NORTH CHARLESTON, SC - January 31, 2026 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) -When HD Apparel Co quietly moved into its North Charleston facility in May 2025, there was no ribbon cutting or press announcement. On the first day, the space was empty. Present were only the company’s three founders, Huntor Ross, Dalton Stoner, and Jay Kelly, along with their wives, Alix Ross and Natalie Stoner. The question wasn’t whether the space was too big. It was how quickly they could grow into it.

Founded in 2023, HD Apparel Co emerged at a moment of professional transition for its leadership team. Ross had just completed Army National Guard flight school in August of that year. Stoner, a data scientist by training, and Kelly, a veteran of the commercial signage and franchise operations world, each found themselves at inflection points where experience, timing, and shared ambition aligned.

Rather than reacting to a broken industry, the three saw an opportunity to run a physical branding company with the same rigor, accountability, and long-term thinking expected of high-performing organizations.

“Most companies don’t struggle because they can’t buy shirts or hats,” said Ross, HD Apparel Co’s Chief Revenue Officer. “They struggle because they’re forced to manage ten different vendors, inconsistent quality, and no one who feels accountable for results. We built this company to remove that friction.”

From the beginning, the founders divided leadership intentionally. Ross oversees revenue strategy and client partnerships. Stoner, serving as Chief Operating Officer, leads production systems and execution. Kelly, Chief Financial Officer, brings decades of experience helping franchise operators and commercial shops scale sustainably. Together, they built a team designed to mirror those capabilities, not depend on any single individual.

“If one of us stepped away tomorrow, the company would continue,” Ross said. “That’s by design. We’ve built a team that reflects the same discipline and ownership mindset as the founders.”

The move into the North Charleston facility marked a deliberate shift. While HD Apparel Co continues to support local businesses and organizations, its expansion reflects a growing focus on regional and multi-location clients, companies large enough to invest in branding as a strategic asset, not a one-off purchase.

“In order for us to grow, our customers have to grow,” Ross explained. “To serve them fully, we need to operate at the level they do.”

The expanded space allows HD Apparel Co to support comprehensive corporate apparel programs, including standardized uniforms, centralized ordering, and consistent brand execution across teams and locations. For clients walking the facility for the first time, the intended reaction is simple: relief.

“We want companies to feel like there’s finally someone invested in outcomes,” Ross said. “Not another vendor, but a partner, a small part of their team.”

Veteran leadership plays a defining role in the company’s culture. HD Apparel Co actively supports veterans both inside and outside the organization, including leadership from a retired military E-9 who serves as Operations Manager. The emphasis on teamwork, accountability, and execution reflects lessons carried forward from military service into commercial operations.

Looking ahead, HD Apparel Co plans to continue building capacity, expanding its team, and laying the groundwork for future satellite locations across major Southeast markets. The challenge, Ross notes, is preserving transparency and trust as the company grows, ensuring clients can still walk in, see the operation, and touch what represents their brand.

As many providers chase volume, HD Apparel Co has chosen a different path: building infrastructure before comfort, relationships before transactions, and systems capable of carrying responsibility at scale.