By KATHLYN SWANTKO
Special to AS&KT

Having a business plan that focuses on a market niche is an important key to the success of any business. This is particularly true in the embroidery industry in Los Angeles, where over the past few years embroidery has become increasingly important as a valueadded embellishment on garments. As a result of the number of new embroidery companies attracted to this market, competition among embroiderers has grown intense.
So, how does an embroiderer go about establishing itself? Part of the answer is to become unique in the products created, or the services provided.

According to David Theissen, sales manager for Tajima West, distributors of the Japanese-made Tajima embroidery machines, embroidery has become an attractive business because it is relatively easy to get started, and there is the lure that there is money to be made. As a result, many people entering the market have little or no background, and no business plan at all.

Theissen noted, “The majority of embroiderers don’t really grasp what they are doing, because it’s very simple to get into the business. In talking with potential start-up embroiderers, when I ask them what their business plan is, most say, “I don’t have a plan, I just want a machine!”

One embroiderer who understands the importance of planning is Edward Yoon, who entered the Los Angeles embroidery market with only two embroidery machines in 1993. He had a very aggressive plan: to become the largest embroiderer in America, according to Theissen. And in just five years of innovative thinking and strategic development, Yoon’s U.S. Embroidery Company Is on tract to achieve that goal.

History: According to Theissen, in addition to Yoon’s strong embroidery background, he also had a great deal of dedication and self-confidence.

Today, the Cerritos, Calif.-based U.S. Embroidery Company maintains 48 Tajima machines, many of which are the top of the line models. The company occupies a total of about 25,000 square feet of space and employs about 120.

With 48 machines, U.S. Embroidery has about 1,000 embroidery heads, and the capacity to produce about 40,000 units of an embroidered chest logo per day. The company has already established itself as a high quality embroiderer, and does large volumes of work for such manufacturers as St. John Knits, several Disney and Warner Brothers licensees, and Byer of California to name a few.

Yoon attributes his fast growth and success to his 30 years of experience in the business, during which he developed a knowledge of various base fabrics, along with the necessary technical background for engineering the designs. Tajima equipment provides for a highly accurate and efficient operation without costly mistakes or delays, which translates into a real savings that is passed on to his customers.

Yoon has also applied innovation in other ways. By minimizing the number of stitches used in each design, U.S. Embroidery is able to provide a high quality product at a minimum cost. Yoon noted, “Recently, I was bidding on a program for J. C. Penney on a embroidery design that the buyer said required about 17,000stitches. I did the exact same design as every other embroiderer bidding on the project, but my sample required only 11,000 stitches. The customer was very surprised because my embroidery looked better, and due to the fact that fewer stitches were used, along with the shortened production time, it was less expensive than my competition. And, when we’re talking in terms of several million units per year, this can represent a huge savings for the customer.”

According to Yoon, the saving can mean as much as a 50% reduction in price. So, what has created the general impression in the market that high quality is directly related to the number of stitches in an embroidery?

Theissen said, “For most of the industry, the people who make the design technically don’t know anything about the process of embroidery. The designing procedure itself has become a fairly simplistic process because it’s all done by computer. And for most of the industry, the people who create these designs, sell their work to the embroiderers based on the number of stitches. So, being the good sales people that they are, they sell as many stitches as possible. However, if all the embroiderers were as knowledgeable as Edward, they would understand that an excessive number of stitches used in a design is the embroiderers biggest enemy, because it increases the amount of time that the product is underneath the machine, thus requiring more time to complete each item.”

The Production: On-time delivery is a big problem for many embroidery companies. In addition, quality problems also tend to arise when trying to work too fast in order to meet a deadline.

Yoon said, “In order to create good quality embroidery, it is necessary to allow enough time.

U.S. Embroidery specializes in embroidery with silk screen, embroidered leather, embroidered emblems and patches, simulated quilted embroidery, the use of metallic threads, and customized antique insignias.

The Equipment: We have the ability to do both long designs and large designs. We can embroider on a king-size bed spread. So, we have no limits. With all the business going south or overseas embroidery companies today have to continually develop more skills in order to compete.”

Theissen noted, “Edward has chosen in his mix of machines to have some extra deep, front-to-back sewing fields, and some with extra wide sewing fields, left-to-right. He also has machines that have small sewing fields to do the small jobs. He is one of the only producers in town that have the extra deep machines and the extra-wide machines. So, he’s able to do more things much more efficiently than some of his competitors.”

Having the right digitizing equipment is also important. Because Yoon understand embroidery, he has been able to become more efficient in that he does. He said, “When people learn digitizing on the computer, they never learn real digitizing. We started with some manual digitizing machines. Currently, we have four digitizing machines plus one old-fashioned machines, just in case we need to create real detailed things. And, we still use that old method occasionally, because the old-fashioned digitizer gives better stitches. But of course it’s not as efficient as the computer. So, today the majority of our work is done by computer. Overall we can handle about 40 different designs digitizing per day.”

