Stef Hunter of Ei-Lo asks owner Eddy Chavez 10 questions.
1. Hello there Eddy, here we go. EI-LO has now been around almost a whole year! What was the real inspiration for EI-LO?
A: EI-LO’s biggest inspiration was our customers. Our customers were frustrated with not having a good off the shelf blank. Honestly, our blank isn’t for everybody… it’s select. EI-LO’s customer is knowledgeable about their product and cares about the blanks they put their name on.
2. What is different about EI-LO?
A: EI-LO was designed and developed by brands for brands. We have specifically created our 24 singles, mid lightweight tee for our customers. EI-LO is currently the only one with a 24 singles blank off the shelf. We intentionally kept our product category narrow in number of styles but very deep in inventory. With a slightly longer body- we truly feel we offer the best product, from quality to price to availability.
3. What separates EI-LO from their competitors?
A: EI-LO is completely vertical. We do every step of the t-shirt making process in house. This allows us to have consistency in our product with a very fast turn-around, since our factory is in Mexico.
4. Why are you so select with the styles you carry? What are the advantages to this??
A: We intentionally kept our product category narrow in number of styles, but deep in inventory to insure availability and immediate delivery. We focused on our strengths – which are better, Ring-spun fabrics. We feel we are the best in the industry in this specific category and provide a better quality at competitive pricing.
5. For everyone not in the “blank business,” what is a “24 singles” tee?
A: The number represents the gage of yarn, the higher the gage, the finer the yarn. A 24 singles tee is slightly lighter fabric made with finer more premium yarn. It has the same fit as a normal (20 singles) blank but drapes like a more fashion basic (30 singles) tee. Our 24 Singles, Brand Tee is lighter, softer and breathes better than an average tee. A 30 singles tee tends to be less forgiving on the average, not-so-in-shape man, but has a more deluxe feel. Our Brand tee offers the premium quality that a more fashion forward tee provides without the premium price.
6. Elaborate on S-Twist, what does that mean?
A: Without getting too technical – The “S- Twist” has to do with the process of spinning yarn. With basic single knit jersey “Tee Shirts fabric” the most common type of yarn has a Z-twist which is spun in a clock wise direction. Since we spin our own yarn our engineers have found that we get better stability in the fabric when we use the S-twist which is spun in a counter clockwise direction. Fabric is first knitted clock wise but our yarn (S-twist) is spun counter clock wise, which creates a more balanced, stable fabric with less torque and shrinkage. Our fabric is a tighter knit, cleaner faced, and has a softer hand great for embellishing or just as a blank.
7. I hear that term, “Ringspun” a lot… what does that add to a tee?
A: Ring-spun yarn is a superior cotton yarn that results in a softer, more durable fabric than open-end yarn. The processing time of ring spinning requires two more steps than open-end yarn production. Ring-spun yarn takes five times longer to produce. The additional steps involve continuously twisting and narrowing the rope of cotton fibers. This continuous twist gives ring-spun yarn extra softness and strength. The resulting garments feel softer wash after wash.
8. Tell us about the new styles recently added to EI-LO’s line?
A: Still focusing on our strengths we recently developed a phenomenal 30’s premium fashion basic (MC14500) in colored heathers including neon colored heathers that our customers can’t get enough of. We also added a basic street tee (MC1900) that street brands are all over.
9. What was the most surprising trend in sales you saw in 2012?
A: While we were in the midst of working on our Premium tee we watched the market flip and get hungry for a basic, old school, 6 oz street tee. We worked hard and fast to make sure we could develop this style for our customers following the Street trend.
10. What do you see in EI-LO’s future? What are you currently working on?
A: We are working on a lot for 2013. The biggest news is the addition of a tank coming early 2013 in 12 colors. We are also adding an array of new colors in all of our current styles. The most exciting thing we are working on for our customers is the availability of inventory online.
