Waukesha, WI-headquartered distributor 14 West (asi/197092) has appointed Michael Snyder as its new vice president of sales. Snyder brings extensive knowledge and experience in custom apparel design and sourcing to the company.

Michael Snyder, vice president of sales at 14 West

Snyder has more than 40 years of apparel experience, beginning his craft in his family-owned clothing store, Snyder’s Fine Clothes in Oconomowoc, WI, which was established in 1884. There, Snyder was trained in fabric development, garment design and tailoring. He was most recently vice president of sales for EdwardsX, the custom apparel division of Top 40 supplier Edwards Garment (asi/51752). Prior to that, Snyder served as vice president of Trimark, the apparel division of Top 40 supplier Polyconcept North America (PCNA, asi/78897). Snyder’s career has taken him through every facet of the apparel business, spanning retail, promotional and developing large-scale uniform programs.

In his new role, Snyder will expand on 14 West’s work designing and sourcing apparel for retail brand names, with a specific emphasis on expanding USA-made garments moving into 2024.

“I have been one layer removed from actually making the sale directly my entire career, and I am thrilled to come out from behind the curtain, so to speak, and work directly with companies and organizations backed by a world-class organization such as 14 West,” Snyder said. “While my expertise is in apparel, I am thrilled to expand my horizons into areas such as bags, technology, writing instruments and, of course, stressing our in-house Wisconsin-based manufacturing of trade show exhibits and retail displays.”

Snyder will be responsible for spearheading 14 West’s growth efforts across all business categories, with apparel leading the charge.

“Michael’s apparel design and sourcing experience, combined with our high-profile client list, is game-changing,” said 14 West CEO Kevin Scharnek. “As we have grown from a distributor to a manufacturer, it was important to expand our leadership team with someone that has experience in both as well.”

14 West, a branded merchandise and apparel firm, recently expanded into the trade show exhibit and retail displays manufacturing business.