S&S Activewear is a leading, technology-enabled distributor of apparel and accessories in North America. Across nearly four decades, the company has grown its footprint to include more than 6 million square feet of warehouse space and more than 100 popular brands.
In 2024, the company embarked on an ambitious mission to showcase its technology prowess against the backdrop of its unique automation deployments in three major distribution centers. S&S’s long-time commitment to innovation proved to be an untapped gold mine of storytelling. Under the leadership of S&S’s chief technology officer and robust automation team, the company partnered with Infios (formerly Körber Supply Chain) and Geekplus to deploy hundreds of robots to optimize on-site staff, order quality and delivery efficiencies.
S&S tapped Red Fan to bring the company’s technology vision to life, engaging our team for strategic media relations and thought leadership services.
Red Fan was tasked with connecting two distinct industry ecosystems (the apparel and promotional products industry and the supply chain automation world) while orchestrating a sophisticated multistakeholder campaign. The initiative involved bridging apparel trade publications with supply chain and technology outlets that had limited familiarity with S&S’s warehouse automation capabilities. Our team developed vertical-specific pitch strategies, facilitated cross-partner briefings and helped create visual assets to bring the story to life for reporters.
The campaign leveraged the diverse expertise of each partner company. Red Fan acted as the liaison between each organization, leading press release development, collaborating on media targets and coordinating spokesperson preparation to amplify consistent messaging across all partners. Red Fan also supported a parallel case study process with the Infios team, multiplying the number of media-worthy assets for campaign efforts.
MEDIA PLACEMENTS
Across apparel, supply chain & technology outlets.
Notable Coverage
Cover stories with Modern Materials Handling, Screen Printing Magazine & PPAI.
Earned Recognition
Inc.’s 2024 Best in Business, Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s “Top Supply Chain Projects” & the “Industry Impact Award.”
Red Fan’s strategy positioned S&S’s automation story as a monumental moment for the apparel industry—proving that apparel distribution could be as technology advanced as any other sector.
In order to achieve this, we developed a multipronged approach:
Our research showed that S&S’s competitors had minimal presence in technology media, giving us a clear path to dominate share of voice by being first to market with a comprehensive automation story.
The partnership delivered exceptional, measurable outcomes: more than 3,000 media placements across apparel, supply chain and technology outlets drove a commanding share of voice for the brand and its executive leadership against S&S’s competitors. Notable coverage included three cover stories with Modern Materials Handling, Screen Printing Magazine and PPAI, and dozens of additional mentions in Supply Chain Dive, Fortune, Robot Report, ASI, Apparelist and others.
This media momentum combined with Red Fan’s ongoing collaboration with S&S’s technology partners catalyzed broader industry recognition, culminating in numerous awards such as Inc.’s 2024 “Best in Business” for operational excellence, Supply & Demand Chain Executive’s “Top Supply Chain Projects” and the Impressions “Industry Impact Award” for S&S’s AllPro Polo.
Results from the partnership demonstrate how Red Fan’s strategic communications support can impact market perception, unlocking business value that will accelerate S&S’s long-term growth vision.