Lexy Funk via BusinessWeek*: "About a third of our clothing at Brooklyn Industries is made in China by four factories run by families...
Before I decided to outsource our manufacturing, I did my homework on China... But in the end what really formed my opinion was running my own factory in Brooklyn.
The [manufacturing] challenge... how to find legal and competent sewers while running a production line that was efficient and economical... It was hard to maintain quality...
We knew we couldn't grow our business without being able to find good, legal sewers -- a situation that was already proving to be difficult... Plus, we still didn't have heat and couldn't afford to move out and get an apartment. Manufacturing was beginning to lose its appeal...
In 2000 we had made enough money to move out of the factory and into our own apartment, just as I had my first child. At the same time we decided that our real passion was not in manufacturing but in retail... we weren't particularly good at manufacturing, and besides, things had just gotten more difficult. In 2001 we closed the factory and switched primarily to retail."
Rewind: Summer 2009: On the Waterfront: From WNYC: "Funk says the big risk is that the bank decides Brooklyn Industries is not meeting expectations and pulls the company's credit line. So far, the bank continues to lend to Brooklyn Industries. And Brooklyn Industries is trying to adapt, as it watches some of its neighbors on Smith Street go out of business."
*BusinessWeek two weeks ago: From NYPost: "Norman Pearlstine, Bloomberg's chief content officer and soon-to-be chairman of BusinessWeek, cut an estimated 130 people from BusinessWeek's staff of around 400... The cuts were deepest on the editorial side, where insiders say an estimated 60 to 70 editorial types are going... Bloomberg LP, agreed to pay $9.3 million for the company and assume some liabilities including severance payments. The deal, announced last month, is expected to be completed by Dec. 5."
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