Kanuk, Quebec made in China

In the window of Kanuk’s head office, on Rachel Street East, in the Plateau Mont-Royal, a brand new collection of coats is announced. On the labels of certain models, it is indicated that the coat was designed in Canada but that it was manufactured in China, made in Chinaa first in the history of this fashion house founded in 1970 by Louis Grenier.

For decades, all Kanuk coats were sewn on the first floor of this building on Rachel Street. The company’s philosophy? Designed in Quebec for the Quebec winter. From the beginning, the Kanuk brand, with its catalog, became a favorite brand among consumers. The coat was expensive, but it had a lifetime warranty, and it changed the lives of many people by ensuring they no longer shivered once they wore their coat.

In 2015, Louis Grenier sold his company to a financial company (the Champlain Group) which had great ambitions for this brand. She teamed up with designers to revamp the style of coats and opened a Kanuk boutique in New York, a venture that didn’t work out.

In recent years, the company has experienced serious financial difficulties. Last spring, the company was sold again, this time to Thread Collective.

It’s a brand that is almost a heritage. In itself, this is extraordinaryexplains Bertrand Cesvet, who, with his partners, bought Kanuk. Joined in Las Vegas, where he visited points of sale for Psycho Bunny, a clothing brand owned, like Kanuk, by Thread Collective and Bertrand Cesvet, he says that this brand needed love.

We said to ourselves that we could not only save the company but also deploy and promote the brand internationally.

Bertrand Cesvet dreams of making Kanuk a sort of Quebec Ralph Lauren.

When you buy Ralph Lauren clothing, you buy an art of living, you buy a vision of life, a certain idea of ​​the United States. What we want with Kanuk is to sell the idea of ​​Quebec, clothes that will correspond to our nature, to our way of living in Quebec. It’s going to be based on the notion that the most luxurious thing now is nature, and it’s going to be very Quebecois, you’ll see. But the market has changed, the winters have changed. We need less coats for -40 degrees. You have to make Kanuk clothes for all seasons.

This businessman was not born yesterday when it comes to marketing and trademarks. Bertrand Cesvet notably co-founded and directed Sid Lee, a globally recognized commercial creativity agency, and he led the repositioning of major brands such as Adidas and Absolut Vodka.

However, to reposition the Kanuk brand, he said, it was necessary to free up margin. Having coats made in China is 50% cheaper than having them made in Quebeche said.

After a first manufacturing experience in China, the new owners of Kanuk do not rule out having their clothes manufactured in other countries. Maybe Portugal, it could be Turkey, it could be Peru, Vietnam. Everything is possible. Everything is on the table.

And the made in Canada, his?

Lecturer at the École supérieure de mode, Madeleine Goubau is not surprised by the recent decision of the Kanuk house. Labor shortages and manufacturing costs often explain why companies have to make this decision. It’s surviving and relocating or closing she says as we meet her on Sainte-Catherine Street.

This young fashion specialist tells us that now, clothes made in China are of very good quality. They have a production volume that allows them to purchase the best machines in the world.

In the age of fur coats, Montreal was a hub of winter fashion. Madeleine Goubau explains that our history, our winters and the side hip of the metropolis always ensure a place of choice for coats made in Canada abroad.

There is certainly added value on the market when a coat is made here. People know that it’s cold here and, therefore, say to themselves: “They must know about it and be able to do something efficient.” Plus, Montreal has a certain aura, a bit like Berlin or Barcelona and all that. So a coat that comes from Montreal says: “it’s efficient for winter”, and we probably won’t have compromised on aesthetics either.

The made in Canadathis is also the bet taken by the Quartz brand, run by three brothers who sell winter coats made here in a dozen countries. And the respect for local know-how is real.

Canada is synonymous with quality coats, capable of facing the cold, the wind, the snowexplains Jean-Philippe Robert, met in his Mile-End boutique. When we present ourselves on international markets with a Canadian product in the winter coat, we are well received, we are listened to.

The Robert brothers do not have everything manufactured in Quebec. The clothing collections for spring and fall are assembled elsewhere. But warm coats and winter coats are all made here. During peak periods, nearly 200 people work on the Quartz winter collection. And the Robert brothers are keen to keep production here for quality monitoring reasons. Obviously it costs more, but you can monitor the details, the seams, the fabrics.

Jean-Philippe Robert believes in his product. He sells coats to airlines and mining companies, in particular, employers who want to provide their employees with coats capable of braving the cold of the Canadian Far North.

However, the young businessman is convinced that there is also a market for ordinary people, who see the purchase of a warm coat as a long-term investment, on the contrary consumption of disposable fashion. There are people who prefer to invest in quality, something that will last in the long term, which will cost, yes, more initially but which will offer a good return on investment in the long term.

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Still in Montreal, on Chabanel Street, in her workshop-boutique, Sophie Boyer, owner of Audvik coats, agrees. This former cross-country ski champion wants to offer durable coats to her customers, coats that they will cherish and keep like our grandmothers kept their fur coats.

At Audvik, Isabel Cabral, the seamstress, makes each of the coats that bear the Audvik brand from A to Z. She is an ace with the sewing machine. Each assembly takes several hours.

Sophie Boyer watches her sew with pride. Smiling, she said to me: It is certain that it is more expensive to manufacture in Quebec. We have less room for maneuver. I’m not a millionaire, but I manage to live well and pay the employees. But above all, I wake up happy every morning, delighted to offer handmade coats here.