VISTA, CA (BRAIN)—Canari Cyclewear has moved its custom department into a new building in order to keep up with demand from the fast growing division.
The new office space, located next door to its Vista, California, facility, will house administrative and design employees while production will remain in the original building. Canari manufactures all its custom apparel in Vista with fabric sourced from Italy and Asia, said Erik DeKold, custom sales director.
Canari has been growing at a rate of about 20 percent per year for the last two years, led by the custom division, which has seen 20 to 33 percent growth annually.
“I think it’s a combination of teams and clubs and shops. The interest in having unique gear and the ease there is to get it now,” DeKold said.
DeKold said inline apparel continues to sell well although the growth curve has shifted more toward custom than inline as some retailers see the benefit of stocking 25 or 30 jerseys printed with their shop name.
“It’s less risky to a certain degree. As shops put their names on jerseys, some have cut back on inline random jersey purchases,” he said.
To support the growth, Canari has hired order processing support and new artists, bringing its custom-dedicated staff to eight people. Canari has been in the custom business for eight years.
“The continued strong demand for Canari branded clothing, as well as custom gear, warranted this expansion,” said Scot Robinson, president of Canari. “We are happy to be one the few remaining cycle clothing manufacturers in the United States.”
