By Greg G. Deligero
Franklin Adran II was fixing newly-printed basketball jerseys neatly laid on long benches outside his tailoring business along Quezon Boulevard. In half an hour, Adran will be placing a new batch of uniforms in the same benches.
Thanks to the summer heat, the jerseys will dry fast. And thanks to summer, Adran’s business is just as brisk as the jerseys dry.
In a span of five days, Adran’s co-owned RJ Tailors finish five sets of basketball uniforms.
In Quezon Boulevard, rows of sports tailoring business are abuzz with machines sewing up basketball kits. Finished sets meantime hang on walls outside these establishments, virtually curtaining the entire space.
You can tell, sports garments business are as hot as summer and the city’s sports garments SMEs are cashing in on the high demand of the season.
“This is our peak season,” Adran said, noting that the influx of sports uniforms jobbing started to grow during the last week of March. He refused to give the exact profit they raked in but bared that there were a couple of weeks when they received orders from six to ten basketball teams.
“About three orders are added to our average number of jobbing per week,” echoed Ergie Banancilla, whose family owns the Cordovan tailoring shop.
Both Adran and Banancilla attributed the surge in demand to the holding of basketball tournaments which notably proliferate in barangays and villages around Davao City during summer.
Summer leagues in this basketball-crazy country are held practically in almost towns, barangays, villages and even subdivisions as students take the long school break to engage in sporting activities to while away their time and keep themselves fit. Staying outdoors too is a way to keep refreshed from the heat these days which could reach as high as 35-degrees.
This is perhaps the reason why the best selling type of garment being used for uniform is either the “dry fit” or “tri fit” variety–the cheapest and most comfortable materials. A set of jersey and short using a “dry fit” fabric costs only P500 or P6,000 for a team of 12 players.
Adran said this kind of fabric is preferred by younger players who belong to the mini mosquito (14 years old below) and mosquito (18 years old below) brackets. Midget (19 years old and above) teams usually prefer the “square net” fabric which cost P550 per a set of jersey and short or P6,600 per a team of 12 players.
Community teams are supported by parents who shell out money for their children’s uniforms. For some, a local business establishment in their community bankroll the uniforms with their corporate logo emblazoned on the kits.
There are some, too, who get their uniforms from solicitations to politicians during this election season.
“Some sponsors directly made the transaction. The players would only drop by for size fitting,” he said.
Both Adran and Banancilla require a deposit of 50 percent from the customers to cover the materials to be used, a normal practice to those who are engaged in this kind of business.
“At least we would only lose the cost of labor in case they will not come back,” Banancilla said.
Adran shared the same observation, hinting that some members of the teams under this bracket are already earning an income and capable to contribute in the payment of their uniform.
“They can afford,” he said.
Banancilla said the least preferred during summer is the “micro shiny” fabric which is superior in terms of quality but is also the most expensive with a set of jersey and short costing as much as P900 or P10,800 for a team of 12 members.
He said that this fabric is more marketable to school varsity and commercial teams during the school season and big-time basketball tournaments.
Adran and the rest of the tailoring operators are cashing in on the high demand. But they are also wary that this is going to be short-lived.
After summer, the next time demand would be high again is in August to September during the season for school intramurals. In between months, he said, their clientele would mainly come from school varsity and commercial teams.
Adran said the leanest season for their business is on the months of December to February, which is ironically, the period of festivity and celebrations in the country.
“We will just have to seize the opportunity now,” he said.
