Marathon Sportswear

What Marathon Sportswear does

Marathon Sportswear is a privately held custom apparel decorator and contract manufacturer founded in 1980 and headquartered in Blue Island, Illinois. The company provides end-to-end screen printing, embroidery, heat transfer, and specialty printing services for t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, hats, bags, and promotional items, supplemented by proprietary Marathon-branded inputs including Hydro water-based ink, Vapor moisture-activated invisible ink, and the MSV1980 vintage blend fabric. Production runs on 10 automatic and 3 manual screen printing machines with a stated capacity of 30,000 shirts per day, and the company advertises more than 100 million shirts printed over its history.

The company's revenue model is project-based custom decoration with quote-based pricing, flexible order minimums starting at 10 units, and same-day/next-day rush processing. It pursues a hybrid go-to-market: self-serve e-commerce and online design studio for SMB and individual buyers, plus direct/field sales for enterprise and contract accounts. Anchor customer relationships include contract production for NCAA, NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB (hundreds of thousands of items annually), merchandise printing for Chicago's five major professional franchises, approximately 1,500 race events per year (including the Chicago Marathon and Shamrock Shuffle), and ongoing work with Chicago-area schools, corporations, and nonprofits such as Special Olympics Chicago and Special Children's Charities.

Marathon holds authorized screen-printing partnerships with Nike, Under Armour, Hanes, American Apparel, Adidas, Gildan, Next Level, New Era, and The North Face, enabling it to print on premium branded blanks. The company has 51–100 employees, operates from a single production facility, and offers worldwide shipping alongside in-house art creation, embroidery digitization, and one-stop fulfillment (tagging, labeling, bagging, shipping). There is no disclosed AI capability, no external funding, no M&A activity, and no public revenue figure; the business is founder-/closely-held.

Name

Marathon Sportswear

Legal name

Marathon Sportswear

Website

https://marathonsportswear.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Marathon Sportswear is a privately held Chicagoland custom apparel decorator founded in 1980, offering screen printing, embroidery, and fulfillment on t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, hats, and bags for schools, corporations, race events, nonprofits, and major US sports leagues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Apparel Printing and Embroidery Services

NAICS

Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (339920)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949)

akta.pro primary industry

Sportswear Customization & Printing Retail (CRAMACAK)

Keywords

• Custom screen printing
• Custom embroidery services
• Contract apparel printing
• Race merchandise printing
• Branded promotional apparel

Headquarters

HQ city

Blue Island

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Custom Screen Printing Services: Primary revenue stream from custom screen printing on apparel including t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, bags, and promotional items. Volume-based pricing with minimum order flexibility from 10 to 10,000+ units.
2. Custom Embroidery Services: Embroidery services for hats, jackets, shirts, and bags with in-house digitization capabilities. Quick two-week turnaround for customized embroidered products.
3. Promotional Items: Custom promotional products including pens, paper, calendars, water bottles, golf items, koozies, and gift items. Scalable ordering through online store.
4. Contract Manufacturing: Large-scale contract printing for major sports leagues (NCAA, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB) producing hundreds of thousands of items annually under contractual agreements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Marathon Sportswear provides custom screen printing and embroidery services on apparel and promotional products, with daily capacity of up to 30,000 shirts via 10 automatic and 3 manual printing machines. The company offers end-to-end services including design, printing, embroidery, tagging, labeling, individual bagging, and shipping, serving schools, corporations, sports leagues, race organizers, and nonprofits primarily in the Chicagoland market with worldwide shipping.

Product overview

Marathon Sportswear is a custom printing and embroidery company serving the Chicagoland area since 1980, offering a comprehensive portfolio of branded apparel and promotional products. The core offerings center on screen printing services (including contract/high-volume printing), custom embroidery, and promotional items. Screen printing capabilities include automatic and manual equipment producing up to 30,000 shirts daily. Embroidery services cover hats, jackets, and shirts with digitization capabilities. The company also offers proprietary Marathon Brand products including the MSV1980 Vintage Blend Tee, Hydro Water-Based Ink, and Vapor Ink (moisture-activated invisible ink). Supporting services include design studio (online customization tool), art creation, specialty printing techniques, and one-stop fulfillment including shipping. Promotional items span golf products, koozies, pens, water bottles, and business items through an ASI partnership. The platform operates with scalable ordering from 10 to 10,000+ items with same-day and next-day processing options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Marathon Blend Vintage Tee (MSV1980): Premium vintage blend t-shirt line featuring 60% cotton/40% polyester blend, pre-laundered for reduced shrinking, with layered wicking properties. Available in men's, ladies', and youth sizes.
• Marathon Hydro Water-Based Ink
• Marathon Vapor Ink

