Fast-growing Vancouver Underwear manufacturer Naked Boxer Brief Clothing Inc. is opening a distribution centre in Los Angeles in the lead-up to selling its briefs in 40 Nordstrom stores.
Naked already sells its products in about 100 stores that are part of chains such as Holt Renfrew, Top Drawer and Boys’ Co.
“It was very difficult for us to do our shipping to the U.S. and to show product to U.S. stores out of our Canadian office so, to better serve our customers, we’re opening up a distribution centre and office in L.A.,” Naked president Joel Primus told Business in Vancouver.
He plans to take the company public within the month via a reverse takeover with a shell company on the loosely regulated OTCBB exchange.
His goal is to be on the junior Nasdaq exchange sometime in 2013.
Primus said the Nordstrom contract is exciting because it includes what he calls an “auto-replenishment” clause that sends purchase orders each week to fill all sales.
Naked generated US$193,000 in revenue in the year that ended January 31. That is up from US$82,000 in revenue the previous year.
One person will man the L.A. office. The company has five staff at its Vancouver office.
Primus contracts out the manufacturing of his Vancouver-made underwear.
In May 2009, Primus appeared on CBC show Dragon’s Den and convinced investor Arlene Dickenson to offer to buy half of the company for $75,000 if the other “dragons” would chip in another $75,000. They did not and Primus walked away empty-handed.
