Tempe, AZ -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/11/2014 -- Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, Hele Sportswear produces stylish protective accessories and apparel for snowboarders, skiers, and other outdoor sports enthusiasts using engineered textiles and full-color digital printing technologies. Until now, the company’s U.S.-made products were only available from brick-and-mortar retailers in major snow sports destinations like Vail, Park City, Bear Mountain, and resorts in Montana, New Mexico, Vermont, and Wyoming. The launch of a new retail website, LiveHele.com, now allows style-conscious extreme athletes to order directly from the company.

LiveHele.com features multiple designs of Hele's vibrantly colorful product line including insulating Premium Neckwarmers, Flyweight face masks, jerseys, and versatile LavaTubes™ that can also be worn as headbands, head caps or as a wristband. "I love, love, love the LavaTube™ with the Hawaii flag...it's super-comfy, I can wear it so many ways and my local friends keep asking where I got it," says Cathy, a customer from Honolulu, Hawaii.

Though the company got its start manufacturing winter sports apparel, LiveHele.com also features summer performance gear, including mountain bike jerseys, summer face masks, multi-function LavaTubes™, half tubes, headbands, t-shirts, tank tops and more.

Retailers can also place custom orders online at LiveHele.com. “This feature is quite popular with our retail clients who either select one of our posted designs and add their logo or create entirely new artwork for their particular markets. Any design you can think up, we can probably manufacture,” says Hele's co-founder, Matthew Boyd.

Because Hele manufactures its products in the U.S. using “Just-in-Time” inventory management systems, retailers are able to streamline some of their inventory management to have the most responsive, lean and efficient operation. “We make all of our gear right here in the US which means you can carry less stock and respond rapidly to seasonal, fashion or other changes in your market. LiveHele.com visitors can select from the most stylish and on-trend sports apparel on the market today,” says Hele co-founder Cynthia Valenzuela. “Want a design you don’t see? By leaving feedback for us on Facebook or Instagram, we can work with you to get it added.”

“Hele designed our manufacturing processes to allow us to make Premium Neckwarmers, Flyweight Masks™ and LavaTubes™ immediately--in as little as 48 hours, so our retail partners can offer the latest designs, and their customers can be the most comfortable and stylish people on the slopes,” Valenzuela explains. “Buying cycles have become incredibly long for sports apparel retailers. You pretty much need a crystal ball to work out how the coming sales cycle will pan out and what inventory to carry,” says Valenzuela. “As snowboarders ourselves, we’ve noticed that most snow sports manufacturers are six to twelve months behind the fashion cycle.” That’s because most ski apparel is made in Asia and can take as long as a year to appear in North American shops. By the time it’s unloaded from a container ship, it’s outdated.

“We make all our own products here in Arizona, from start to finish, without any intermediaries,” notes Valenzuela. Unlike off-shore apparel manufacturers, Hele's minimum retail order for each product is only 12 pieces. Hele’s “Ludicrous Speed” promise includes shipping most regular orders within two business days and full custom orders within only three weeks.

About Hele
Hele Sportswear designs and manufactures stylish protective apparel for extreme athletes. Sold at resorts throughout the U.S., the firm's Hele brand of gaiters, jerseys, face masks, Premium Neckwarmers and LavaTubes™ are also available direct to the public at LiveHele.com. The company’s innovative digital textile printing processes and commitment to “plushology” allow Hele to offer skiers, snowboarders and other outdoor athletes the industry’s most comfortable, durable and stylish protective apparel.