PEDS ® LEGWEAR RE-BORN In The USA

PEDS®
LEGWEAR
RE-BORN
In The U S A
Presentation January 2015
HISTORY
E S TA B L I S H E D 1 9 3 4
•  R i c h e l i e u w a s a t r a d i t i o n a l s o c k c o m p a n y
founded in Sorel, Quebec in 1934.
•  T h r o u g h m a n y c h a n g e s o v e r t h e y e a r s , w e
became a major legwear supplier—in
Canada only. We had hit the “ice ceiling”.
•  A l t h o u g h w e m a d e m a n y e f f o r t s t o p e n e t r a t e
t h e U S m a r k e t , w e h a d n o s i g n i fi c a n t
success.
•  T h a t a l l c h a n g e d i n A u g u s t 2 0 1 1 .
•  W e a r e n o w t h e f a s t e s t g r o w i n g l e g w e a r
company in North America.
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PEDS Legwear
CREATE A BEACHHEAD
•  T o d o b u s i n e s s i n t h e U S A , y o u h a v e t o b e i n t h e U S A .
•  W e w e r e l o o k i n g f o r a t a r g e t t o a c q u i r e w h e n
International Legwear Group (ILG) went into bankruptcy
in 2011- so we pounced.
•  W h a t d i d w e g e t ? L o c a t i o n , f a c i l i t y , o n g o i n g b u s i n e s s ,
people, American brands and customer relationships.
The next three years have seen astronomical growth.
•  T h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f o u r S e n i o r “ M i n d a n d M a n a g e m e n t ”
in Canada, managing our USA team, has been very
productive.
•  T h e k e y i s l e v e r a g i n g e v e r y o n e ’ s r e s p e c t i v e t a l e n t s .
The USA team has relationships and local credibility,
Canadian team has innovation and best business
practices.
•  T h e U S A i s s i m i l a r t o C a n a d a , b u t s t i l l r e m a i n s v e r y
different. One must remember the differences in order
to handle them.
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PEDS Legwear
AMERICAN DIFFERENCES
•  A m e r i c a n w o r k e r s a r e m o b i l e , t h e y t e n d t o m o v e
around more. “Employment at will” means they can
be terminated more easily, but they also tend to
leave more easily. Manage your team’s happiness.
•  M a k e s u r e y o u r C a n a d i a n fi n a n c i a l p a r t n e r s w i l l
support you, USA banks are scared of foreigners.
•  L e g a l i s s u e s a n d f e e s c a n b e c h a l l e n g i n g . G e t a
very good lawyer that understands business and
mitigating risk.
•  C u s t o m e r s a r e h a r d e r t o b r e a k i n t o , b u t t h e y a r e
also more loyal when you get in.
•  M a n a g i n g f r o m a d i s t a n c e — ” d o n ’ t b u y o r s e t u p a
c o m p a n y t h a t i s m o r e t h a n o n e fl i g h t a w a y ”
•  S i n c e y o u a r e m a n a g i n g f r o m a d i s t a n c e , m a k e s u r e
you have the right structure and systems to keep
your team running well.
•  U s e a l l t h e h e l p t h a t t h e S t a t e s a n d F e d e r a l
Government offer i.e. SelectUSA.
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PEDS Legwear
AMERICAN OPPORTUNITIES
•  A m e r i c a n c u s t o m e r s a n d c o n s u m e r s l o v e “ m a d e i n
the USA” projects—especially by foreign investment.
•  Y o u c a n u s e C a n a d i a n r e s o u r c e s l i k e E D C , B D C , I Q ,
Caisse etc. to “stay here but grow everywhere”.
•  L e v e r a g e C a n a d i a n t a l e n t t o g r o w i n U S A . W e h a v e
best in class management, lawyers, accountants,
advertising agencies, IT etc--usually at lower cost.
•  C a n a d i a n c o m p a n i e s a r e a b l e t o s t r u c t u r e b e t t e r t a x
treatment than American Companies (Corp tax rates
can be 25% in Canada vs 40% in USA)
•  W h y r e - s h o r i n g ? I t i s a g r e a t w a y t o g r o w y o u r
business.
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PEDS Legwear
BACKGROUND OF OFFSHORING
WHY OUR INDUSTRY ”OFFSHORED” IN THE
FIRST PLACE?
•  W T O
•  L o w e r c o s t s ( y a r n , l a b o r , p a c k a g i n g , m a c h i n e r y )
•  C u r r e n c y e x c h a n g e ( R M B )
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PEDS Legwear
WHY RE-SHORE NOW?
A D VA N TA G E S O F M A N U FA C T U R I N G I N U S A
•  C u r r e n c y
•  M i n i m u m w a g e i n C h i n a
•  I n t e r e s t r a t e s a n d a c c e s s t o c a p i t a l
•  Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n c o s t s
•  Te c h n o l o g y
•  F TA’s
•  A t t i t u d e s o f c u s t o m e r s a n d c o n s u m e r s
•  A m e r i c a n k n o w - h o w
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PEDS Legwear
MOVING FORWARD: KEYS TO SUCCESS
• 
• 
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Building on partnerships, e.g.:
• 
Invista for yarn
• 
Lonati for machines
• 
Walmart for market access
• 
Governments for training and assistance
We have best American sock brand with the best
sock in the world – Made in the USA – from bale
to retail. We make it here, but sell it
everywhere.
PEDS Legwear