What happens to the losing team’s shirts and merchandise?
In total, Atlantis Sportswear shipped about 300,000 championship shirts to State Farm Stadium before the game, Reardon said, with half depicting Philadelphia as champions and the other half showing Kansas City as winners.
“What retailers want nowadays is to be able to open their doors right after the game to start selling merchandise,” he said, adding that even if half of these shirts won’t be resold, they won’t be destroyed either.
In a partnership between Good360 and the NFL, and to ensure that no third party profits from the sale of the unique merchandise, the losing team’s apparel is being donated to communities in need outside of the United States. It could go to people living in Europe, Africa, or Asia.
The same is done with the clothing of losing teams from conference championships.
Nearly four decades in business: ‘I didn’t have a backup plan’
Atlantis Sportswear began in 1985. The company now produces nearly 5 million shirts annually. Reardon said he was first introduced to the world of screen printing in the early 1980s.
“A guy I worked for through Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken ended up buying a screen printing company in Florida … he called and said, ‘Hey, I need you to come down and run this T-shirt company,'” he said. said Reardon . “I had never done anything like this, but I was willing to give it a try.”
After five years of learning the ins and outs of the business, Reardon was back in Ohio and able to start his own company. By 1990, Atlantis had become part of the collegiate licensing business with Ohio State University. The company remains a licensee of the college today.
Atlantis is also licensed through the NBA, NHL, NFL, Fanatics, Dayton Dragons, the University of Dayton, Kroger, Ron Jon Surf Shop and several sports apparel companies.
“I love it,” Reardon said. “I’m a sports enthusiast and love the thrill of being able to produce in the blink of an eye. It’s an interesting sector.
While Atlantis has seen growth and success over the years, Reardon said there was an element of risk.
“When I proposed to my wife, my mother-in-law asked if I had a backup plan. We joked about it on our 25th company anniversary,” she said, emphasizing the importance of picking the right market to enter, as well as the value of networking.
“In Florida back then, the theme park market and the Orlando area — with places like Ron Jon Surf Shop — was a hot market,” he said. “And I’ve held on to those relationships that I formed then because my philosophy was that if I can’t get into sports, or for those times that are between seasons, I still have (those options). It’s about finding that balance.
Atlantis is run by Reardon and his son, Kyle, who he says will one day take over the family business.
“I’m handing more and more stuff to him and he’s working to build relationships with our big clients,” Reardon said. “But I’m not ready to retire yet. I’m still enjoying it, and if you’re enjoying it, what the heck.
