Oakiwear, a children’s apparel brand headquartered in Vancouver, has been sold to a Utah-based investor for an undisclosed amount. The company, founded in 2006 by local resident Sue Simper, specializes in children’s outerwear.
According to General Manager Benjamin Brewer, the company has no plans to leave the region and remains committed to Southwest Washington.
“We’re staying here,” he said. “A big part of that reason is obviously we’re importing from overseas and Seattle is a lot closer [to us here in Vancouver] than Utah.”
For Simper, who will continue working with Oakiwear in an advisory role, the decision to sell to Utah investor David Dustin stemmed from the company’s rapid growth.
“Sue has grown the company exponentially – much more than she ever thought it would grow out of her basement,” said Brewer. “Her feeling was it was reaching a point where it was essentially more than she wanted to bear because as companies grow and expand there are a lot of new things that come up.”
New ownership will provide Oakiwear with financial backing to further expand its product line, to fulfill larger purchase orders with retailers and to grow its employee base, noted Brewer.
“People love our rain jackets, but we’ve had a lot of requests for coats – things like down-filled coats for kids – so we’re going to start going that route,” he said. “There will be different types of rain pants and rain boots for sure, and then hopefully we’ll be expanding into a summer line.
“We already have a need [for additional employees] and will be hiring next year for multiple positions ranging from sales to shipping to product development,” Brewer added. “We certainly will be expanding all of our efforts and hiring locally.”
Oakiwear has averaged 100 percent year-to-year growth over the last three years. In 2013, Simper moved the company and inventory into an office space, then quickly had to move into a larger warehouse space in Salmon Creek. Last year, Oakiwear inked its first large-scale wholesale account with a retail chain in Alaska.
Oakiwear products are currently available online and through various retail stores in the United States and Canada. To learn more about the company, check out our retail spotlight, “Oakiwear: Enabling playtime.”
