We are constantly asking ourselves “How are we doing? And how can we improve the online experience of TeamLocker™ for coaches, administrators, parents, and customers?”
Each day, we ask those questions of our growing base of loyal customers as we strive for perfection. While we are still poring over the results of a recent online survey, let’s just say that the reaction has been off the charts!
91.3% of the respondents stated they would recommend TeamLocker™
93.4% of the respondents said that using TeamLocker™ was fast and easy
We are gaining terrific traction and high praise from so many customers.
As one CTO at a leading league software provider recently reported after visiting our site, “I just created my Store. Fast and easy! Great job on that. The industry needs this solution.”
We pride ourselves on having created several industry firsts and innovating a product that achieves simplicity as compared to the current state, which many coaches describe as complex, cumbersome, and frustrating. We are releasing new features every week and are operating based on a mantra of learning, prioritization and continuous improvement. As Apple’s Steve Jobs once said,
“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”
After a coach creates a TeamLocker™ store in four easy steps measured in seconds and minutes, not days, a custom store is instantly built and made available. But just as important as that convenience is the offering of products from world class brands, including Under Armour, Nike, Champion, and Russell Athletic to name a few. A TeamLocker™ can be merchandised not only with decorated apparel for team members, but also hard goods, accessories and footwear. All the gear an athlete needs to participate in youth sports.
One fan of the process noted that having authentic athletic apparel was a huge win for his team. He writes, “We had a team store through Prep Sportswear and we also do game-day sales, but wanted to try your store out since it has UA products and seems to be a cleaner process. Although we may have some players and staff purchase, we will use TeamLocker™ for fans too.”
Recently, an industry leader in the youth athletic space visited the SquadLocker site and shared his thoughts on the industry transformation now underway. Innovation in this space will generate considerable value and unleash incremental revenues. What you’ve done is more than just “taking business from current providers; it is about ease of use and convenience. Users are going to activate a new market as a result of doing something using workflows that are so easy to launch.”
Four key drivers will drive the growth of this current $8 billion market:
- Technology innovation
- The offering of brands such as Under Armour
- Best in class supply chain and apparel decorating infrastructure
- Proven ability to execute mass personalization in scale
Industry Expert on Driving Innovation
And who will drive the innovation, according to the industry expert? Which business models currently in the market have the potential to drive the innovation?
Corner store guys? – No, it won’t be them: "In general not sophisticated enough to acquire capital, to build the technology, nor to deploy the processes needed to support scalability.”
National sales organizations? No: “the direct sales model is the legacy business mode. A new way needs to be activated digitally by seamless workflows to onboard customers, not visits by the leather loafer crowd with bags of donuts and catalogs.”
Large brands – Maybe. “These billion dollar companies have the most to gain and are already partnered with resellers who can capably execute. Clearly they will play a role, but it is highly unlikely that the brands alter their channel partnering mindset and begin acquiring direct business. Additionally, innovation will need to occur at an incredibly fast-pace, in entrepreneurial settings; large billion dollar companies often struggle with the necessary agility required to innovate at this pace.”
Large retailers – Maybe. “They are showing an interest, but perhaps their size becomes an obstacle. Can they operate nimbly enough to build fast, test, pivot and develop the optimal solution? Time will tell.”
Tech companies: “Best methodology for developing innovation, but without the brands to sell or infrastructure to manage logistics and decoration, this model is flawed to be able to service this marketplace well.”
Tech/Old economy hybrid: “It will be best of both the technology and old economy business models that will emerge as the winner. A micro company, likely less than $20 mil in revenues, more sizeable that the typical corner store (avg sales < $1 mil), with systems and a proven track record of mass customization, likely having a national presence, but not a large direct sales force. The key he shared is not only launching tech innovation to develop and build the best front end, but being able to execute on orders. Another key he shared was customer service excellence, a trained staff of customer service professionals, a team of graphic designers for logo prep and editing, and an industry leading Zappos-like warranty and return policy.”
Bringing the best of generations of textile manufacturing experience with the flexibility and capital will undoubtedly drive SquadLocker to win. But nothing is possible without the support of our growing fan/customer base and an unwavering desire to drive towards the perfection that comes from asking questions of ourselves and our customers every day.
Visit teamlocker.squadlocker.com and let us know what we can do to help you achieve peak performance.
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