entrepreneurs

Examining the growing ugly Christmas sweater market for SMEs and entrepreneurs on National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, and the importance of the U.S. textile industry.

CERRITOS, California- December 15, 2017- Since 2011 the U.S. has celebrated National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day on every third Friday of December to commemorate eccentric, gaudy, or vintage sweaters for Christmas and winter Holidays.  Two decades after these sweaters originally became popular in the 1980s, the once small ugly Christmas sweater market now generates millions of dollars year round.

Toolots employees in their ugly Christmas sweaters.

Ugly Christmas sweaters and related products can be categorized in the U.S. textile industry.  According to the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), the U.S. textile industry collectively comprises “…yarn and fabric manufacturers, suppliers in the cotton, wool, and man-made fiber sectors, dyers, printers, and finishers, the machinery and textile chemical industries, [and] customers in the U.S. apparel industry.”  As the leader in textile R&D globally, the U.S. has increased productivity of its textile mills by roughly 52% since 2000 and had $74.4 billion in shipment value in 2016.  Aside from creating ugly holiday sweaters, the U.S. textile industry is also responsible for manufacturing and producing advanced fiber products such as antimicrobial fibers, recycled polyester fibers, fire-retardant fibers, and more.  Additionally, the U.S. textile industry provides U.S. Armed Forces with over 8,000 textile products including, but not limited to, uniforms, ship composites, ropes and cables, ammunition pouches, and parachutes.  Furthermore, the NCTO reports that the volume of items provided to the military can vary depending on activity and engagement, and most recently has ranged between $1.8 billion to more than $2.2 billion.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Statistics Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers (51-6099)

Following severe imports during the 1990s, a significant number of the U.S. textile and apparel industry’s annual profit currently derives from holiday shopping at the end of the year.  Data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau for the 2016 Holiday Season found that 21.8% of Clothing Stores’ annual profit came from holiday sales completed in November and December alone.  Similarly, holiday sales were roughly 23.7% of Department Stores’ annual profit, and 22.5% respectively for Discount Department Stores in 2016.

For SMEs in the ugly Christmas sweater business, a seasonal hobby that may have made them several hundred or several thousand dollars now has the potential to generate millions of dollars in profits.  Despite major retailers and fashion designers entering into the market, SMEs and entrepreneurs generate a significant amount of revenue by using e-commerce stores to sell their vintage, licensed, or customized sweaters.  For example, the Ugly Christmas Sweater Kit saw a sales increase of 1,000% just in 2013, the UglyChristmasSweater.com made $4.8 million in 2015, and the Tipsy Elves increased their revenue to $14 million last year from initial sales of roughly $900,000 in 2013.

About Toolots

Toolots, headquartered in Cerritos, California, offers an online marketplace and international distribution channel for factory-direct industrial tools, machinery, and manufacturing technology. Our user-friendly platform provides fast, easy access to high-quality, affordable equipment for manufacturers. More than a simple distribution channel, Toolots provides comprehensive services for companies around the world who produce the industrial machinery and equipment we sell, helping streamline the marketing, omni-channel sales, warehousing, fulfillment and after-sales service. On the customer end, Toolots simplifies the purchase, delivery, installation and warranty of industrial technology, machinery and components, and upholds product quality through a vetted network of vendors and service technicians. The company’s dedication to fostering international trade relations passes on cost savings to the consumer, contributes to reduced downtime, improves productivity and expands a manufacturer’s reach. Toolots has strategically located warehouses, showrooms, and offices across the United States, China and as of May 2017, has expanded into Taiwan. For more information visit us online at www.toolots.com.

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The event aimed to open discussions about cross-border business between the U.S.-China, while encouraging the next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs within the community. 

Toolots Team attending Day 2 of the Forum.

September 30 and October 3, 2017-Toolots was a proud sponsor of the ShuiMu U.S.-China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, a two-day conference held on last weekend on September 30th and October 1st. The conference was co-organized by Tsinghua University's Alumni Association in Southern California and LEAP Career Development, a nonprofit dedicated to career advancement and networking for young people in STEM. The event aimed to open a dialogue about cross-border business in the U.S. and China, with a focus on topics such as culture, economy, innovation, and technology. In addition to a forum for innovators and investors, the conference integrated a Venture Capital (VC) pitch competition, as well as a Youth STEAM Innovation Competition. Tsinghua’s strong alumni presence in Southern California provided the forum with a distinguished lineup of exceptional business executives and leading minds across a wide range of fields.

