Thread by @EggrolI

Some of the most comfortable and iconic streetwear hoodie blanks are made in a garment factory based in Toronto, Canada

Here's the story of an immigrant from India who defied all odds to create the blanks that supplied Supreme, Aimé Leon Dore, Noah, Adsum, and more

In 1972, the young Nat Thakkar emigrated to Canada from his native home India with less than $100 in his pocket. He was the first and only of his family to leave the country, with dreams of coming to America, but ended up in Montreal, Canada

24 and no education history to apply for most jobs, like many immigrants, he found work as a factory worker. His first gig was a sample maker for a company that sold woven fabrics from Japan

Less than a year later, he found another job at a knitting mill. There, he learned how to use circular knitting machines.

In the 18 years that followed, he grew from knitting garments at factories to overseeing the productions at a vertical knit fabric manufacturer

In May 1991 he set out to start his own path and own his own knitting mill.

He started as a “converter" of knit fabrics: one who would buy yarn, have it sent to a mill to be contract knitted, then sent to a dye house for dyeing and finishing and shipped directly to his clients.

His business marketed itself, his customers raved about the price, quality, and service

His business grew out of his home in Montreal to the suburbs of Toronto

Eventually allowing him to open a full fledged knitting mill with brand new machinery in 2001.

The beginning of the century was incredibly difficult for Canadian knitting mills due to competition from Asian manufacturers with the introduction of eCommerce.

Nat knew that to survive, he has to change his ways

His son Amit joined in 2001. This allowed Nat to have a new perspective on the business, transforming the knitting mill from supplying basic knit fabrics to a manufacturer that produces technical and eco-friendly fabrics, focusing on novelty knits using high-quality fabrics

Few lessons from Nat's story:

Instead of racing to the bottom with a price war, he focused on producing higher quality fabrics using innovative techniques to position his facility above foreign competitors

Welcoming new eyes to a traditional business to keep up and survive

Most important, he had grit

Despite seeing hundreds of other mills disappearing in Canada and knowing that he was next in the queue, he persevered and identified a new market to provide his offerings to.

All without compromising his quality, price, and integrity

@threadreaderapp unroll