A six-color manual press, a garage in Hickory, and a lot of ambition were the starting ingredients for what would become Innovative Outfitters. Since launching in 2004, the company has steadily grown from a small screen-printing operation into a full-service apparel partner offering screen printing, embroidery, digital printing, inventory management, and fulfillment. Along the way, the company has continued to grow its capabilities while staying focused on the relationships and reliability that have been at the heart of the business from the beginning.
Today, Innovative Outfitters works with everyone from small local brands to large national companies, with the capacity to handle everything from a few dozen shirts to thousands of pieces. Their in-house approach allows them to keep a close eye on quality, timelines, and the customer experience, while continued investment in digital technology is opening up new possibilities for the future.
The company’s connection to Western North Carolina has also grown in recent years, thanks in part to its involvement with the Outdoor Business Alliance. In this OBA Member Spotlight, we learn more about Innovative Outfitters’ journey, its evolution from Innovative Ink, its commitment to serving the local outdoor community, and how the team is balancing new technology with the traditional craftsmanship that built the business.
1. What inspired you to start Innovative Outfitters in 2004, and how has the business evolved from a garage-based operation into the company it is today?
The seed was planted back in 1995, when James helped a friend finish a screen-printing job — a small favor that turned into a lifelong pull toward the apparel decoration trade. That pull led him to Twin City Knitting in 2000, where he managed the decorated apparel division at one of the nation’s largest sock manufacturers, learning the industry from the inside.
In 2004, he struck out on his own, launching the company from a garage in Hickory, NC, with a 6-color manual press and a dream. The growth from there has been steady and deliberate: outgrowing the garage for a remodeled gas station in 2005, building a 5,000-square-foot facility in 2009, then scaling to 15,000 square feet by 2015 to support a growing team and multiple automatic presses. Embroidery came on board in 2018, and the company expanded again — to 22,000 square feet — right through the pandemic in 2020, adding e-commerce distribution along the way.
Since then, the growth hasn’t slowed: DTF printing in 2022, an 8,000-square-foot downtown sales and marketing hub in 2023, and in 2026 invested into a digital Hybrid solution, that 20-year journey has led to a full rebrand — Innovative Outfitters — reflecting not just how much the capabilities have grown, but the vision for where the company is headed next.
2. With everything from design and decoration to inventory management and fulfillment handled in-house, what sets Innovative Outfitters apart in the outdoor industry?
What really sets us apart is our ability to respond to whatever our customers need, whether that’s an order of 24 shirts or 24,000. Because we handle every part of the process under one roof — design, decoration, inventory management, and fulfillment — we can meet customers’ requirements without handing them off between vendors or losing control of quality and timelines along the way.
That in-house capability is backed by strategic partnerships we’ve built and refined across 25 years in the apparel industry. Those relationships let us scale up or down without sacrificing reliability, which is what keeps customers coming back whether they’re a small local brand or a much larger operation.
3. How has being part of the Outdoor Business Alliance and the broader Western North Carolina outdoor community influenced the growth and direction of Innovative Outfitters?
Being part of the Outdoor Business Alliance and the wider Western North Carolina outdoor community has shifted our focus in a meaningful way — from being primarily a partner to national brands, to becoming a name that’s recognized and trusted at the regional and local level too. We’ve built a strong reputation among national brands over the years, but through this community we’ve gotten to build those same trusted relationships closer to home consisting of current member of the OBA.
That local and regional connection has shaped the direction of the business — it’s pushed us to be just as responsive and invested in the outdoor businesses in our own backyard as we are with our larger national partners.
4. What recent project, milestone, or new direction at Innovative Outfitters are you especially excited or proud of?
Looking ahead, our big focus over the next five years is making the most of the digital technology that’s emerging in our industry — things like the digital DTG printing we’ve already invested in — while continuing to expand our traditional screen printing capabilities right alongside it. We don’t see it as one replacing the other; it’s about giving customers the best of both worlds, whether their project calls for the speed and flexibility of digital printing or the durability and classic feel of traditional screen printing.
That balance — pushing forward on new technology without losing what’s made us reliable for the last 20+ years — is what we’re most excited about as we look to the future.
5. After more than 20 years in business, what advice would you give someone just starting out in the outdoor industry?
My advice would be to really know your product — and just as important, understand how the end consumer actually uses it. It’s not enough to know how something is made; you have to understand what your customer needs it to do for them. That understanding is what lets you make better decisions, whether that’s in design, materials, or how you build out your services. It’s been a guiding principle for us from day one, and it still is today.