Dr. Jessie Ying Zhan speaking to attendees about how Toolots has collectively worked to achieved success.

Day 1

On Saturday, Toolots was pleased to host the events for Day 1 of the Forum which included an Entrepreneurship Bootcamp and the Youth 3D Design Mini Hackathon. Both events were held at Toolots' headquarter office located in Cerritos, California. The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp featured three distinguished keynote speakers from Tsinghua's Alumni Association, including Toolots’ own Dr. Ying Zhan (Jessie). Topics covered included risks and solutions in start-ups, the entrepreneur’s mindset, and how to win over investors. The speakers shared their collective experience as cross-border business leaders and investors before offering advice on leadership and entrepreneurship.

During the event, Jessie shared Toolots’ story and how the company was able to successfully garner VC investment. She explained that Toolots’ success, not only in its pitch but its overall trajectory as a start-up, could be attributed to its exceptionally strong board, its genuinely disruptive business model, and its ability to prove feasibility and user traction.

The second event, the Youth 3D Design Mini Hackathon, occurred on Saturday afternoon. Participants of the event were allowed to work in teams of two or three, including an adult coach, and were required to be currently enrolled in a school between 6th-12th grade. Winners of the "Explore Mars, Build the Future" theme were invited to attend the final pitch of Day 2's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition event. Facilitation of this event, and similar ones, is part of Toolots' initiative to actively support education and encouragement of youth in technology through attending, hosting, and sponsoring community education events, an ongoing partnership with the ABC Unified School District, and a new summer internship for high school students interested in the manufacturing industry.

Student winners of Day 1's Hackathon attend Day 2's pitch competition.

Day 2

The second day was held at the Hilton San Gabriel in Los Angeles and featured a full day of events intended to bring together the business forum and the youth competitions.

The first discussion centered around the current environment for cross-border startups in China and the U.S. The panel mainly addressed the opportunities and challenges companies and business leaders in both countries must overcome to successfully do business overseas. During their dialogue, the panel also discussed innovation and cross-border entrepreneurship in both markets before noting that the legal environment has seen great improvements in China, and that IP protection has increasingly become a priority.

The second panel featured speakers with technology industry knowledge who addressed potential business opportunities with AI and machine learning technology. The panelists discussed the current AI landscape and various applications of AI, including security, healthcare, and autonomous driving.

Toolots CTO Bill Andreozzi speaking on the components of a good, successful pitch.

Following the conclusion of the panel discussion portions of the event, Toolots CTO Bill Andreozzi kicked off the pitch competition after giving an opening speech. During his speech, Andreozzi demonstrated parts of Toolots’ own pitch, while analyzing the key components to provide insight into the necessary elements of a good, successful pitch. He began with an analysis of the title, “Machinery of operational transformation,” explaining that it was an effective yet simple way to tell investors that Toolots essentially provides a collection of tools and gears that work together to provide disruptive solutions.

Andreozzi then gave an overview of the barriers SMEs going global often face: inefficiency, high prices, slow innovation. He elaborated by stating that products often don't go global until there is demonstrated market value, which results in slow innovation. Andreozzi stated that Toolots' platform and business model are intended to help SMEs overcome these barriers to expand their businesses and generate revenue.

During his speech, Andreozzi also highlighted the importance of clearly distinguishing your business from competitors when pitching to investors. He referred to Toolots' pitch, wherein the company contrasts their new, innovative business model with the traditional model that often results in manufacturers losing their branding rights when selling products like industrial equipment overseas. Overall, the traditional model increases cost to consumer, while decreasing revenue to manufacturer in China.

“Show the problem statement and then show what you do. What differentiates you? Break down specifics,” Andreozzi said, explaining a slide listing the comprehensive services Toolots offers its customers and vendor partners. He noted that at this point during the pitch, investors might ask whether Toolots really does all of this. The answer would be yes, because all the services are scalable, with the most important being after-sales services. Toolots has successfully built a network of service technicians with YuuTool, the Uber of service repair.

“Make sure both your business model and market are sustainable. What is gluing your customer to your product?” prompted Andreozzi, before offering a deep dive into how Toolots “glues” the customer: it manages all their daily operations, and its ERP is being built so that Toolots can put business intelligence around it. Toolots focuses on ERP and partners with others for supply chain, etc. With a majority of data integrated into its ERP, Toolots will achieve true transparency with regards to operations and supply chain that will allow vendor partners to make informed decisions, focus on revenue generation, and day to day operations.

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