If there is one thing that Fergy Neves despises, it's cookie-cutter production. The co-owner of Sultan, a Toronto-based maker of customized sports apparel focused on the basketball market, he understands the pride a personalized uniform can give players when they step on the court.
"I grew up as a shy kid," says Mr. Neves, who customizes everything, right down to the design of the lettering that goes on his jerseys. "I know what it means to come to a time in your life where you can step out and say, 'This is who I am.'"
A long-time coach, Mr. Neves started making jerseys out of necessity 20 years ago. "In Canada, basketball was pretty much a forgotten sport. There were few colours, no customized lettering or options for distinct logos or embroidery.
"It was like the companies that were in operation had a monopoly on bad design," he says.
Most of his clients are high school and university basketball teams, but the list also includes the Toronto Argonauts.
Big names aside, the profits still aren't enough to support Mr. Neves's own dream - making his passion a viable full-time pursuit. He works as a civil servant in Peel Region, while his partner, a former basketball player named Colin Poponne, is a real estate agent.
"If there was an opportunity to make a living at this, would I take it? Absolutely," says Mr. Neves. But vastly increasing sales would require a "lot of coin."
He's not willing to crank out uniforms assembly line style. Customizing uniforms is a passion, he says.
What's more, experience shows there is a niche market for highly personalized outfits, especially in the U.S., where Sultan does most of its business.
"The top teams who are travelling through the U.S. want looks that are a cut above the stock stuff on the market, something that recruiters will remember," he says, pointing to the pink Breast Cancer awareness outfits he designed for the Sultan Prospects, the high-school-level girls' team he coaches.
Mr. Neves estimates there are anywhere from 300 to 500 women's travelling teams, and more men's squads. The trick is how to access them.
Sultan gets most of its sales from coaches who have seen Sultan outfits on the court, or through direct contact with coaches Mr. Poponne knows in the U.S.
What the experts say
Detlev Zwick, an associate professor of marketing at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, is optimistic about Sultan's chances, should the partners want to expand.
"He has a different message than other manufacturers in the market. I say that because a lot of orders are coming from teams that simply see his uniforms on the court. He's also done this with little marketing or selling efforts, so that's a pretty decent start."
What Mr. Neves needs to figure out, if he wants to expand, is who the key decision makers are, and how to access them.
"He should consider hiring one or two reps in the U.S. who are present at the tournaments. That or incentivizing coaches and athletic directors at large universities to push his product as proxy sales reps. He's already selling his product without pushing, and he's too small to consider a large advertising campaign, so this seems like the best way."
Dean Hillier, a partner at the Toronto office of management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, agrees. "Between a full-time job, coaching and the needs of his family, it sounds as if Mr. Neves may already be near the limits of managing the business. I think it's time to consider hiring a limited sales force in targeted markets."
And, assuming Mr. Neves is not yet ready to leave his civil service post, he adds, "it may be time to consider hiring a business manager as well."
Both experts have different ideas about how Sultan could grow its market share. Mr. Hillier suggests that the partners increase their efforts outside basketball (in select divisions of sports like skiing and hockey, word travels fast, and children often play more than one sport), while Mr. Zwick thinks they should continue to focus on basketball, their core competency, at least for now. Both experts agree, however, that Mr. Neves needs to take a look at the production side, should he choose to expand.
"If he ramps up sales and marketing and orders spike, he has to be able to accommodate the increased numbers," says Mr. Zwick. "You only have one shot."
Therefore, he needs to have a conversation with his manufacturer, a local plant that produces his base uniforms. "His supplier may be able to accommodate his annual run of 1,000 uniforms, but will he be able to, once the number reaches 5,000? If not, he may need to consider finding someone else."
Sultan, Mr. Zwick adds, should also focus on other ways to emphasize the value of its products. "He manufactures everything locally, so he already seems to qualify for no-sweat [shop] standards," says Mr. Zwick. "I don't see this mentioned anywhere on the Sultan website, despite the fact that this is a factor that speaks to consumers' willingness to pay a price premium."
Quality is one way to maintain a price premium. But, says Mr. Zwick, he may want to investigate other value-driven criteria. "Is there any way that he can become a provider of sustainable or green athletic wear in the short- to mid-term?"
Another way to emphasize value, the experts say, is through the company's website.
"For a small company, it's a pretty good website," says Mr. Zwick, "but when a coach is directed to the website, you want to make sure that it is as easy for him or her to understand as possible. They need to understand the quality they are going to get from this company. Sultan needs to boil this down."
They could also make the site more interactive. "Adding an interactive feature that would allow a team to design its own uniform is a way of involving potential customers in his brand," says Mr. Zwick.
Offering quality services is another way to strengthen brand experience, says Mr. Hillier. "Clubs and teams are often very well organized but led by busy people, often volunteers. Samples, fittings, delivery, returns and payment options," some of which can be done on the Web, "will all help the team to focus on the sports they love - with Mr. Neves taking the hassle out of how they look."
For Mr. Neves and Mr. Poponne - two men who run a part-time business on top of their day jobs - this is a lot to think about. But Mr. Hiller says the partners don't need to do it all on their own.
"Writing out a business plan is a great way to help think through all the moving parts of their business," says Mr. Hillier. "But there is help out there should he need to plan all the details."
1
