Majestic Gets Mlb Contract

[willieg21]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/photo?slug=ny1...r_ny155&prov=ap

Majestic Athletic President Faust Capobianco IV displays a sample Major League Baseball uniform his company makes during an interview Friday April, 23, 2004, in Bangor, Pa. The small family-owned company from eastern Pennsylvania recently beat out apparel giants Nike, Reebok, Adidas and Russell to win the contract to outfit all 30 major league baseball teams, a development that might have taken the casual fan by surprise, but one for which Majestic had been laying the groundwork for nearly 30 years.

[amare32]

Too bad the Majestic product is way chincier than the old Rawlings jerseys.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Here's the AP story that goes with the photos. It's more of a feature story than 'breaking news,' since I think it's been known for a while that Majestic is taking over all of MLB's uniforms in 2005. Still, it's an interesting story for these boards... a little different.

The clothier to baseball's stars

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM

Associated Press Writer

BANGOR, Pa. (AP) - Jim Thome already wears one. Next year, Barry Bonds will, too.

Majestic Athletic, a small family company from Pennsylvania, recently beat out apparel giants Nike, Reebok, Adidas and Russell to win the contract to outfit all 30 major league baseball teams.

"When we wake up every morning, we breathe major league baseball," Majestic president Faust Capobianco IV said.

The company's survival depends on it. When a player is traded, Majestic, which already outfits the Philadelphia Phillies and 15 other teams, has mere hours to produce a new uniform and ship it to its destination. When someone gets hot or a team moves up in the standings, the company had better know about it, because consumer demand for licensed apparel inevitably will spike.

"We're fortunate enough to be in an industry where everything changes based on who won, or who threw a no-hitter," said Capobianco, 32, whose father started Majestic and remains its chairman. "It also makes you want to tear your hair out."

Capobianco recently led a tour of a Majestic cutting factory about 65 miles from Philadelphia. The factory stores about 1 million yards of fabric _ huge swatches of cloth with labels such as "Yankees Navy" and "Astros Navy" that will become the uniforms millions of fans will see at the ballpark or on TV. As he spoke, a machine was cutting polyester pants for the Baltimore Orioles' David Segui.

Majestic measures every major leaguer twice a year, and the information is stored in a computer.

Frank Coppenbarger, manager of equipment and team travel for the Phillies, said he was skeptical when Majestic asked for the team's business four or five years ago. His concerns have long since disappeared.

"As far as comfort and durability, the players love them. They hold up very well, certainly among the best I've seen made," Coppenbarger said.

The seeds of Majestic were sown five decades ago, when family patriarchs Mary and Faust Capobianco II entered the textile business, opening factories that made women's clothing.

As textile production shifted overseas, the Capobiancos' son, Faust III, explored other opportunities. He started Majestic Athletic in 1976 to focus on team apparel, a business that required speedy _ thus domestic _ production.

Majestic was awarded its first MLB license in 1984, but did not win its first on-field uniform licenses until 1999. In the 1990s, with sales of licensed athletic apparel booming, baseball and other pro leagues took on as many licensing partners as possible.

"It used to be a terrible business because the leagues all licensed out their name to four or five major licensees who were all competitive with each other. They flooded the market," said John Horan, publisher of Sporting Goods Intelligence, an industry newsletter.

The oversupply, coupled with player strikes, devastated the business. Starter Corp., Pro Player Inc. and other formerly high-flying companies declared bankruptcy.

Majestic kept plugging along, and is nearly 10 times the size it was a decade ago. The company, which employs 750, rings up annual sales of about $150 million, according to Sporting Goods Intelligence.

Howard Smith, baseball's senior vice president for licensing, said Majestic's singular focus and ability to produce quickly helped it survive.

"First, foremost and forever, they are a baseball company," he said. "They put all their eggs in that basket and they've been rewarded by continuing to win our confidence, our players' confidence."

___

On the Net:

Majestic Athletic: http://www.majesticathletic.com/

[slapshot]

I thought I read somewhere that Nike has the compression-undergarment contract with MLB. While most players now wear Under Armour, I think those that don't have contracts with UA will wear Nike products, similar tp how those in the NBA and NFL without shoe contracts wear Reebok.

[Gamingboy]

I kinda like the idea that a small family bussiness will make the uniforms for MLB. Just seems to fit the game of baseball well.

[VandyDelphia Mike]

So - does Majestic becoming the exclusive supplier make it any more or less likely that replica MLB uniforms will pay a little more attention to detail? Things like not seeing the Phillies font on their replicas, or the number on the sleeve ... or the Astros' ... or even the Mets' drop shadowing reduced to a single color name and number on replica shirts ...

I mean, if hockey replicas can be a pretty close approximation of an authentic hockey jersey, and basketball can have the "swingman" replicas that while not authentic, aren't as cheaply made as the screen-printed replicas, can't baseball offer an intermediate level of jersey that's more than the player hame-number t-shirts, but less than an authentic?

Personally, I'm rooting for it.

[sacker12]

Ah, man!!! I really liked Russell.

[DEAD!]

Ah, man!!! I really liked Russell.

Me too. Me too. and Russell is become quite the conglomerate. They also have contracts with NCAA and AFL teams...