Between Tajima and U.S. Embroidery and the fact that U.S. Embroidery has such an extensive array of Tajima equipment, Tajima occasionally uses Yoon’s facility for testing some new products.

The Future: U.S. Embroidery has established itself as a reliable source for a wide range of embroidery needs. Because of its efficient operation, high volume capabilities, and on-time deliveries, the company has become one of the fastest growing embroidery contractors in the country.

Yoon said, ”I attribute my success to the fact that we don’t take on more than we can handle at any one time. It creates major problems for the manufacturers when the embroiderer gets overbooked. Sometimes smaller companies will take on too many orders, and then they have to sub-contract the orders out in order to get them done. But we never send our orders anywhere else. We only take the amount that we can finish on time.”

But Yoon still wants to do more. Because he has been able to successfully manage his large number of machines efficiently so far, he believes that his goal of becoming the largest embroiderer in America is within his reach. And, he is looking at a new market to build a higher volume future business.

Theissen noted, “The thing about Edward’s goal is that he is striving for a market that is yet to be developed. He wants as customers the manufacturers that will bring in a million piece order, and say, ‘I want this in 30 days.’ And, these are the companies that are not doing any embroidery on their products, because it’s unmanageable, and because the embroidery capacity is not available locally. But, there are plenty of manufacturers in the Los Angeles area who do numbers that are that big. It’s not that they wouldn’t like to sell embroidered garments, it’s just that they don’t want the hassle or dividing up their business amount several different embroiderers.”

Theissen said, “When you have a large facility that has as many heads as U.S. Embroidery, if it is managed well like Edward has been able to do, a company can make a reasonable amount of money doing embroidery for lowest price per 1,000 stitches. But the designs have to be good. The equipment and the procedures have to run right. And, everything has to work together. Edward is geared towards that end. So, he’s looking for really big customers.”

Based on his past success, it appears that Yoon will achieve his goal. Yoon is very proud of what he has been able to accomplish since he opened U.S. Embroidery. He said, “Having acquired the work from such high quality manufacturers as St. John Knits is very rewarding. But, I’m still looking to get into more difficult and challenging jobs the things that no one else would consider doing. I’m targeting to grow to about 100 machines and about 2,000 heads over the next two year.” AS&KT

American Sportswear & Knitting Times · November 1999

THE BEST STITCH IN TIME
U.S. Embroidery ( President : Edward Yoon ) - the largest embroiderer in the United States. Located in the Los Angeles area-which, given the enormity of the market, puts him well within striking distances of achieving the goal he set in his mind and has matched with hard work and a unique understanding of the art.

Today, the Cerritos, Calif-based company occupies 25,000 square feet and uses 48 state-of-the-art Tajima machines-accurate and efficient tools that incorporate digitized computer-aided design and allow the company to handle up to 40,000 pieces every day. Embroidery materials we work like clockwork with our 48 maximum-sized machines. Everything is on time, there are no mistakes. Large productions are finished in short time.

Indeed, the company turns out both long and large designs with equipment that is big enough to embroider bed-spreads and king-sized sheets. “My favorite part is looking for a challenge in larger sizes like fabric edging and long designs,” says Yoon. At the other end of the scale, U.S. Embroidery can also embroider micro-patches and even tiny belt clips.

While volume, precision, and service are hallmarks of the business, the real key is Yoon’s exceptional understanding of the production process. While most people assume that the quality of embroidery can be gauged by the number of stitches-the more, the better-that’s not necessarily the truth. Yoon believes that embroidery accomplished with the minimum amount of stitching needed-which also means fewer thread breaks-upholds the integrity of the garment.

From a business standpoint, fewer threads translates into less production time and materials, quicker turnaround, and greater savings passed along to the customer.

Yoon’s client list, which includes St. John Knits, many of JC Penny, Wal Marts, K-mart-supplier, as well as licensees for Disney and Warner Bros., is testament to the principle. “One of the things we do is to embroider so that the product looks handmade. We cannot put this into mass production but we can imitate hand-stitching for this high-end market.”

In addition, U.S. Embroidery is also expert in a host of specialized applications. Yoon and his staff can embroider with silk screen, leather, patches, and emblems; they can simulate quilted embroidery and even customize antique insignias. Four digitizing computers allow the company to create very detailed images and designs for almost any fabric surface.

Edward Yoon is understandably proud of his company’s accomplishments and the blue-chip client base he serves. He Is driven by the challenging job, by solving problems that others might consider too difficult or lack the imagination to take on. This is the force that compels him to keep building and improving upon his company.

December 31, 1999-January 6, 2000 CALIFORNIA APPAREL NEWS