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The working man (and woman, and Boy/Cub/Girl Scout) has always considered the army/navy store as his/her friend. Although relationships with scouting organizations are not what they once were, army/navy retailers have picked up the slack (slacks?) by delving into new markets - primarily, law enforcement/tactical and medical/EMT.

Uniformly excellent

What the current generation of uniforms and general work apparel bring to the table is the incorporation of new technology and materials, melded with a very ergonomically-oriented approach to design and development.

For example, your humble narrator happens to be wearing a pair of TRU-SPEC’s 24-7 tactical pants at this precise moment. Although their design features are aimed squarely at law enforcement professionals, one of their most salient selling points is their amiable compatibility with the civilian lifestyle.

For example, the fit and appearance of the pants helps them pass muster as casual business attire in our office. They are comfortable, flexible without being saggy, they’re wrinkle-free and their Teflon coating helps defeat the bad intentions of every particle of food, every coffee spill and every dollop of mustard that goes into search and destroy mode. The profuse variety of pockets, and the forgiving elastic waistband make the trousers very user-friendly, especially after every meal.

TRU-SPEC offers shirts and jackets and other items in their 24-7 series. Common to all of these products (and to other modern offerings from other suppliers) is the “clean sheet of paper” approach to taking an established if somewhat dated product concept and applying lessons learned from other markets to create an enhanced and improved product that benefits wearer and seller alike.

Another company familiar to army/navy retailers that has established itself as a uniform specialist is Propper International, a company that has gone beyond its vast experience in military BDU manufacturing to create their own brand of tactical, EMT and public safety trousers and apparel that offer not only features idealized for these professions but consumer crossover as well.

An example of this would be Propper’s Light Tactical Pants, engineered for responsiveness and freedom of movement. Like the TRU-SPEC 24-7 pants, the Propper pants include similar bells and whistles and storage galore for the fully accessorized law officer.

Works for retailers

The army/navy retailer should view the new generation of workwear and uniform apparel as an opportunity to successfully compete against a number of retailing opponents.

A review of offerings from legacy industry suppliers (TRU-SPEC, Major Surplus, Schreck Wholesale, Rothco, Propper, et. al) and from mainstream providers such as Carhartt, Dickie and law enforcement specialists such as but not limited to 5.11 Tactical, should provide a mix of products that will allow the retailer to compete on every level with non-army/navy stores.

A marketing plan would consist of inventorizing and promoting the following:
• Hybrid/crossover tactical apparel that gives the retailer outstanding credibility in their local law enforcement community, while concurrently offering a superior and unique apparel offering for the non-tactical customer; also providing a point of difference against the mass market retailer whose apparel products are much more pedestrian and less full-featured;
• Basic military-style BDUs, which are still popular with many workers in certain fields. The army/navy retailer, of course has access to the highest quality and most cost-efficient (and price competitive) BDUs whether genuine surplus or government spec.