The overwelmed tactical clothing market?
I’m really not so sure about that if you are talking about the quality of the products. I use to hear good things about Vertx pants but recently heard an awful lot of flak about the pants being too tight. Sizing variations between brands is a given and although customers are constantly asking us “if I wear a 38/32 in 5.11 pants what size am I in Woolrich Elite?” and we always tell them we can’t tell you that, and it’s the truth. One of the problems that all of the smaller clothing companies have had in getting their foot in the door and competing with 5.11 has been all about production. If you’re department needs clothing in a certain color and you have to wait 6 months to get it, you aren’t going to wait.
One thing our customers have asked us to do is to stock the clothing that they love, that’s a really hard thing to do since so many people are really happy with their 5.11 tactical pants or their Woolrich Elite pants. One thing that has hit many manufacturers is the pricing. Many people have a hard time spending $50 or more for a pair of pants and will gladly wear 5.11 pants if they can get them for $30 or less. Sometimes its about price margins and not how good you look in them. When you’re sitting in an office it’s hard to think you need to worry about movement and jumping over fences with them.