Employees took over the ownership of North Carolina-based Kitsbow 15 months ago, as management struggled for a way to save the company. However, the move only postponed the inevitable, as the company announced it will close.
“It is devastating and disappointing – in ways that words cannot possibly convey,” the statement read. “Terrible for our community Old Fort and McDowell County, North Carolina. In each of the past three years, Kitsbow injected an annual payroll of approximately $2 million dollars into a rural town previously in economic decline for 30 years. Our presence sparked a resurgence of employers – two manufacturing operations have since followed to Old Fort, adding more jobs to the local economy.”
The decision to fold also is “terrible for our investors, new and old, and a blow to the tiny segment of our industry that is attempting to make apparel in the U.S. instead of overseas as 98 percent of the clothes sold in the U.S. are made,” the statement continued. “But most of all, it is the end of a dream for our employees, 30,000 customers and the thousands of supporters for our vision of making clothes in a new way that respects the worker and pays a living wage (with benefits).”
The statement said the apparel industry is “deeply broken.” Kitsbow said it thought it was showing “there was a different way.” However, the bottom line was that Kitsbow could not get the operating capital it needed to grow.
A recent funding round through WeFunder hauled in only about half of the $1 million target Kitsbow set. That simply wasn’t enough money to survive long-term.
According to the company, it injected an annual payroll of approximately $2 million dollars into the rural town previously in economic decline for 30 years.
“Our presence sparked a resurgence of employers — two manufacturing operations have since followed to Old Fort, adding more jobs to the local economy,” the statement said.
The emotional news comes after recent announcements suggesting meaningful growth. Last year’s fall flannel line came ahead of this January’s launch of a platform to buy and sell used Kitsbow gear on the company website.
In the announcement, Kitsbow referenced “about-to-be-announced” retail partners in Raleigh, N.C.; Minneapolis; and Seattle.
Founded in 2012, Kitsbow became employee-owned in January 2022. As of the closure, it employed about 40 full-time workers.
“[W]e did everything humanly possible to avoid this outcome, including talking with new investors, exploring partnerships with other brands, and offering the possibility of purchase by other brands (and not being fussy about price). The economy has made all of those alternatives impossible,” the release stated.
Kitsbow will fulfill “Made to Order” purchases made as of the statement. It forecasts April 7 as its last day of production. Everything on the Kitsbow website is on sale.
Photo by Kitsbow
