Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
September 09, 2020 11:18 AM

Helmet maker Xenith restructures after hit from youth football cancellations

Kurt Nagl
Crain's Detroit Business
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Kurt Nagl, Crain's Detroit Business
    Gaby Chavez places serial numbers and warranty stickers on Xenith helmets at the company's warehouse in Southwest Detroit in March 2019.

    Xenith LLC was lined up for a record revenue hike in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic blitzed its business. Now it's trimming and pivoting its business to cross the goal line.

    The Detroit-based football equipment maker was forced to lay off between 30 percent and 40 percent of its staff in recent weeks and draw up another new business model in its hunt for profitability.

    "There's 16 states that aren't playing high school football this fall, our home state of Michigan being one of them," CEO Ryan Sullivan told Crain's Detroit Business. "Not only has participation been heavily impacted by COVID, but also budgets. Football equipment as a budget line item is not the same priority that it has been in years past.

    Sullivan said revenue at the company, owned by real estate investor Dan Gilbert, is expected to be down 10-30 percent this year. Prior to the pandemic, the company was projecting sales to be up 35 percent year-over-year. The company does not disclose revenue. Crowdsourcing data site Owler estimated it to be $5 million in 2019.

    "Think about what a swing that has been for us," Sullivan said.

    Xenith made its name by designing helmets with shock-absorbing technology meant to minimize concussions. Its helmets have been worn by a few dozen players at the NFL and NCAA levels. Its Shadow XR helmet debuted in January as its most successful product launch to date. It also makes shoulder pads and other equipment.

    Kurt Nagl, Crain's Detroit Business
    Xenith CEO Ryan Sullivan: “Not only has [sports] participation been heavily impacted by COVID, but also budgets. Football equipment as a budget line item is not the same priority that it has been in years past.”
    Sidelined customers

    The professional and college markets are dominated by behemoths Riddell Sports Group and Schutt Sports. Xenith's primary customers are youth football leagues, including in the Detroit Public Schools Community District. For the most part, those leagues are being sidelined due to COVID-19.

    Although the pandemic has plunged Xenith deeper into the red, it has been able to sustain the blow thanks to the deep pockets of its owner. Gilbert, who bought a majority share of Xenith and moved it to Detroit in 2015, recently infused an undisclosed sum of money into the company.

    "We've made all the necessary changes to our business for the foreseeable future," Sullivan said. "We have support from our ownership group for this new business model that we have going forward, so we're very confident in the outlook of the business model."

    Given the competitive market, Xenith does not see a sustainable future in football helmets, though it has no intention of abandoning its flagship product. Last year, the company started a line of sportswear in hopes of penetrating a $174 billion global athletic apparel industry literally a thousand times the size of the football helmet industry.

    It scrapped that approach as part of its restructuring. It will sell its remaining inventory before diverting resources to a new clothing product: sublimated jerseys.

    The company is refocusing on youth sports, where it has seen the most success, and aiming to outfit leagues with another element of their uniforms. Sullivan said the company has more than 15 jersey-making contracts from programs around the country.

    Xenith teamed with local artists Ndubisi Okoye and Allen Largin to make jerseys for Martin Luther King Jr. High School and Cass Tech High School, both in Detroit, whose seasons have been postponed due to COVID-19.

    More than half of the company's revenue still comes from helmets, but that is expected to shrink as its other products gain traction.

    Around 100 workers remain employed at its 66,000-square-foot warehouse near downtown Detroit.

    During the pandemic, the company launched a business-to-business digital platform to make it easier for customers to buy products in bulk. It also invested in digital marketing after losing all of its physical events-based advertising platforms because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    "Our e-commerce business has been growing phenomenally, both our Xenith.com as well as other distribution channels, such as Amazon and Dick's Sporting Goods online, so that has been a strong growth area," Sullivan said.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Redwire, NASA advance additive manufacturing for space travel
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    ExxonMobil weighing options for more chemical recycling capacity
    2
    Wilbert Plastic Services adjusts to changes with new owner, leadership
    3
    PepsiCo on a ‘multiyear journey' toward bioplastics
    4
    After years of challenges, can secondary sortation take off?
    5
    Biden sets US goal to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified