Kitsbow moves to tiny textile town, reinvigorates community.
Goal of increasing domestic production leads to new home in Old Fort, N.C.
Sounds like my kind of town!
"Yes, there are winds of change in town now. The incredible natural resources of fly fishing, hiking, singletrack, gravel, road riding, equestrian trails ... well, it will be an amazing transformation. A great combination of manufacturing and tourism.". A great combination of manufacturing and tourism."
Why leave California? To keep the business alive.
"To reduce our dependence on Asia, and fully commit to making our own clothes, it was obvious we couldn't do it in the San Francisco Bay Area," said Billstrom, Kitsbow's CEO. "The other manufacturers in the region must be smarter than we are, because I don't know how they do it. Labor, transportation, rent — really, everything — is so expensive that there is very little margin left to build a business, let alone provide a return to investors."
What is the difference between California and their new home?
"This is the South," he said. "Complete strangers greet you on the street when passing you by. So here in Old Fort, we continue to be stopped by residents and businesses who thank us out loud for coming here.”
checking housing prices now because...
"Yes, there are winds of change in town now. The incredible natural resources of fly fishing, hiking, singletrack, gravel, road riding, equestrian trails ... well, it will be an amazing transformation. A great combination of manufacturing and tourism.". A great combination of manufacturing and tourism."
full story at Bicycle Retailer
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