American Printhouse was days from closing its doors when entrepreneur Sam Akkad of Mesa seized an opportunity and bought a new company. Read the full AZ Central Article here.
He had been shopping for a T-shirt business, and when he found the company for sale, he had to act quickly. Within half an hour, Akkad found himself the owner of American Printhouse in Phoenix.
The company was founded in Milwaukee as an art-design screen-printing business in 1990, producing shirts for the musical group Grateful Dead and then for stars ranging from Bob Marley to Jerry Springer.
After moving to Phoenix in 1997, the company continued to prosper until 2005 when many of the original licensing agreements ended. With insufficient replacement agreements, the company faltered. When Akkad purchased the company, revenue had declined from more than $8 million annually to less than $100,000.
Today, American Printhouse is re-fashioning itself, becoming an apparel firm producing shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, shorts and hats for more than 1,500 local and national accounts.
Revenue has increased by about 20 percent annually, and are expected to reach just over $1 million this year.
It has both independent specialty retailers like the National Park Service and larger retailers like;
• Hot Topic
• Urban Outfitters
• Kohl’s
• Target
• PetSmart
The company also works with wholesale accounts such as;
• Disney
• Ralph Lauren
• Calvin Klein
“We re-built the company slowly, almost from scratch,” said general manager Rick Weber. “With Sam, we made a calculated effort to rethink our positioning and segmentation.”
The company uses a dozen screen-printing techniques and has presses that can print on most any apparel. New techniques include;
• wrap-around art
• printing across sleeves
• special inks
• foils
• flocking
“We’re becoming an A-to-Z shop, doing custom printing of all sorts with a real fashion approach,” Weber said.
Expanding with products like a new line of shirts and sweaters for dogs has helped stabilize the company.
Growing the online presence has also helped boost sales. “Our vision is big,” Akkad said.
We provide the following services;
• Worldwide Shipping
• Fast Turn Around Times
• We can work with YOUR artwork or custom design something
• Choose from any of our blank t-shirt or apparel styles
• Small minimum order required
• Quality Blanks. T-Shirts, Golf Shirts, and most Garments
Please call or email for a no obligation quote on any of our screen printing services.
Rush orders are available – contact us
Why Use Us
We provide eye-catching, one of a kind, quality-produced items with an intense attention to detail. American Printhouse is able to transform a corporate message, create the latest fashion trend, promote a special event, display your team pride or personalize life’s biggest moments.
Please call us right now for immediate assistance or use our simple contact form for more information about your unique requirements.
Robert Fisher is the founder and CEO of Thrive Screen Printing and brings extensive experience in the screen printing and fulfillment industry.