WORCESTER — If you build it, they will come. Although emblematic of the popular flick “Field of Dreams,” that inspirational phrase could just as well be the watchword for Baseball Swag, a growing, web-based purveyor of lifestyle apparel inspired by the game of hardball.
Baseball Swag is perhaps representative of nascent, online entrepreneurship, in that its genesis stemmed from a Twitter account started by Holden native Joe Latino in 2011.
The account, @baseballswag_, offered baseball-inspired lifestyle tips evolved from on-field swagger, equipment, clothing and players’ reactions to the game. During Mr. Latino’s senior year at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., the account swelled to 85,000 followers.
But, Mr. Latino observed, “after college we lost focus,” regarding his fellow baseball players.
Like a ground ball getting past the infield, Mr. Latino resurrected his field of dreams and baseball swagger as a graduate student with $2,000, six shirts and partner John Burke, of Oxford. It was Nov. 16, 2014, that they first went live online with their then-modest offerings.
Today, Baseball Swag (website www.thebaseballswag.com) purveys 100 varieties of products, with an inventory of 1,500 items, from their office-warehouse at 6 Brussels St., across from the College of the Holy Cross.
“We are profitable,” Mr. Latino averred. “We’re driven by reinvestment.”
It was Mr. Burke, who studied business management at Bryant University in North Smithfield, R.I., who suggested that the duo turn Mr. Latino’s Twitter account into a brand. They had been pals since adolescence, playing AAU Baseball together for the Worcester Heat. Mr. Latino was a pitcher; while Mr. Burke played third base. Both are 26 years old, played ball in college as well, and hold master’s degrees, from Bentley and Bridgewater State University, respectively.
Shorts, sweatshirts and sweatpants and caps are among the baseball oriented gear that Baseball Swagger peddles. And furthermore, Mr. Latino cites Baseball Swag’s specialized product of wallets, using the same leather used in Rawlings baseball gloves, and replete with baseball seam stitching.
Mr. Latino avers his support for the upcoming Small Business Saturday event Nov. 26, intended to bolster businesses as a counterpoint to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
“It’s nice to give back to those people who take a chance on starting a small business,” Mr. Latino noted, observing that he has a penchant for patronizing local diners for brunch and eschewing conglomerate chains for such prandial outings.
Perhaps ironically, Baseball Swag runs Black Friday sales, dropping new releases and limited edition items.
“We still generate a buzz on Black Friday,” Mr. Latino said. “But we definitely notice that Cyber Monday is a higher traffic date.”
Alas, everybody hits a few fungoes now and then, and the experience of Baseball Swag has not been much different.
Baseball Swag is profitable, Mr. Latino said, with the entrepreneurs able to put money back into its inventory. While he admits to the advantages of technology, the vagaries of production delays still continue to bedevil the Baseball Swagsters like the infield fly rule.
“With the advance of technology, it’s not very hard to make money on the side doing something you’re passionate about,” Mr. Latino said.
Yet, it took about six months for the business to break even, he said. But now when they order product from suppliers, Baseball Swag gives it a doubled-up timeline, “plus adding another week,” to ensure delivery deadlines are met.
“We don’t order too many or too few,” Mr. Latino said, “especially when the timeline is that it will take twice as long to restock.”
Even when applying specialized business formulas, he said, it is difficult to gauge production needs.
“We don’t know how much inventory to carry before, say, an event like Black Friday,” Mr. Latino said.
While Baseball Swag is web-based, its proprietors are keeping their field-of-dreams vision open to expanded possibilities.
“Our follower base was completely national,” Mr. Latino said. “We went directly to e-commerce, and so far it has paid off, although we haven’t ruled out a bricks-and-mortar store. Yet right now, we don’t have to be working a regular schedule or restocking shelves.”
“Right now,” said Mr. Burke, “we’re just continuing to grow our social media accounts. Beyond that, we’re open to setting up a shop for ourselves or expanding to different sports brands.”
“A physical storefront could be something to pursue in the future,” Mr. Burke said. “We’re fine doing it online, but a lot of avenues can generate more revenue. We’ve done such a small segment being e-commerce. A lot of avenues can expand in two years.”
In laying the groundwork for Baseball Swagger, the men did product research involving social media on millennials’ consumer trends. They familiarized themselves with pricing mechanisms, product quality and color combinations. For instance, Baseball Swagger orders blank T-shirts and has them locally silk-screened.
On its website, Baseball Swag touts itself as “your number one Baseball Lifestyle Apparel Brand. The ability to identify what characterizes and embodies a player with true Baseball Swag is what sets us apart from our competition. Our shirts are the softest in the business and fit the way they should fit an athlete; like a glove.”
Going forward, Baseball Swagger hopes to keep hittin’ ’em out of the park.
“This is not just a hobby, it’s based on our love of the game,” Mr. Latino enthused. “We’re not a corporate entity. We’re active in the community more than bigger brands, and our customers identify with us as ballplayers.”
