Images Magazine December 2016

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IMAGES DECEMBER 2016 35
GYM, FITNESS & PERFORMANCEWEAR KB
Talking performancewear
with Simon Ward
Simon Ward, group sales director for Graham Gardner and Gymphlex, discusses the
new GForce Essentials range and how clever positioning of logos can modernise a
sportswear style
What prompted the introduction of the
GForce Essentials range?
Gymphlex has been supplying school
sportswear for many years, but the introduc-
tion of the GForce Teamwear brand in 2008
was a game changer for us. As GForce has
continued to gain traction in the market and
increase in popularity, now seemed like the
perfect time to broaden the offering out to
an even wider range of schools, hence the
development of GForce Essentials.
GForce Essentials is a bespoke range, which
is aimed at schools that want to invest in
the appearance of their students and sports
teams. It makes use of seven design tem-
plates, incorporating garments such as games
shirts, T-shirts, shorts and skorts. Positioned
at an attractive price point, this latest offering
will, we believe, satisfy a gap in the school
sportswear market.
How challenging is it to manufacture
a performance product that is
positioned at a lower price point?
It is always a challenge to achieve this!
We are very aware how price sensitive the
market is at the moment. There is a lot of
competition out there and we are constantly
balancing the designs we can offer with
affordability and value for money. GForce
Essentials fills a gap in the school market for
those schools that want their sportswear to
contribute to a unique feel and identity, but
don’t have the budget for the top premium
offering. We have been able to control our
pricing structure by offering the range in a
set number of colours and styles so it is more
affordable to the wider market.
What has customer feedback to the
range been like so far?
We recently launched the range at the
Schoolwear Show and the response was
fantastic. The feedback was that people liked
the designs and the thought that had gone
into creating the range, which is really posi-
tive. It has left us feeling very excited!
How do you think the performance
apparel market will develop over the
next few years?
There are always new fabrics coming into
the market and our design team is continu-
ally looking to incorporate these into new
designs. Increasingly, organisations want
sportswear that not only performs well, but
also has a bespoke appearance that creates
an identity and makes students or staff feel
part of something. We have to make sure
we are meeting this customer demand in the
years ahead.
What are the key style trends in
performance apparel at the moment?
Designs that you wouldn’t necessarily as-
sociate with sportswear are becoming more
popular. I think this is because the line
between sportswear and normal, everyday
clothing is becoming more and more blurred
so we have to be smarter with our designs. It
is much more trend driven.
And the key trends in colour?
I would say classic colours are still popular.
For example, the GForce Essentials range is
provided in traditional school colours such as
bottle green, royal blue, red, navy and gold.
In fact, 12 different colours that purposely fit
the schools market are available for the core
garments.
What are the main types of decoration
currently seen on performance
apparel?
Printing and embroidery are still the go to
methods for decoration. We are beginning
to use logos in different places though, so
whereas usually a school crest would be on
the left chest area, now we may have them
on the sleeve or high on the shoulder. The
positioning of the logo is important because
it can modernise the look of a garment.
If you are playing around with the posi-
tioning of logos then it is vital to ensure the
garment still looks balanced. Decoration has
to enhance and work with the item.
What’s the best piece of marketing
and sales advice you can give to
Images readers to help them sell more
GForce garments?
Bespoke sportswear is increasing in preva-
lence in the market, and end users are now
much more accustomed to the concept, so
my advice would be to sell the virtues of
what a bespoke garment can do for a school,
team or business. It’s all about developing a
brand identity that everyone feels part of and
that will give any team an edge on the play-
ing field too!
w
The GForce
Essentials range
was launched at
the Schoolwear
Show in October
i