Imprinted Apparel wants their customers to feel as comfortable in the boardroom as they are on the golf course, all without having to change their attire. As a result, their products must be high-quality while embracing the versatility of the Peterborough region, which the company calls home.

The apparel-decorating store provides custom embroidered apparel, promotional products and trophies for small-to-medium businesses, hockey associations, camps, breweries, schools, and not-for-profit groups looking to boost outreach and recognition.

“If there’s anything you want a logo on, we can do it,” says Clinton Smith, co-owner of Imprinted Apparel.

Items that Clinton is referring to include workwear, sportswear, school and athletic wear, and apparel for professionals. It’s not just apparel — they can decorate tote bags, hats, coffee mugs, water bottles, and more.

Looking for a great way to promote and brand your business? Imprinted Apparel carries thousands of products available through their Canadian suppliers that can be personalized with a logo or name and used as client gifts, staff giveaways, donations, appreciations, and product launches. If you need to acknowledge someone for a job well done, you’ll find trophies, plaques, awards and corporate gifts.

Their merchandise is also available at your very fingertips, simply by visiting their website. Customers will find not only the ease of shopping and the variety of price points just like in the physical store, but partnership programs and a client e-store.

Although the company has an extensive catalog of items and a large public showroom jammed packed with hundreds of samples of styles, colours and sizes, the high level of customer service is what keeps their customers coming back, says Clinton.

“There are approximately six or seven competitors in the area and from a product standpoint, we’re all similar in what we offer,” says Clinton. “However, the biggest reason we’re having the success that we are is because we deliver the best customer service and the best pricing for our products.”

The company takes pride in the longevity of their decorations. When it comes to branding apparel with a professional look, nothing quite compares to the vision of a logo screen printed on a garment or meticulously stitched right into the fabric. Regardless of the process, all of the finished products look good, are durable and stand the test of time.

It’s that quest for quality that led the company to begin offering in-house embroidery 20 years ago. Clinton and his wife, Lesley, took over the business from the original owners in 2016 after moving back to Peterborough from the Greater Toronto Area. The staff readily agreed to stay on with the Smiths, making the transition seamless for the company’s loyal customer base.

In addition to providing the services of custom-decorated items, the store is also home to The Peterborough Curling shop, which is the largest retail curling space from Scarborough to Kingston, and where they sell the top six curling brands on the market.

Over the last two years, Clinton notes there hasn’t been a one-size-fits-all strategy for success. The owners knew there would be some challenges to build the business back to where it would be profitable and to meet the increase of product demand.

“In order for us to grow to the extent that we’ve been able to, we needed to increase our production capacity,” he says. “Because we only bought the business in 2016, there were challenges with traditional financing as we still had outstanding loans for the acquisition of the business.”  

Meeting with Community Futures Peterborough, the Smiths found a partner that understands the challenges of small businesses and could provide them with the financial support they needed to keep their business thriving. The organization was able to assist them with funding through the Eastern Ontario Development Program and helped them with the application as a small business advisor.

“With any questions we had or anything along the way that we needed to address, Community Futures had answers for us within hours. It was really good support,” says Clinton.

“So often we lose sight of the fact that small businesses in town are mom and pop operations. When they’re not doing well, the owners are struggling. Community Futures is a great example of a community resource that can help your business reach the next level. They’re not just a resource for providing money; there’s a lot of knowledge there and mentoring, among many other things you can get through that relationship.”

 

Learn more about Imprinted Apparel:

Visit:  www.imprintedapparelstore.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/imprintedapparelstore

Phone: (705) 749-1136