The headwear business sometimes may be mysterious and kooky, but Ron Adams is far from digging his own grave.

Adams, president of the company B&M Associates of Destin Inc., DBA Adams Fashion Headwear, has created a low-profile cap that, judging from consumer response, is a winner. In only its first year on the market, the hat became such a hot item for its suppliers that Adams' warehouse was empty for months.

Adams has been in the apparel industry for more than 20 years as a sourcing agent for various companies. About eleven years ago, he noticed a low-profile cap style at a yacht club and an idea was born.

"I noticed the hat in yachting circles, and then I noticed a lot of young kids wearing them, and I just kept thinking how much I liked that style. And I hate baseball caps," he says. "Then I saw the quality of the hats that were out there, and I noticed companies like J. Crew and Nautica had moved into that style, and decided to do a hat that is better than their hat." Adams spent a lot of time researching the hat and organized a lot of focus groups to see what people wanted in low-profile styles. The result is the Adams low-profile headwear style that has taken the industry by storm.

The 100-percent cotton pigment dyed hat features a self-fabric sweatband, dyed to match reinforced cotton taping, matching antique brass hardware accessories, a leather blind embossed strap, sewn-in eyelets, and a pliable plastic bill that is impervious to water. Click here for an overview of our signature features.

The self-fabric sweatband includes four rows of stitching for better stability. The rivet that holds the antique brass buckle in place is not punched through the sweatband for a smooth comfortable fit. By attaching the rivet on the outer reinforced fabric, this allows for better durability. All the findings are matching antique brass including the inner crown button. Our high quality leather blind embossed strap is fully adjustable. We have even included a hidden slot for the excess leather strap. For an added appeal, we have instituted a pre-formed bill.

"We also included a woven label in the cap, which reads New York, Paris, Milan. Due to my travels to the fashion capitals," Adams explains. "I wanted to present the cap as a piece of fashion headwear, not as just another cap. The cap not only has a lot of value, but it also has a perceived value."

Any way you cut it, Adams' caps are chock full of value. His caps are being sold retail embroidered for $19.95 to $24.95 and blank for $12.95 to $15.95. "The caps are selling for the same price as many higher-end caps such as the Polo brand, Nautica, etc.," he says. "There are pigment-dyed caps that are selling for $1 less each wholesale, but my caps have so much more that people are willing to spend the extra money.

"Fabric, quality, and construction; people will spend more for a better line of headwear," he adds.

Adams has exclusive suppliers for his line of caps, including Atlantic Coast Cotton (ACC), Bodek + Rhodes, Commonwealth Cotton, NES Clothing, S+S Activewear, The Sportsman Network, The Willow Pointe Network and Valtex for our infant/ toddler line. We choose to have only quality suppliers.

"My relationship with my suppliers is very important and I would do nothing that would upset them. I won't sell the goods myself," he notes. "The only things I have to offer are the best-quality product that money can buy and exclusive distribution for them. I would think twice before I put another supplier near my current ones."

Adams wants to add suppliers, he adds, but only in selected areas to provide convenience for our customers' business, which currently includes openings for suppliers in markets worldwide. We have opened a distribution center in Usher, SC and Salt Lake City, UT to service our suppliers with more goods on hand. We are looking into future distribution centers.

"Our main goal is to have happy campers and keep everybody separate from one another. In a way, I might be limiting myself; but on the other hand, you have to find a happy medium," he says. "My ultimate goal is to have a loyal supplier base."

For now, Adams says his company will continue to concentrate on making a great hat. "The construction of the hat will always remain the same unless we can upgrade. If anything, all we will do is continually make the hat a better product," he says.

Likewise, Adams is hoping the success of his low-profile caps will rub off on his latest endeavor: a joint sourcing venture with a company in the Far East to source out any product an apparel manufacturer might need, from caps to baseball jackets.

"Right now we are currently pricing basic baseball-style caps and embroidered jackets for some major licensees with NASCAR and we also are pricing like-jackets for some major jacket manufacturers in the United States, " he says. "If a company wants to get any item sourced out, whether it be headwear, shirts or jackets, all they have to do is give us their target price, the quantities they expect to use and their time line and we will get back to them within 24-48 hours to tell them whether we can meet their expectations and provide them with counter samples.

His caps, however, will continue to be at the head of his family. "We've had phenomenal success with these caps," Adams says. "And I hope it's just the beginning."