Canada Goose (clothing)

Canada Goose Inc.
Public
Traded as TSX: GOOS
NYSE: GOOS
Industry Retail
Founded 1957
Founder Sam Tick
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Area served
 Online, Retail stores: Chicago, New York, Toronto, Calgary, Tokyo, Boston[1]
Key people
 Dani Reiss, President & CEO
Products Outerwear
Knitwear
Production output
 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Revenue IncreaseC$<300 million (2015)
Owner Bain Capital and others
Number of employees
 1,000
Website www.canadagoose.com/

Canada Goose Inc. is a Canadian holding company of winter clothing manufacturers. The company was founded in 1957 by Sam Tick, under the name Metro Sportswear Ltd.[2] Canada Goose maintains a wide range of jackets, parkas, vests, hats, gloves, shells and other apparel.

Some Canada Goose jackets use coyote fur on the hoods,[3] which has caused protests from animal anti-cruelty activists due to the use of leg-hold and other traps.[4] The company's jackets are often filled with down which is purchased from Hutterite farmers in rural Canada.[5]

History

USAP Canada Goose parkas worn at Observation Hill, Antarctica

In 1957, Polish immigrant Sam Tick founded Metro Sportswear Ltd. in a small warehouse[6] after spending years working as a cutter in other factories.[7] Metro made woolen vests, raincoats, snowmobile suits, and other functional outerwear before creating down-filled jackets in the early 1970s.[3] In 1972, Tick's son-in-law, David Reiss, joined the company and eventually became CEO. Metro mainly focused on manufacturing custom down-filled coats and heavy-duty parkas for the Canadian Rangers, city police departments, the Ontario Provincial Police, municipal workers, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Correctional Services.[2]

In the early 1980s, Metro Sportswear expanded to 50 employees. In 1985, David Reiss, Sam Tick's son-in-law, acquired a majority equity stake in the company.[8] In 1985, the company began to produce apparel under its own "Snow Goose" brand.[8] In the early 1990s, Metro began selling its products in Europe, where the Snow Goose name was already in use, so Metro sold its European products under the name Canada Goose.[2]

David Reiss' son Dani Reiss joined the company in 1997. In 2001, when Dani succeeded his father as CEO, Canada Goose generated around $3 million in annual revenue, largely through licensing its designs to other companies in the industry.[8] Under Dani Reiss' leadership, the company discontinued its private label operations and continued to manufacture only in Canada rather than outsourcing to Asia where labor costs were much lower.[2] The business expanded in the mid-1990s and revenues increased from roughly $3 million in 1991 to roughly $17.5 million in 2008,[9] reflecting increased sales of Canada Goose products in Scandinavia since 1998, and in Canada around 2008.

Canada Goose began to expand internationally and in 2010 it opened an office in Stockholm, Sweden for its European operations.[10] In 2011, Canada Goose acquired a new plant in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.[11] As global growth continued, Canada Goose moved its Winnipeg operations into a larger facility in 2013.[12] The Canadian Marketing Association named Reiss as its marketer of the year in 2013.[5]

In December 2013, Boston-based private equity firm Bain Capital acquired a 70% equity stake in Canada Goose at a $250 million valuation.[13][14] The deal included a commitment to keep manufacturing in Canada.[5] Canada Goose also acquired a factory in the former city of York in Toronto formerly owned by ACCO Brands' Hilroy stationery.

In December 2014, Canada Goose opened a showroom and an office in New York City.[15] In January 2015, Canada Goose acquired a second manufacturing facility in Scarborough from a contractor.[16] In November 2015, Canada Goose opened a second factory in Winnipeg significantly increasing its manufacturing capacity.[17] That year the company revenue was reported to be about $200 million,[18] including warm-weather countries such as India and the Middle East.[5] In late 2016, Canada Goose opened a store in Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping Centre.

The company announced preparations in November 2016 for an initial public offering,[19] reporting that it generated $291 million in revenue and $27 million in profit in 2016 and had $278 million in debt.[20] On March 16, 2017, shares of the company began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange.[21] In October 2017, Canada Goose opened its second United States flagship store in Chicago.[22] The 10,000 square-foot store is located on the famous Magnificent Mile shopping area.

