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FEATURE
Pins Boost
Patch Sales
W
HEN WAYNE Irwin acquired the wholesale price is $2.50 to $3, to return a very signifi cant profi t. In
company now called Irwin Sales, in Baytown, addition, “they don’t take up much room,” Irwin notes. “All
TX in 1991, the fi rm carried fewer than 1,000 are individually packaged, and we have an 8.5 by 11 inch
diff erent designs of patches, most of which are designed to display board for pins. It holds 48 pins. “We suggest the
sew on a man’s cap. “We didn’t have a retailer put a sample of each design
catalog, and when a request came in, on the board and place the board
we laid patches on a copy machine. near the patches display.”
Many of them came out black,” Irwin Pins now account In addition to standard size
recalls, “and it took 104 pages to make patches and lapel pins, Irwin Sales
for about 40 percent
a full catalog.” carries some small, one-inch iron-on
Today it would take three times of Irwin Sales’ patches, and some larger (ten to 12
as long just to duplicate the company’s inch) ones to go on jackets. Among
overall business.
more than 3,000 patches. And patches the themes that have been added to
are not its only business. Irwin added the patches line since Irwin took over
lapel pins seven years ago. Th ey repli- the company are military designs,
cate the themes on the company’s patches, and also include which are among the best sellers. Other designs appeal to
one lapel pin representing each of the country’s 50 states. motorcyclists, Native Americans, Hispanics and African
“Th e pins are popular with collectors, as well as to people Americans, and NRA members. Th ere is one of the White
who buy our patches,” Irwin says. As a consequence, pins House, and there are fl owers, cities, states, countries, lett ers,
now account for about 40 percent of Irwin Sales’ overall numbers and fl ags of nearly all countries.
business, he reports. Th is is all in addition to growing sales
of patches. For more information:
“Lapel pins off er the same opportunities for our retailer
customers as they do to us,” he points out. “Th ey almost IRWIN SALES
automatically raise the sales ticket on a patch.” One reason P.O. Box 2096, Baytown, TX 77522
why is their aff ordability. Th e majority of three to four inch Tel.: 281-424-7651
patches wholesale for between $1 and $1.50, and have a sug- Fax: 281-424-7676
gested retail price of $3.50 to $4. Lapel pins wholesale for $8 Email:
wirwin7418@aol.com
to $10 a dozen, or from 66 cents to 83 cents on a minimum Website:
www.wholesalecentral.com/irwinsales
order of one dozen for the same design. Th e suggested retail
Find other great ideas for running your business at:
www.wholesalecentral.com/Wholesale–News
52 December 2009
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