Kreative

KREATIVE KASUALS INC.

Owner: Gary Masters

Type: textiles manufacturer

Products: coveralls, shirts, boxers, fabric for internal production

Customers: Ministry of community safety and correction services (the ministry)

Two tenders: 1. Washable trousers to RCMP

2. Uniform dress shirts and cargo pants for the Ministry

Start: part-time employees, small jobs, on-off contracts, highly irregular work schedules, unstable revenues.

* First contract with the ministry: supply of fabric for internal production, acted as a distributor of fabrics

* Other contracts of finished garments.

* Contracts issued annually

To remain competitive:

* Using local labour and perform all functions in house:

* Quality, service and turnaround time over offshore imports

* Lower turnaround time by increase labor force and subcontracting sewing

* Purchase own yarn to knit jersey fabric, did its own cutting and sewing.

* Only dying operation outsourced to Ontario’s sole remaining dye house.

More volumes of sales and revenues,

* Move into a facility three times larger; invest in both labor and equipment.

* Main work still form ministry, remaining short-term sewing contracts.

* Exhibit1

Industry

* In 2008, number of employees declined by 9.9% compared with 2004.

* Export dropped 17.7% mainly due to a decrease in exports to US (Exhibit2)

* US economic recession led to further decreases in exports

* Intensifying competition from offshore companies contributed to poor performance in this industry

* Competition for government tenders increased because of zero payment-default risk, businesses slashed bid price.

* If there were domestic companies bidding, masters looked their relative size and gauged their overhead costs and estimated the profit margin Kreative needs

Operation

* Manufacturing process for garments:

knitting, dying, cutting, sewing, quality control/packaging (T-shirt)...