The jackets have been worn in several films.[23] American model Kate Upton appeared on the cover of the 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition in a bikini bottom and a Canada Goose parka.[24] Product placement with celebrities was part of the marketing strategy when it went international in 2010.[25]

In 2016, rapper Lil Uzi Vert released a mixtape featuring a song titled "Canadian Goose".[26]

Canada Goose even uses professional athletes to promote its products. During Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz's final trip to Toronto during the 2016 Major League Baseball season, Toronto Blue Jays players José Bautista and Edwin Encarnación each gave Ortiz a custom-made Canada Goose jacket, valued at US$1000.[27][28]

Sponsorships and corporate responsibility

The company sponsors several film festivals including the Berlin International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival in Utah, and Toronto International Film Festival.

Canada Goose products are also worn by researchers and workers in remote, cold-weather regions. Canada Goose (and Carhartt) supply parkas for participants in the United States Antarctic Program (USAP).[23]

Canada Goose is involved in several environmental and social initiatives, including The Conservation Alliance[29] and Polar Bears International (PBI). As part of its support to PBI, Canada Goose created a custom line of PBI products, including an aviator hat, Expedition Parka and Chilliwack Bomber; $25 from all PBI sales are donated to the non-profit organization devoted to preserving the habitat of polar bears around the world through research and education.[30]

Canada Goose runs a Canada Goose Resource Centre program that offers fabric and materials to Northern Canadians free of charge: Pond Inlet, Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Kuujjuaq. Established in partnership with the North West Company and First Air in 2009, the Canada Goose Resource Centres provide local sewers with free fabrics, buttons, zippers, and other supplies to support the traditional practice in Northern Canada of making jackets and clothing for members of the community.[31]

Competitors

Moncler with €1bn in turnover and 80% of their business linked to Down products is seen as a key rival. In January 2012, Canada Goose launched a lawsuit against International Clothiers in the Federal Court of Canada for trademark infringement. Canada Goose alleged International Clothiers of intentionally designing a logo and positioning it on jackets to mimic the Canada Goose Arctic Program trademark. The International Clothiers product lines in question were the foreign-manufactured Canada Weather Gear and Super Triple Goose.[32] Canada Goose claimed that unfair business practices were used including publishing print advertisements to promote the jackets as Canada Goose products.[33] A settlement was reached in November 2012.[34]

Fake Canada Goose jackets are often sold online through counterfeit websites. Instead of duck down, counterfeits use an insulation called "feather mulch", which is a less effective insulator. In addition, the counterfeit logo patch is often poorly sewn, in contrast to its genuine counterpart where the maple leaves are produced in fine detail.[35] To combat this issue, Canada Goose created a web page enlisting the public's help. In 2011, Canada Goose began sewing hologram trademarks into its jackets as proof of authenticity.[36][37]

In October 2012, Canada Goose won a legal battle against counterfeiters in Sweden. The District Court of Stockholm found five individuals guilty of felony fraud, trademark infringement, and customs offenses. The Court sentenced two of the defendants to serve time in prison and also awarded Canada Goose damages of 701,000 SEK (approximately CAD$105,000).[38][39]

Criticism

In 2010 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an American animal rights group, criticized Canadian politician (and later Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau and his family for wearing Canada Goose products in a family Christmas photo because of the company's use of fur.[40]

Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss was criticised in 2014 by blogger Shannon Kornelsen for repeatedly refusing to meet then-11-year-old Jasmine Polsinelli, an anti-fur activist who wanted Reiss to reconsider trapping coyotes for their fur.[41][42]

Following the public trading of shares in Canada Goose on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2017, PETA purchased 230 shares in the company so it could propose a shareholder resolution at Canada Goose's next annual meeting to "ask them to abandon the cruel use of fur and feathers."[43]

On 2 November 2017 PETA released an undercover video of alleged Canada Goose workers packing geese into crates and then slaughtering them.[44]

