March 18 Update:

As S&S Activewear continues to make distribution and leadership changes since the acquisition of alphabroder, it announces the recent appointment of Kendall Whitley as vice president of team sales.

Whitley’s nearly four decades of sporting goods industry experience — including executive roles at Nations Best Sports, Converse, and Adidas — will expand S&S’s presence in the team sales channel to drive revenue growth and increase market share, a release states. He will report directly to Toby Whitmoyer, chief commercial officer at S&S.

“The sporting goods industry has been my playing field for years now, and this role with S&S is a natural fit as the company expands its work in the team channel,” Whitley says.

“Kendall’s impressive track record and deep industry relationships make him the ideal leader to strengthen our team sales division,” Whitmoyer said. “His ability to build strategic partnerships and drive growth aligns perfectly with our vision for bolstering our team channel presence.”

This marks S&S’s fifth leadership appointment since November 2024 as it aims to strengthen its team across the U.S. and Canada.

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March 13 Update:

In a letter to S&S Activewear customers, CEO Frank Myers says:

“Our goal is to provide our customers with the best service and distribution coverage model in the industry. To achieve this, we are optimizing our network by combining operations into larger locations equipped with advanced technology. This will enable us to provide deeper inventory levels, better product availability, and improved service in these regions. As an extension of this strategy, we have made the decision to close our Pompano Beach, Florida, warehouse this August.”

All services and orders made available through the Pompano Beach facility will be transitioned to its Orlando facility, taking advantage of its central location and allowing for greater reach of one-day shipping. Ongoing automation enhancements at the facility will further streamline order processing, he continues.

“Our goal remains to significantly expand inventory levels, improve product availability, and elevate service standards — ensuring our customers have faster access to the products they need, exactly when they need them,” he adds. “We are committed to optimizing our distribution network and are confident this change will have minimal impact on your experience with S&S.”

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As S&S Activewear evaluates its business following the alphabroder acquisition, it’s reviewing all existing S&S and alphabroder facilities to ensure they meet customer needs.

S&S Activewear’s Chief Marketing Officer Marc Vitulli tells Apparelist: “Our objective is to optimize nationwide coverage while maintaining deep inventory and a broad product offering across our network.”

According to the S&S website, which lays out what’s ahead from the apparel and accessories wholesaler, facilities in Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, Georgia, and Canada have been under review.  

So far, three Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filings have been made in 2025, and despite the filings listing “closing” as the reason for the notice, Vitulli sheds some light on the situation. 

Edwardsville, Kansas 

While the Kansas City (Edwardsville) location was not on the list of places under review, S&S Activewear decided to close this alphabroder facility, cutting 86 jobs, according to a Jan. 20 filing. 

“With the lease for alphabroder’s Kansas City facility expiring in 2025 and its close proximity to S&S’s distribution center in Olathe, Kansas, we have decided to consolidate all operations into the Olathe facility,” Vitulli shares. “Orders in this region are now being fulfilled from the Olathe distribution center, which remains accessible through both S&S.com and alphabroder.com.”

Lewisberry, Pennsylvania // Fresno, California 

Both the Lewisberry (Harrisburg), Pennsylvania, and Fresno, California, facilities primarily served alpabroder’s decoration operations, Vitulli tells Apparelist, with some hard goods fulfillment happening out of those locations.  

Because S&S is exiting the decoration space (and Prime Line Hard Goods was restructured as a stand-alone division within S&S), the Harrisburg and Fresno facilities will operate only as apparel distribution facilities, while the company assesses their long-term roles in its distribution network. Vitulli adds that the company decided to exit decoration to avoid channel conflict with its direct customers.

Hard Goods fulfillment in Harrisburg and Fresno will transition to the Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Gaffney, South Carolina, distribution centers in Q2.

“As part of this transition, we are making further investments and increasing inventory in Connecticut and South Carolina to better support the Hard Goods business,” Vitulli continues. 

The Harrisburg transition will affect 218 employees, according to a February 2025 WARN filing, and go into effect between April 9 and Oct. 15, 2025. The changes at the Fresno facility will affect 117 employees, effective April 9, according to a Feb. 3 filing. 

Employee Support

“Throughout this process, careful attention has been given to ensure a smooth transition for impacted employees,” Vitulli says. “This includes providing a 90+ day notice period, collaborating with outplacement services, and leveraging state programs to offer additional resources.”

S&S is encouraging affected employees to apply for open positions at its other facilities.

Facility Additions

In addition to transitions and consolidations, S&S adds alphabroder’s Orlando, Florida, and Middleborough, Massachusetts, distribution centers into “S&S’s go-forward distribution network.” This expansion will allow S&S to better serve the Northeast and Southwest markets, according to Vitulli. 

“These changes reflect a strategic realignment of our hard goods and decoration business within the broader S&S organization,” he says. “With these changes, we are reinforcing our commitment to delivering efficient service while ensuring long-term stability for our distribution network.”

To learn more about what’s to come for S&S in 2025, visit ssactivewear.com/about/alphabroder.