Sterling Silver

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/07/2017 (2987 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There is likely no industry that eats its own more than the fashion industry.

Over the last 50 years, blue jeans were always one of the safest bets in that world. That’s not to say blue jeans don’t also periodically fall out of favour.

As the long-time head of Western Glove Works, Bob Silver (part-owner of the Winnipeg Free Press) likely knows as much about the blue-jean business as anyone. At the beginning of this century, Silver employed about 1,000 people in Winnipeg and was one of the largest private label blue-jean manufacturers in North America.

Production moved offshore and import quota regulations changed and his business transitioned to concentrate on style, fit and design. The name Western Glove Works survives, but the company founded by Silver’s grandparents is now out of the private label business completely.

It’s now all about Silver Jeans, a $150-million enterprise featuring dozens of designer styles largely in the mid-market price range between $100 to $150 and sold in the U.S. at stores such as Macy’s and Dillard’s. The jeans are also sold across Canada.

“The blue-jean category ebbs and flows, sometimes in very dramatic fashion,” Silver said.

For instance, who can forget the ubiquitous, preppy khaki ads from The Gap?

“That was the rage and blue jeans got de-emphasized,” Silver recalled. “But the rage came and the rage went.”

More recently, North American women were buying nothing but stretchy, tight leisure athletic wear.

“That has taken quite a piece out of the casual market,” Silver said. “But from my perspective, denims and jeans are hugely resilient and they are making a fashion comeback.”

And that’s not just Silver’s wishful thinking. Earlier this year, independent market research firm Euromonitor wrote “Jeans saw the strongest annual performance of the review period in 2016, with one per cent retail volume growth following on from years of stagnation or decline. In 2016, consumers thus began to turn back to jeans, which enjoy an established and traditional popularity in Canada.”

Likely, Silver and his partner, Ron Stern (chairman of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership, the company that owns the Free Press and other papers), did not need to read that kind of market research to know what’s going on with consumer tastes. Never mind the challenging retail sector.

Fifteen years ago, Silver and Stern bought the Winnipeg-based retailer Warehouse One out of receivership.

The business has grown every year since then — according to company president Neil Armstrong — and will likely keep growing.

“We have quietly built a pretty darned good story,” Armstrong said.

This year marks its 40th anniversary. It now has 128 stores coast to coast with five stores in Newfoundland and locations on Vancouver Island, Yellowknife and Whitehorse.

“We are so proud to be part of Warehouse One,” Silver said. “The most inspiring part…. is to see how dedicated the staff are to the company. Not just because of what the company sells, but how they deal with being a great corporate citizen and giving back to the community.”

Silver has a board of directors’ perspective on an even larger retail operation. Two years ago, Stern Partners Inc. — Stern’s Vancouver-based investment company — acquired Comark Services Inc., also out of creditor protection, which owns the clothing chains Bootlegger, Ricki’s and Cleo.

Earlier this year, Stern Partners acquired Jean Machine, a Toronto and southern Ontario denim chain of 30 stores, also out of court-appointed creditor protection. It, too, is a 40 year-old chain, exactly the same vintage as Warehouse One.

Silver Jeans is a major supplier to Jean Machine, as well as Bootlegger and to a lesser extent, Ricki’s. But Silver said the acquisitions were not about protecting his family-named brand of blue jeans. It may be a good strategy to protect your distribution channels, but he’s adamant that’s not why Comark took over Jean Machine.  

Although they were all acquired literally at liquidation prices, with more than 500 retail locations now under their ownership — including the national contemporary furniture store chain Urban Barn — Silver and Stern have a major stake in the retail sector, an industry with a slew of challenges of its own.

But Silver said with the right approach — he thinks commitment to customer service is key — there is reason for optimism. All the chains have sophisticated e-commerce and omni-sales channels. Understanding the markets and care to avoid cannibalizing each other is obviously important. 

“Whether it’s Bootlegger or Jean Machine, if they don’t think Silver Jeans is worthy of buying, they don’t buy it,” he said.  “We don’t force any verticality whatsoever.”

Warehouse One has its own vertical integration and has nothing to do with Silver Jeans.

“The added margins for… Silver Jeans would only prevent Warehouse One from offering the value that we think is important,” he said.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca