Like the rest of the world, XII Brands and its companies — ARIA Discs, Five Ultimate, and Savage Apparel Co. — are closely monitoring the development of COVID-19 in the U.S. and abroad. The sports world is being deeply impacted by event cancellations worldwide, and our hearts go out to our fellow members of this global community as we navigate the weeks ahead. Our priority is always the health and safety of our employees and customers, and we are taking the situation very seriously.

We have been dealing with the effects of COVID-19 in China since the beginning of 2020, when the spread of the disease and resulting factory shut-downs began impacting our supply chain for Five Ultimate products. Unfortunately, this slowed down the production of some of our customers' orders, and we have been working toward remedying these issues. This has also sped up our transition to domestically produced fabrics and gear at XII Brands’ North American production houses. 

At our production headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, we are closely following local, state, and federal guidelines for the health and safety of our workers. For non-production employees in Richmond and Seattle, we are encouraging remote working until further notice.

Many Savage, Five, and ARIA employees have spent the last two weeks on location in North Myrtle Beach for the High Tide Ultimate Tournament. On March 12, tournament director Ed Pulkinen announced that the remainder of the tournament will be cancelled in the interest of the players and the public health. In an effort to clear out our significant remaining stock of High Tide merchandise, Savage will be selling tournament gear at a discounted rate online for players who were unable to attend.

As major sports institution-partners, like USA Ultimate and the American Ultimate Disc League, continue to release announcements regarding cancellations and postponements, all of our brands are working with leaders of these groups to address their apparel needs for the future.

What does this mean for you? 

As a loyal customer of any of the XII Brands, you can feel confident that we’re working diligently to ensure that gear is produced and delivered as expected. Because health and safety are top priorities at this important juncture, limited staffing and supply chain issues could impact our production processes in the future, however we are all being proactive about producing solutions, substitutions, and solving any unforeseen problems as quickly as possible. 

Because colleges and universities are taking precautionary measures to ensure everyone’s health and safety, we recognize that shipping addresses and schedules may change, events may be delayed, or players may end up scattered to different geographies. Please be sure to email sales@savageultimate.com with your order # and address as soon as you can so that your gear ends up in the right place at the right time. 

Everyone at our production facility is being vigilant about washing their hands frequently, sanitizing working areas with disinfectant, and monitoring their health. Though we are doing our part, commerce and transit is a multi-step process. We encourage all of our customers to wash their hands and dispose of (recycle!) packaging immediately after receipt of any gear. 

The entire sports world is being affected by COVID-19, but ARIA Discs, Five Ultimate, and Savage Apparel Co. will continue working hard as a team to ensure that you have what you need to be ready to hit the fields when it is safe to do so once again. Stay healthy, look out for each other, and don’t hesitate to reach out if we can help in any way.