ashville Athletics embraced a new era of athletic apparel excellence. After two years as an official adidas school, Ashville has decided to end its agreement with the German sports apparel brand in favor of a more local contender - Future Ones, based in Mobile, Alabama.
Many high schools and smaller universities throughout the country have signed apparel agreements with one of the "Big Three" athletic apparel brands in recent years as the trend of mass brand identification trickles down from professional sports, to college athletics, to high school teams.
Several local schools, including St. Clair County, have signed department-wide apparel agreements to wear a certain clothing brand both on and off the field. Every member of the "Big Three" - Nike, Under Armour, and adidas - compete at the national level for the prime opportunity to have top-tier athletic teams partner with their brand as a mass marketing tool for each team's respective market. This business model has slowly trickled down to high school, notably in Alabama where many high schools have partnered with one of the three major brands as their official apparel provider.
Unlike colleges and universities, high schools are forced to work with apparel dealers, a middle man between the apparel provider and high school that orders on behalf of the school to meet each team's needs. However, there are incentives for high schools just like there are for universities. High school teams are offered reduced prices on certain products, compensation money that can be used to "purchase" apparel, and sponsorship deals.
One of the major problems with this business strategy has become fulfillment. Demand continued to rise for athletic apparel not only for sports teams at all levels but for the average consumer as well. According to Allied Market Research, the sports apparel industry will reach a total valuation of $248.1 billion by 2026 - up from $167.7 billion in 2018 - signaling strong growth in an already heated business space. The "Big Three" have all struggled to meet demand, however, which means certain schools do not receive their orders as promised.
Future Ones, in contrast, is a regional sports apparel brand that focuses on excellence in detail and a reliable supply chain. They specialize in developing custom sports apparel for detail-centric sports teams. Started as a company that sold its proprietary football scout-team jersey, Future Ones has slowly expanded into team sales, supplying teams with game jerseys, workout gear, and sport equipment.
Future Ones is now the official apparel provider of the Alabama High School Athletic Association and has entered into apparel agreements with many schools across Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
Ashville Athletics is proud to announce its new partnership with Future Ones as a company devoted to detail and brand integrity as well as reliability and growth. Ashville Athletics is proud to work with organizations like Future Ones devoted to our school's ideals of success and excellence and are excited about how we can outfit our student-athletes, coaches, and fans.
Allied Market Research Report; Sumesh Kumar, Roshan Deshmukh; Oct 2019; https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/sports-apparel-market
This is an official news release of the Ashville High School Athletic Department.