People still do wear ties
Apparently the phrase, "no one wears ties anymore," is just not true. Mike Martyka is running a company in Mundelein that sold just shy of one million items last year. The ties range in price from $1.95 to $19. Martyka was one of 26 suburban-based companies and business organizations recently honored at the 28th Annual Awards for Business Excellence event held by the Daily Herald Business Ledger.
Martyka started dabbling in eBay sales after spending a 30-career at Kmart, mostly in management. He left the retailer about 20 years ago to focus on an array of online sales. The ties took off and he and his wife made that the company focus. The business is still growing. We asked Martyka, the president and founder of Tiemart Inc. a few questions.
Q: Tell us about the business.
A: Tiemart Inc. is a family-owned business located in Mundelein. We are an online retailer specializing in neckties, scarves, socks and related items.
Q: How did the business start? Tell us a little history.
A: Short story, rather by accident. We were a top 100 eBay seller, always looking for new items to sell. One day my wife and I came across inexpensive sports theme neckties at an outlet store, added them to eBay and they sold. Soon, we were purchasing more and more ties from the outlet and the sales continued to grow. Customers started asking for more solid color ties, so we found a new vendor and added them to our mix. With no experience at website building, I purchased a copy of "Microsoft's Front Page" and created a working website for ties. It became SolidColorNeckties.com in 2004, when we were selling mostly solid color ties from the site. The business had started in our home in Mundelein, moved to Wauconda with other things we were doing on eBay and then back into our home in 2006. By spring of 2008, ties had overtaken our basement, garage and family room. We rented a single 2,500-square-foot unit in a small warehouse in Mundelein and moved in on April 15, 2008. Over the next few years, as the business grew, we added two more 2,500 square foot adjacent units in the same building. In August of 2013 we purchased the entire building.
Q: You were a manager at Kmart before. What made you start the business?
A: I decided to leave Kmart in 1997 after almost 30 years, mostly in management. I had dabbled a little bit in selling online while I worked for Kmart and I thought I could find a way to make a living out of it. I was confident in me, but really didn't know what direction I was heading.
Q: Tell us about the manufacturing and your lines.
A: We import the majority of our products from overseas. We have five manufacturers who produce our products under our own labels and to our specifications. We have inexpensive solid color neckties that we sell for as little as $1.95 each (in large quantity) up to our silk and silk blend Regent Morris Neckwear line that sells for under $19 each. Our stock includes regular ties, extra-long ties, pocket squares, clip-on ties, bow ties, boy's ties, narrow ties, skinny ties, uniform ties and more. We stock more than 6,000 SKUs in our warehouse.
Q: Tell us about the new machinery for printing.
A: In 2017, we purchased dye sublimation printing equipment. It allows us to create custom ties on site in small quantities. We start with a plain white tie and using a heat roller press we can add just about any design and pattern to it.
Q: Who is your typical customer?
A: Our customer base is wide ranging: Individuals, wedding parties, restaurants, caterers, schools, theaters, production companies, choruses, bands, barber shop quartets, teens for prom, TV news people, fraternities, businesses and a lot of people who just need to wear a tie to work every day and appreciate our low prices.
Many of our customers are planning weddings and are looking for colors that will match or complement their wedding colors, typically bridesmaid dresses. We have received award recognition from wedding sites The Knot (Best of Weddings 2018) and Wedding Wire (Couples Choice Awards 2018). We offer free color swatches to help couples make the right choice and we send out several hundred envelopes with them each week.
Q: About how many ties would you say you sell a year?
A: We ship thousands of orders every week and sold just under one million items last year.
Q: What is your price range. Explain the quality of the ties.
A: If you're a business looking for a great deal on ties, our polyester staff ties with the Tiemart label are a great choice. They're durable, come in twelve different solid colors and are only $1.95 each when purchased in lots of 50 or more.
Most of our everyday ties, in a large variety of solids, stripes and prints are priced in the $5.95 to $8.95 range. These are most popular with our wedding customers and most fall under our Alexander Logan Neckwear label, named after our first two grandsons.
At our top end is our own Regent Morris Neckwear line. These are fine quality silk and silk blend ties that sell for between $14.95 and $18.95 each.
Q: You have supplied ties to production companies? What movies or shows have your ties been worn in?
A: Our ties have been worn anywhere from the Boston Pops Orchestra on July Fourth to productions at Disney World. Most of the time we are shipping to costume departments so we don't always see which movie or TV show they will appear in.
Q: Tell us about your generosity in within your community.
A: When Hawley Street in Mundelein was under construction about two years ago, there were about 60 businesses that were affected. We had unique Mundelein socks made and worked with the village to offer them as a free incentive to people who shopped at these businesses while the construction went on. We ended up donating about 2,000 pairs and it was a big hit with everyone.
Every year, just before Thanksgiving, we do a family Toys for Tots shopping event. What started out as my wife and I donating a few toys 10 years ago has grown to a big event with our kids and grandkids. This year we donated about $2,000 in toys purchased at our local Target store in Mundelein.
Through sales of pink ties, scarves and other items, we have been able to help raise more than $125,000 that has been contributed to The American Cancer Society and other charities to help with breast cancer prevention.
The Mundelein High School football coach wanted his team in ties on game day. He created the pattern, we had them made and donated ties for the team and coaches.
We also have had custom ties made that we have donated to the Village of Mundelein. They feature the village's star logo and in their own way, help to bring new business and developers to Mundelein.
We've supported Mundelein Days, Santa's Cottage, Park on Park, the Christmas tree lighting, the Fremont Township food bank, Mundelein Police Special Olympics, events at the park district and more. We try to be good neighbors and support family events and give back to those in need.
Q: What kind of growth plans do you have in the future?
A: We have a tenant occupying 5,000 square feet in our building. They will be moving into a larger location later this year and we will be expanding into that space, giving us about 12,000 square feet total. We are talking with our manufacturers about expanding the lines of some items we already carry and have ideas for a few new things.
Q: What are people in your industry talking about?
A: I guess I've heard many times, "no one wears ties anymore." It's true that the market has shrunk and taken many small companies with it when they didn't adapt to today's market. There are still a lot of places where ties are worn, though, and we just need to concentrate on serving those customers.
Q: If you had to give a tip to someone just starting a small business, what would it be?
A: Be frugal.
When we needed desks we looked on Craigslist and spent $400 to furnish two offices. We bought a lot of things used. As the business grew, we were able to spend the money to upgrade, but still today, most of us work off those original used desks.
Q: What is one fact about the business that most may not know.
A: We have a theme song! I'm not sure all of our employees even know that, to be honest. Several years ago, a college group from North Carolina created it for us. Now to find it ….
Q: What is one question I forgot to ask?
A: Is there a succession plan? We're very fortunate to have our four grown children involved in the business. They're all college graduates and had their own careers before joining us from 2009 to 2011. Most of the things that I've done in the past, they now handle. I love what I do, but I've had a job since I was ten years old. I turn 66 this year and plan to retire at the end of 2018. They are more than qualified to take over and continue to grow the business.
Tiemart Inc.
<b>525 Morris Ave., Mundelein, IL 60060</b>Web address: <a href="http://www.tiemart.com">tiemart.com</a>
Twitter: twitter.com/solidcolorties
Number of employees: 17
When business started: 2004
President/founder: Michael G. (Mike) Martyka