Despite fashion fluctuations, ties hold in the promotional products sector

Once a universal symbol of uniformity and professionalism, the tie has become looser in recent years, but it still endures in the promotion industry and beyond.

As corporate dress codes relax and the popularity of working from home encourages casual attire, the tie has been touted as either a relic of the office past or the latest hipster accessory. After a recent photo of three presidents without ties went viral, NPR asked the question: are ties out of fashion? A few days later, the Wall Street Journal rebutted, stating that the tie was making a comeback and might be the riskiest fashion accessory yet.

KTP Design Company (asi/64773) offers a variety of custom promotional ties.

Pat Walsh has seen the popularity of ties wax and wane many times during his long career. In fact, it was after reading a 1998 article about the decline of ties that he moved away from retailing the ties he had formed with his business partner to focus on the promotional market, with the creation of KTP Design Company (asi/63773).

Over the past two decades, the tie business has declined (which Walsh attributes to increasingly casual workwear) and KTP Design has expanded its product offerings to include blankets, towels and other categories. Despite this change, links still represent a large part of [their] line, Walsh said.

I would have predicted in the early 2000s that ties wouldn't even be part of my line at this point, Walsh says. But it held.

The exception was during the pandemic.

We probably had the least essential product known to man during the pandemic, Walsh jokes. With every order I received during the pandemic, I was like, Why are they ordering this?

However, post-pandemic, KTP Design saw a surge in tie sales as employers began hosting formal in-person events again.

Wolfmark partner Bruce Everakes (asi/98085) says the supplier, in business for more than 75 years, experienced a similar situation post-COVID. He attributes the increase to employers hiring after pandemic-related layoffs.

When things started coming back, we had customers who had customers in uniform, Everakes says. All of a sudden, they have to restock their inventory.

Knotty Promo makes custom ties from recycled plastics and employs resettled refugees at its Denver, Colorado-based facility.

Knotty Promo has not experienced a substantial slowdown in tie sales during its 10 years in business. Sales director Jaymie Hoffman says the Denver-based supplier has seen success in the education and technology industries, as well as with breweries and other beverage companies.

This often surprises people, Hoffman says. But I can tell you that it is happening. Every day people order and want to wear ties.

Schools, particularly private academies that require students to wear uniforms, have recently been big buyers of branded ties, according to suppliers. Walsh shares that her 7-year-old son loves putting on his clip-on tie for school.

10 years ago they didn't wear ties to school, but they think having uniforms is a good thing, because there aren't three or four kids with very expensive clothes, nor other kids who can't afford it, Walsh said. It just eliminates a lot of nonsense.

Events such as conventions, trade shows and employee benefits are a major venue for promotional tie-ins, according to vendors. They point out that anchoring ties in formal wear is attractive to companies looking to dress their employees or brand ambassadors for special events, along with scarves and pocket squares as unisex options.

Just as you would make a T-shirt for a casual event, the tie is your more formal version, says Hoffman. It's a fun and stylish way to reinforce brand image with customers.

Despite variations in usage, classic tie styles are still relevant today. Designs and colorways vary based on company logos, but Hoffman says the mid-width signature ties are the most popular Knotty Promos. The same goes for Wolfmark, Everakes says.

Link width really is evolving at a glacial pace, according to Walsh. Blues Brother style thin ties are unique pieces. It's very rarely something that's part of a uniform.

Whether it's uniforms or special events, the overall pie for ties has shrunk, according to Everakes. However, he adds, Wolfmark has seen individual growth in the market, which he attributes to a decreasing number of suppliers. Earlier this year, Greensboro, North Carolina-based Buffalo Bay (asi/42416) announced it was closing its custom tie division and would no longer operate in promotions.

Despite the market dynamics, Walsh maintains that the stranglehold on bonds won't ease any time soon. Every man in the world still has at least one tie in his wardrobe. The same cannot be said of the Stanley Quencher. If he's not dead now, he's not dying.