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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - FEB/MAR 2013
I
N THE F I RST
installment of
Canadian Industry’s Famous
Canadian Brands series, we look at
Canada Goose: a legacy brand in pre-
mium outerwear.
The company was built from
the ground up, much like many Ca-
nadian companies, with one
significant difference.
While many Canadian
brands have left the
country seeking
less expensive
manufacturing
capabilities, or
other interna-
tional finan-
cial incentives,
Canada Goose
has stayed firmly
planted in Canada,
celebrating and cher-
ishing its heritage.
Canada Goose was in-
cepted in 1957, by Sam Tick, whose
company was originally called Metro
Sportswear. David Reiss, Tick’s son-in-
law, joined the company in the 1970s
and built a revolutionary down filling
machine, and later, the company was
renamed Canada Goose.
By the early 80s, a new jacket “vi-
sion” was borne when Reiss helped
Laurie Skreslet with outerwear for a
climb of Mount Everest. By 1997, cur-
rent President and CEO Dani Reiss
(
Sam Tick’s grandson) had joined the
company, which was already known
for its high quality jackets and commit-
ment to Canadian manufacturing.
ALMOST FAMOUS
In 2004, Canada Goose experi-
enced one of its most no-
table “almost famous”
moments, becoming
more recognized
through its pres-
ence in the film
industry. The
brand appeared
in the film The
Day After Tomor-
row (starring Dennis
Quaid, Jake Gyllen-
haal, and a modern-day
ice age), and popularity of
the brand grew—so did the company’s
solid relationship with the movies.
At this point, the company was
a solid fixture in the Canadian mar-
ketplace, and was bridging the gap
internationally as well. President Dani
Reiss reflected on how he came to join
a company that he “never had an in-
tention” to work at.
“
When I joined the company in
1997,
I was more concerned with travel
and writing, and originally took the
“
Here
was this company,
that had the opportunity
to show the world something
authentic in a world where
there wasn’t a lot of authen-
ticity anymore.”
