A small Vancouver maker of children’s outdoor apparel has sold to a Utah investor, a move that the company says will provide it with funding to pay for its local expansion.
Oakiwear, a three-employee company specializing in affordably-priced children’s outerwear, generated nearly $1 million in sales last year and has doubled its growth year-over-year for the past three years with little marketing, said Benjamin Brewer, the company’s general manager. The infusion of capital will allow it to become more visible by hiring new staff to work in sales and product development, Brewer said. Sue Simper, who founded the company in 2006, will remain as an advisor on product development and strategic growth.
The company sells rain and snow suits, rain jackets and pants, rain boots, waders, gloves and other gear suitable to the Northwest climate. It sells at outdoor schools in the U.S. and Canada and at through its website, oakiwear.com, Brewer said. Last year it contracted to wholesale its products to a retail chain in Alaska.
Brewer hopes the company can grow into selling its products in major retail outlets such as Cabela’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods. In the mid- to low price range for children’s active outerwear, “there really is no product comparable to ours,” he said. “We’re all about kids first.”
