Uniforms for franchises and multi-location teams.

Multi-location uniform programs tend to fail on the reorder. The launch is one big order everyone is proud of. Then location seven hires two people, central stock is out of larges, the manager finds a local embroiderer, and the logo comes back in a different blue. Repeat that across twelve locations and the brand has drifted.

The program below is built around the reorder from day one.

Central design, local reorders

Split the job in two. Head office owns the design, meaning the products and colors, the decoration and its placement. Each location owns its reorders, which come down to who needs what and where it ships.

The split works because the design is kept on file with us and nobody has to stock a warehouse. A manager who needs three polos doesn't brief anyone or approve artwork. They email sizes and an address, and the three polos that arrive are each sleeved with the wearer's name and identical to the ones in every other city.

• Head office builds one collection in the Design Studio, has a designer on our team finish it and approves it once.
• Locations only reorder from the file and make no artwork decisions.
• Both keep one size roster per location and one point of contact.

The first order goes in as one network order.

Volume pricing counts the whole mixed order, with 12% off at 50 pieces and 22% off at 150. Placing the first order as one network order is what reaches those tiers, and head office can still bill each location separately afterward.

Twelve locations ordering together clear 150 pieces in the example below, where a location ordering alone, at 24 pieces, would pay list. On the launch, that gap is the budget line to watch.

A size roster for each location

Each location keeps its own roster and head office sees all of them. A roster is a single table listing each person's name, size, cut, pieces held and last order date. The share link creates it when staff pick sizes, and every reorder starts from it.

Because all eight products run XS to 4XL at one price, the roster never needs a surcharge column. The collection process in full is in Managing Sizes and Reorders.

Brand consistency comes from one file.

Consistency across locations is a file problem before it's a quality problem, because twelve local vendors will produce twelve readings of the logo. One file on one production line produces a single reading.

The Design Studio proposes the collection from your logo across all eight products. A designer on our team then finishes the embroidery file and the thread colors before production, and that file is what every location reorders from. A left-chest mark runs 5,000 to 12,000 stitches of raised satin in up to 12 thread colors. Because the embroidery outlives the garment, a polo from year one and a polo from year three match on the same shift.

If your brand allows local variation, allow it as a colorway and leave the design alone. A coastal location might wear the same crest on a different polo color. Our brand guidelines for merch guide covers how to write that rule down.

Onboarding a new location

A new location joins the program through a reorder, and none of the design work is repeated.

1. In week 0 the location's staff list and address go into the network's share link, and the roster is created as staff pick their sizes.
2. The same day the reorder goes in by email with the quantity. There is no artwork to sign off, because head office approved the design once.
3. In week 5 the order reaches the location, one sleeved bag per person. Production takes three of those weeks, starting the day you approve the order, and shipping takes the other two.
4. On opening day everyone is dressed the same as location one.

Opening dates move. Because nothing is produced until you approve the reorder, a two-week slip in the opening costs a two-week wait and leaves no stock aging in the wrong sizes.

What to budget per location

Start with the launch capsule for each location, then add the two costs that scale with turnover: replacement hires and the annual refresh.

• The launch capsule per employee is two piqué polos ($20.18 each with a printed mark) and a cap ($10.85), which comes to $51.21 at list. The polo runs true, and between sizes you size down. Add a tee ($17.02, runs true) for back-of-house roles or a zip hoodie ($25.22, roomy through the body) for outdoor ones.
• A replacement hire gets one capsule, reordered from the file.
• The annual refresh is one polo per employee, or a colorway swap, reordered from the file.

What twelve locations cost on one order

Take twelve locations with eight staff each, which is 96 people, and give each person two polos and a cap with the mark printed in DTF. The embroidered version is priced in one business day, and the tier math below works the same way for it.

At 288 pieces the order clears the 150-piece threshold and every piece takes 22% off. The polo drops to $15.74 and the cap to $8.46, so the order comes to $3,834.24, which is $1,081.92 off list. That works out to $319.52 a location and $39.94 for each employee, with design and the printed mark inside the number and the name on every sleeve.

The reorders that follow each come from the same file:

• Location 13 opens with eight staff and needs 16 polos and 8 caps.
• One replacement hire at location four needs two polos and a cap.
• The annual refresh of one polo per employee comes to 96 polos across the network.

Tell us the quantity on each and we'll quote it. Had each location ordered alone at launch, 24 pieces at list would have been $409.68 per location and $4,916.16 across the network, with no tier at all. The single network order is worth $1,081.92 on day one, and the pricing guide explains how the tiers work.

Runbook for a multi-location uniform program

1. Head office briefs the Studio, a designer on our team finishes the files, and samples are held centrally.
2. Every location's staff pick sizes through the share link before the network order.
3. Place the network's first order 8 to 10 weeks before the date everyone needs to be dressed, which leaves room for design and approval ahead of production and shipping.
4. Location managers reorder from the roster by email, and head office can see every roster.
5. New locations onboard as reorders from the same file.
6. Once a year, re-collect sizes and send one refresh piece to the whole network.

The same structure works for hospitality groups and retail chains, and for brokerages with more than one office. Crest & Co. runs two pieces across its offices this way. One is a light-blue shirt with a cuff mark, and the other is an oatmeal hoodie with oxblood serif embroidery, which is their most-photographed asset.

Related reading

• Hospitality Uniform Programs Built for Turnover
• Managing Sizes and Reorders for Growing Teams
• Our work: Halcyon Hotels

Questions we get.

How do franchise locations reorder uniforms?

By email. Once the network's first order is placed, the design and size history stay on file, and any location can reorder from that file by sending us a quantity. We produce each reorder in the three weeks after you approve it and ship it in the two weeks after that. Every piece arrives at the location's address sleeved with the wearer's name.

Does every franchise location get the same volume discount?

Yes, if the first order goes in as one network order. Volume tiers count the whole mixed order, so 12 locations ordering together as in the example above reach 150 pieces and 22% off. Reorders are quoted when a location sends us its quantity.

How do I keep uniforms consistent across locations?

Design once, centrally, in the Design Studio, with a designer on our team finishing the files. Because locations reorder from that file instead of briefing their own vendor, the thread color and the placement are identical in every city. Local variation, if you allow it, is a colorway and never a redesign.

What does a uniform program cost per franchise location?

For 12 locations with eight staff each wearing two polos and a cap, all with a printed mark, the first order is 288 pieces at $4,916.16 list, or $3,834.24 at the 22% tier. That comes to $319.52 a location and $39.94 for each employee. An embroidered mark is priced in one business day, and new locations and replacement hires are reorders from the same file, quoted when you send the quantity.