A few years ago, Kitsbow undertook an incredibly ambitious plan to move to Old Fort, North Carolina, and bring all of their apparel production to the United States, after years of working with overseas factories. In doing so, they not only found a way to adapt to today’s challenging supply chain logistics, but they also trained an entirely new workforce and spearheaded the revitalization of their new hometown, which had been losing manufacturing jobs for decades. So we talked with their CEO, David Billstrom, about how they did that while weathering a global pandemic; how doing so has been a boon to the brand, their customers, and their local community; and how they hope to be a blueprint for other companies to do the same.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Covid shields and facemasks (4:57)
• Moving to North Fort, NC (10:34)
• The Toyota Way (25:15)
• Domestic manufacturing & efficiency (31:53)
• Revitalizing a community (38:05)
• Employee purchase as a Public Benefit Corporation (52:54)
• David’s Big Idea (1:00:28)
• What We’re Celebrating (1:02:20)

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