Hybrid Apparel Acquires Air Waves, Expands into Apparel Print on Demand

Acquisition strengthens Hybrid’s omnichannel presence in licensed, private label and lifestyle branded apparel.

June 30, 2021

Hybrid Apparel has completed its acquisition of Air Waves, a design and technology driven print-on-demand (POD) provider serving e-commerce and wholesale customers. Air Waves will continue to operate in Columbus, Ohio and provide its print-on-demand and technology services to Hybrid’s retail customers and global license and lifestyle brand partners.

“Air Waves is a best-in-class digital print on demand and e-commerce technology provider and has developed a market-leading set of supply chain solutions and capabilities,” says Bill Hutchison, chief executive officer, Hybrid Apparel. “Last year, Hybrid began a fulfillment relationship with Air Waves for select customers and we were very impressed with their team and capabilities. We are now beyond excited to bring POD to all our customers. When you combine best-in-class creative and content with exceptional technology and infrastructure capabilities, you unlock a lot more opportunity for our collective retail, license and lifestyle brand partners. We look forward to continuing to build our industry leading global platform with Air Waves.”

Kyle

Kantner, who acquired Air Waves in 2009, will continue to serve as chief executive officer of Air Waves while serving as an executive member of Hybrid.

“We have seen tremendous growth at Air Waves in recent years as online demand has soared and customers have recognized the value of our efficient on-demand digital solution,” says Kantner. “I’m really proud of our team who has helped build Air Waves into the scalable digital platform that it is today. We are ready for the next chapter of accelerated growth with our new partner, Hybrid. This is a transformational opportunity for both teams at Air Waves and Hybrid, and we are excited to bring this innovative solution to all our partners.”

The combination of Hybrid and Air Waves will create one of the largest omnichannel wholesalers of licensed, branded and private label apparel. Hybrid also operates the Junkfood Clothing brand.