Products and services

• Screen Printing Services Custom screen printing services on apparel and promotional items using 10 automatic and 3 manual silk screen printing machines, with capacity for up to 30,000 shirts per day and minimum orders starting at 10 units.
• Custom Embroidery Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 30,000 shirt daily production capacity
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NikecoreTechnology or IntegrationAuthorized screen printing partner trusted to print Nike apparel. Marathon collaborates with Nike for custom team apparel and merchandise production. Nike is a key brand partner in Marathon's supplier and co-branding ecosystem.
• Under ArmourcoreTechnology or IntegrationAuthorized screen printing partner for Under Armour products. Marathon produces custom embroidered jackets and apparel featuring Under Armour brand merchandise.
• HanescoreTechnology or IntegrationLong-standing partnership with Hanes as an apparel provider. Marathon has worked with Hanes for over 30 years delivering custom-printed apparel.
• AdidascoreTechnology or IntegrationAuthorized printing partner trusted to produce Adidas branded merchandise and team apparel.
• American ApparelcoreTechnology or IntegrationRenowned apparel provider that Marathon has worked with to deliver custom-designed prints with quick turnaround.
• Special Olympics ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharitable partner for whom Marathon provides screen printing services. Part of Marathon's community engagement and nonprofit support program.
• Special Children's CharitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharitable organization partnered with Marathon for screen printing services. Marathon supports their events through custom printed merchandise.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cimpress / Vistaprint: Mass-market custom printing platform across business cards, apparel, and promotional products. Comparable in product breadth (print-on-demand apparel + promo) but at significantly larger scale than Marathon.
• SanMar: Largest wholesale distributor of imprintable apparel and accessories in the U.S. Comparable to Marathon's sourcing side (blank apparel supply) rather than its printing operation.
• AlphaBroder: One of the largest wholesale apparel distributors in North America, also offering decoration services. Comparable as a broad incumbent in custom/decorated apparel, though its core model is blank apparel distribution rather than contract printing.

Direct peers

• Underground Printing: Custom apparel printer focused on college, Greek, and events markets with online design tools. Directly comparable to Marathon's collegiate/school-custom apparel business and event-driven race merchandise.
• Custom Ink: National online custom apparel platform offering screen printing, embroidery, and promotional products to schools, teams, and businesses. Directly comparable to Marathon in core service (custom decorated apparel) with broader geographic reach and a stronger digital storefront.
• RushOrderTees: Online-first custom screen printing and embroidery shop specializing in fast-turn custom tees, hoodies, and team apparel. Comparable to Marathon in production model and enterprise/team customer focus, with a digitally led GTM.
• Broken Arrow Wear: Family-owned contract screen printer and apparel decorator serving schools, sports, and corporate accounts. Closely analogous to Marathon in operating model, customer segments, and decoration capabilities.
• 8th Light Apparel (formerly Marco Sportswear) / Vantage Apparel: National custom apparel decorator serving college bookstores, leagues, and corporate buyers via in-house screen printing and embroidery. Closely aligned with Marathon's collegiate/league contract printing focus.

Emerging players

• CafePress: Online custom merchandise marketplace offering print-on-demand apparel and gifts. Adjacent to Marathon's custom promotional products business, though with a marketplace/consumer-led GTM.
• Stouse: Custom printed promotional products and apparel vendor. Comparable to Marathon's promotional items side of the business (pens, koozies, signage) with a digitally led storefront.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/marathon80
• Facebookfacebook.com/marathonsportswear1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marathon-sportswear
• Instagraminstagram.com/marathonsprtswear

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Marathon Sportswear