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During an economic downturn, sales of military giftware remain strong. While customers may hesitate to spend money on expensive merchandise, these iems are low cost and often bought on impulse.

Mitchell Proffitt’s gift pack consisting of rolled up tee shirt, ball cap, lanyard and lapel pin, all with a military logo, remains one of the company’s strongest sellers, said VP Mimi Whang.

Mitchell Proffitt enjoys excellent sales of ceramic drinkware added last year, as well as both frosted and clear shot glasses. Patriotic items aimed at relatives of enlisted personnel are also strong sellers.

“Anything that says ‘army wife’ or ‘army mom’ sells well,” said Whang.

“Our business is growing,” said Whang, noting that a patriotic decal retails for as little as three dollars. Her company is continuously picking up new customers, she notes. However, many are Internet retail dealers rather than storefronts.

Eagle Emblems is enjoying strong sales of a new series of patriotic and military automobile headrest covers, said VP Jim Gilbertson. Manufactured from stretchable cloth material, the covers are embroidered with logos for each of the five branches of the service. Covers are also designed for fire fighters, EMTs and others.

Introduced about about 18 months ago, the company’s car and truck grill badge has emerged as a top seller. Unlike bumper stickers and yellow ribbon magnets that go on the rear of the vehicle, the three inch grill badge, one for each branch of the service, attaches to the front.

Approximately ten years ago, Eagle Emblems introduced the KIA logo with a KIA flag raising ceremony at the company’s California headquarters.

“The need for the flag was brought to our attention by a particular veteran. Since then we have developed a KIA line and have performed flag raising ceremonies at a number of locations,” said Gilbertson, who notes that Eagle Emblems will often donates the flag to the family of the deceased soldier.

Business remains strong, Gilbertson said.

“Many of our products retail for $5 to $10. People can still buy patriotic items and feel good without spending a lot of money.”

TAG SALE

Dog tags are consistently one of an army/navy store’s top money generators. After making the initial investment in a dog tag machine, the retailer can charge $9.99 for a pair of dog tags that cost him less than a dollar to produce.

The dog tag market includes a variety of customer groups, but dog tags are especially popular with youth.