THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 18, 1995 TAG: 9501180466
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
Need a pair of shoes, a jacket or a sweater - tomorrow? Can't leave home to get them, or just don't want to?
If you're in the Navy, the answer to your problem is as close as the telephone. Taking a page from L.L. Bean, the service ships any uniform item or accessory anywhere in the world. Operators are on call 24 hours a day, satisfaction is guaranteed, and shipping is free - even if you're on a ship.
The selection isn't as varied as the Maine mail-order giant's, but at 22,000 items there is still plenty to choose from - everything from $3 Navy-issue pith helmets worn only in Bermuda to the most popular item, a $10 duffle bag.
And like mail-order houses everywhere, business is brisk, accounting for about $10 million of the $80 million in uniform sales the Navy does from its central warehouse in Chesapeake.
That's quite a jump from the $220,000 the mail-order division did its first year, in 1983, when it opened in a small warehouse at Little Creek Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach.
Today, the uniform center operates out of an 80,000-square-foot building, formerly a Volvo bus assembly plant, at 1545 Crossways Boulevard. The warehouse supplies Navy uniforms to the world - to ships and to 132 base exchange stores, said Becky Adkins, director.
``The original concept for the mail- order business was to serve sailors in remote areas. It gave them easy access with no advance payments and no extra fees for shipping,'' said Ron Rinehart, a retired naval officer who started the program.
Operators do more than fill orders. They are authorities at putting together uniforms, knowing exactly which ribbon goes where and what's ``regulation'' in any situation.
Sailors pay no more for mail-order items than they do at exchanges. Enlisted members' clothing is sold at cost, Adkins said, while chiefs' and officers' clothing has an average 20 percent mark-up, to cover the uniform center's overhead. Customers can be billed when they order, and pay later.
The convenience of mail order significantly increased sales, she said.
``You can probably go just about anywhere in the world and find toothpaste,'' said Adkins, ``but there's not always a uniform store where the fleet is, or uniforms even accessible to the fleet.''
Just like with commercial mail-order houses, the peak business times are when the seasons change. In spring, uniforms change from winter blues to summer whites, and in fall, they reverse. But the fall sales boost actually begins in July, Adkins said, when new chiefs are selected and they switch from petty officers' uniforms to the same khakis officers wear.
All Navy uniforms and shoes, and 99 percent of accessory items, are made in the United States, according to strict guidelines established by the Uniform Board. Adkins, who serves on the board, says it governs everything from threads per inch in fabric to dye, to the thickness of shoe soles.
The uniform center carries more than 3,500 rating badges, including some for rates - such as ``enlisted pilot'' - that ended with World War II. It stocks petite, missy and women's sizes for the 12 percent of sailors who are female, along with short, average, tall and full-cut clothing for men. Shoes are available up to size 12 wide for women and 15EEE for men.
Of the 22,000 items the warehouse carries, 2,200 are ``government issue'' - handed out free when a person enlists. If the center runs out of an item, it can usually restock within 24 hours.
Rinehart said the pith helmet is perhaps the most unusual item sold. It comes in only one size and worn only in Bermuda. One of the biggest sellers is the standard heavy canvas, olive green duffle bag, which retails for $11; the uniform center sells about 5,000 a month.
A new and popular piece of clothing is the ``Woolly Pully,'' a British Army-looking black pullover sweater that is the only uniform item not manufactured in the U.S. It's made in Great Britain and sells for about $26. Regulations allow both enlisted men and women, and officers, to wear the smart-looking wool sweater.
``We're not L.L. Bean, but we're better,'' Rinehart said. ``Because we're part of the Navy and our customers are part of the Navy. That makes us all the same family.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
CARL CASON
Linda London looks over an order at the Uniform Support Center
warehouse in Chesapeake. The warehouse supplies Navy uniforms to
ships and 132 base exchange stores worldwide.
Graphic
ORDERING A UNIFORM
The Uniform Support Center publishes a full-color catalog, which
includes clothing and other items. The center's toll-free number is
1-800-420-7348.
by CNB