References

  1. ↑ Canada Goose sees half of profits in long term from own stores, e-commerce, CBC, 9-Nov-2017
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lorinc, John (17 October 2012). "The Golden Goose". Profit Guide. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 LaRochelle, Jillian (7 November 2012). "When hell freezes over". MRketplace. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  4. ↑ People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (2018). "When You Look at These Pictures, You'll Return Your Canada Goose Jacket". Retrieved 16 January 2018. Wild coyotes are caught in steel leg clamps, head-crushing traps, body-gripping traps, or neck snares. Often, they're mothers who are desperate to get back to their starving pups. Once caught, these animals can spend days suffering. Some—especially the mothers—even attempt to chew off their own limbs to escape. Their slow deaths can be the result of blood loss, shock, dehydration, frostbite, gangrene, or attacks by predators.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Iain Marlow; Sean Silcoff; Susan Krashinsky (December 10, 2013). "Canada Goose sells a majority stake – with a made-in-Canada guarantee". The Globe and Mail.
  6. ↑ Healy, Beth. "With $900 parkas, Bain's Canada Goose goes public". Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  7. ↑ Gajo, Patricia (Winter 2012). "Down to business". NUVO. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 Syme, Rachel (2017-02-16). "The Rise of Canada Goose's Hollywood-Friendly Coats". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  9. ↑ ESQwire.com
  10. ↑ Shaw, Hollie (3 June 2010). "Canada Goose opens European headquarters in Sweden". Financial Post. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  11. ↑ Chippeway, Darrell (6 January 2011). "Canada Goose buys city firm". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  12. ↑ Cash, Martin (10 April 2013). "Canada Goose moves into bigger plant in Winnipeg". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  13. ↑ Gelles, David, "Canada Goose Sells Majority Stake to Bain Capital", The New York Times, December 10, 2013.
  14. ↑ Deveau, Scott (2017-02-15). "Canada Goose Files for IPO in New York and Toronto". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  15. ↑ Stock, Kyle (December 9, 2014). "How Wall Street Puffed Up Sales of $800 Down Parkas". Bloomberg Businessweek.
  16. ↑ "Canada Goose acquires 2nd manufacturing plant in Toronto". CBC News. January 13, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Poised for expansion, Canada Goose opens 2nd Winnipeg factory". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  18. ↑ Entis, Laura (December 29, 2014). "How Canada Goose Went From Small Outerwear Company to International Luxury Brand". Entrepreneur.
  19. ↑ "Is Canada Goose ready to fly on the stock market?". Toronto Star, November 10, 2016, page B1.
  20. ↑ Matthew Zeitlin, Here are 7 things we learned about Canada Goose from its IPO filing, CNBC, February 16, 2017
  21. ↑ "Shares of coat maker Canada Goose take flight on stock markets". CBC News. The Canadian Press. March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  22. ↑ Zumbach, Lauren. "Parka brand Canada Goose opens 10,000-square-foot Michigan Avenue flagship store". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  23. 1 2 Robertson, Grant (25 February 2010). "Year of the Goose". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  24. ↑ Trevor Melanson, "Kate Upton rocks Canada Goose for Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition". Canadian Business, Feb 14, 2013
  25. ↑ Syme, Rachel (16 February 2017). "The Rise of Canada Goose's Hollywood-Friendly Coats". The New Yorker. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  26. ↑ Complex
  27. ↑ https://www.thestar.com/sports/bluejays/2016/09/09/blue-jays-honour-retiring-red-sox-slugger-david-ortiz.html
  28. ↑ http://nesn.com/2016/09/blue-jays-present-david-ortiz-with-most-canadian-retirement-gift-ever/
  29. ↑ "Member List". The Conservation Alliance. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  30. ↑ "Canada Goose Clothes Are Good For Chilly Days In Winter 2011". Pub Articles. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  31. ↑ "Canada Goose Announces New Resource Center". Inside Outdoor. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  32. ↑ "Canada Goose sues competitor over alleged replicas". CBC News. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  33. ↑ Henderson, Peter (23 February 2012). "Canada Goose sues rival International Clothiers over winter parka 'rip off'". National Post. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  34. ↑ "Canada Goose settles jacket patent suit with retailer". CBC News. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  35. ↑ "Canada Goose cries foul over fakes". CBC News. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  36. ↑ Allard, Jordan (9 August 2011). "Go for the real Goose, says store owner Herb Lash Sr". The Sault Star. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  37. ↑
  38. ↑ "Canada Goose wins $105K in Swedish counterfeit case". CBC News. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  39. ↑ Marotte, Bertrand (23 October 2012). "Trendy jacket maker Canada Goose claims win in knockoff battle". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  40. ↑ Pearce, Tralee (17 December 2010). "Justin Trudeau's Christmas card controversy". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  41. ↑ Kornelsen, Shannon (31 March 2013). "Is Canada Goose Afraid of Facing an 11-Year-Old Girl?". Huffington Post Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  42. ↑ O'Kane, Josh (April 11, 2013). "Canada Goose CEO's 'aha' moment: 'I realized the brand was real'". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 17, 2017. The company is not without detractors. The use of hood trim made from coyote fur has drawn numerous protests, including most recently from an 11-year-old girl who hoped to ask Mr. Reiss to offer an alternative material.
  43. ↑ Israel, Solomon (March 17, 2017). "Investing and protesting: Why PETA bought shares of Canada Goose". CBC News. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  44. ↑ "PETA releases shocking footage of animal cruelty at Canada Goose supplier (VIDEO)". Daily Hive. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
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