Canada Goose

Parka Maker Canada Goose Opens 96,000-sq.ft. Toronto Plant

Summary

Canada Goose has opened a new global headquarters doubled its floor space to 96,000 sq.ft. in Toronto.  The high-end parka makers added another 57,000-sq.ft. floor space to a new location in Winnipeg.  This year, they have hired 200 workers for both locations.  Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss deliberately chose Canada over better profit margin overseas to reignite a once vibrant manufacturing industry at home.  He is prepared to take the risk and show the world that Made-in-Canada brand will succeed.  The biggest challenge Canada Goose faces is finding skilled sewers.  Mr. Reiss is working with the government to make that change.  In a statement released to the company, Canada Finance Minister Joe Oliver praised Mr. Reiss' accomplishment for transforming a small warehouse his family started in 1957 into an international recognized brand in over 50 years -- a true Canadian treasure.  As of today, Canada Goose employs six percent of cut sew labour industry and has witnessed a four-thousand percent growth.  In the same statement, Mr. Oliver congratulated Reiss for the new headquarters and the factory expansion which will create new jobs and will benefit to the entire country.  Dani Reiss’ high quality jacket made for extreme weather has sold over 50 countries. 

Canada Goose’s new headquarters was originally built in the 1940s for school and office supply firm Hilroy, now owned by ACCO Brands Corp.  The Canada Goose facility in Winnipeg was first built in 1916 for the Stovel Printing Co. and features leading-edge technology in fabric cutting, down-filling and sewing.

Opinion

What more can I say.  Mr. Reiss is one out of a million.  He made a strategic move when he chose Bain Capital.  He knew Bain’s approach for doing business.  He knew what he had to give-up in order to fulfill his dream.  To gain a leg-up by forfeiting a majority stake in Canada Goose to compete in an already over saturated high-end retail market in Canada – let alone the world.  That didn’t stop him.  Instead, he went after the Asian market.  It looks like he has all the ducks lined-up with the support of Bain Capital and the Government of Canada.  What happens next, is anybody’s guess.  I’m just glad I have a front-row seat.  “Dani, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” Humphrey Bogart would say about now.  You’ve got to give Mr. Reiss chutzpah.

Questions and Feedback

Name a Canadian business (in retail) that did not go bust?  Will Mr. Reiss be bought out?

References

Canadian Manufacturing Staff. (2014, October 15). Parka maker Canada Goose opens 96,000-sq.ft. Toronto plant.  Retrieved from URL: [Online Newswire] http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/manufacturing/parka-maker-canada-goose-opens-96000-sq-ft-toronto-plant-141682/