UP Fighting Maroons find a winner in sportswear startup

Edrin Panganiban—CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Edrin Panganiban loved basketball so much that it took him quite some time to get his college degree, attending four different schools where he played for various varsity teams.

But he has since monetized years of athletic pursuit by weaving practical fashion insights into functional sportswear.

STATS, his startup clothing company, is the official outfitter and merchandiser of the UP Fighting Maroons, which is going into the next UAAP season with high hopes.

This year, the UP men’s basketball team (MBT) will be powered by prized cagers Kobe Paras, Ricci Rivero and Bright Akhuetie.

Ricci Rivero

“This year’s team is scary,” says 30-year-old Panganiban, who is grateful for the chance to clothe UP MBT, whose runner-up finish last season resulted in a snowball of support and awakened even the most nonchalant alumni.

Panganiban’s startup company rides on the recent fashion trend of “athleisure,” which means wearing comfortable clothing that is suitable for both exercise and everyday life.

With his athletic build and good looks, Panganiban doesn’t have to look too far for a brand ambassador. He himself is capable of modelling his clothing line.

STATS stands for sports training, athleisure, tech and swim. The company sells mostly online—via either Instagram or Facebook—and prices its products around 30-40 percent lower than big global brands Nike, Adidas and Under Armour while offering similar quality.

“I had no design experience,” Panganiban admits in an interview. But years of playing basketball gave him a firm idea of the features he wanted for his own products.

For instance, he found it practical for basketball shorts to have pockets.

By having them, he could use the same shorts for other activities like malling or hanging out with friends.

Another new feature is a shorts loop—a hidden pouch to stow a used shirt.

Best of all, Panganiban says STATS uses high-quality locally produced lightweight and quick-dry fabric.

He is now collaborating with a local textile manufacturer to come up with a new fabric design exclusive to STATS.

Kobe Paras

Soon to hit the market is a sports bra line that is resistant to wrinkles, saltwater and chlorine, thus can be used both in the gym and for swimming.

STATS will also offer an undergarment that is a hybrid of a bikini and compression shorts.

To date, 70 percent of STATS’ sales come from male buyers, but these female undergarments are seen to boost sales of its clothing line.

Customers are usually yuppies and fitness junkies between 25 and 35 years old.

STATS was originally meant to be the execution of a thesis on entrepreneurship to complete Panganiban’s college degree at Southville International School and Colleges in Las Piñas.

After years of hopping from one university to another (three years in Emilio Aguinaldo College where he was part of the varsity team, one semester in Mapua and one semester in De La Salle University), he finally decided it was time to get his college degree.

He enrolled at Southville and started college from scratch as it was difficult to consolidate transcripts from three previous schools.

By the time he wrote his thesis and started STATS in 2016, he was in his mid-20s.

Panganiban initially produced customized jerseys for clubs and teams in need of uniforms.

The business was hatched ahead of the writing of his thesis, because Panganiban felt it would be better to have actual rather than theoretical numbers.

He also felt he had a solid proposition and was gunning for the “best thesis” award, which he didn’t get, and still regrets to this day.

Bright Akhuetie

But while he didn’t get the “best thesis” citation, STATS got a better reward when it started clothing the Fighting Maroons three years ago.

Panganiban’s godfather, businessman Januario Jesus Gregorio “JJ” Atencio III, took an interest in his thesis and invested in the startup.

He was then set to retire as president of leading mass housing developer 8990 Holdings Inc. and was on the lookout for fintech and startup companies to incubate.

Atencio also happens to be one of the patrons of the UP team and was able to make introductions to UP bosses.

So in two of the last three years, STATS became the official outfitter of the Fighting Maroons.

“We should be always on the lookout for startups with original content. It may be in a highly competitive industry—even if you say it’s not a sunrise industry with so many players—there’s still room for originality like in apparel,” Atencio says.

Atencio also linked up Panganiban with a local textile manufacturer/exporter, who was otherwise only catering to bulk orders.

“Fabric is key to apparel. You can only do so much of marketing,” Atencio says.

After acquiring machines for garments production from the same textile manufacturer, STATS was able to set up operations in 2016, employing sewers and cutters.

Panganiban himself was the designer but recently, he hired a designer who can help with the clothing line for women.

“When the thing gets going, I can gradually reduce my exposure,” says Atencio, who now holds 80 percent of the company.

He only has praise for Panganiban’s passion for this venture.

“He doesn’t sleep. He doesn’t eat,” Atencio says in jest.

From a cottage industry that began in 2016, the business was incorporated as We are STATS PH Inc. this year.

Moving forward, STATS expects to use mostly online selling platforms to reach its consumers, taking advantage of technology to reach a global audience.

The vision-mission, according to Atencio, is to “be the global athletic brand of choice that comes from the Philippines.”