After shutting NE Philly plant, distributor offers free shipping
Alphabroder will do Harrisburg pickups twice a day
Alphabroder, the private equity-backed Philadelphia T-shirt and hoodie wholesaler that is buying up a string of industry rivals and closing and consolidating their plants, has reached out to local printers and other area clients worried about higher shipping costs from out-of-town warehouses.
In a bland one-paragraph flier distributed by Alphabroder reps to area printers, the firm promises "no shipping charges" at a new pick-up room it is opening at 2901 Grant Ave. in Northeast Philadelphia, across the street from its soon-to-shut warehouse at 2951 Grant Ave., which is scheduled to close in October, idling 143 workers, as I wrote here.
"There will no longer be live inventory in stock on site," and all orders will be shipped from a warehouse in Harrisburg, twice a day, arriving around 7:30 a.m. (for orders placed the previous business day) and 4 p.m. (for orders by 11:30 that morning), according to the flier. PIckups 7:30-5. Garments will be held for 10 days, then returned and a stocking fee imposed.
Two clients told me it's Alphabroder's way of trying to forestall new competition. "We appreciate your business, and look forward to continuing to work with your company from our new location," the flier concludes.