“When people buy Canada, they buy authenticity” – Dani Reiss, Canada Goose

When Dani Reiss took over his grandfather’s apparel business more than two decades ago, he gambled on Canada. He resolved to continue making high-end outerwear in Canada, at a time when others in the industry were moving production abroad.

The bet paid off. Today Canada Goose is recognized around the world for its luxury clothing. Reiss credits part of that success to the decision to stick with a “Made in Canada” label.

For international customers, he says, “a Canada Goose jacket made in Canada was like a Swiss Watch made in Switzerland. It’s a quintessential Canadian product when the place of manufacturing cannot be separated from the product itself.”

In conversation with Goldy Hyder on the Speaking of Business podcast, Reiss urges other Canadian businesses to “leverage the power of the Canadian brand.” He also reflects on being named to AMA Toronto’s Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends, which honours business excellence within the marketing profession.

Transcript

Dani Reiss:

From my experience, the Canadian brand is very strong. And I think that many Canadian companies, even ones on a global stage, especially ones on a global stage, don’t leverage the power of the Canadian brand enough.

Goldy Hyder:

Welcome to Speaking of Business. Conversations with Canadian innovators, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. I’m Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada.

Goldy Hyder:

When Dani Reiss took over the family business 25 years ago, the words Canada Goose weren’t associated with high end outdoor clothing, but they sure are now. Canada Goose has become an iconic Canadian brand that is known around the world. Its luxury clothing is coveted by movie stars, Arctic explorers, NBA players, and people just trying to get through a cold, long Canadian winter. But the company stands for so much more. For one thing it’s proudly made in Canada. For another, it has made sustainability central to its purpose. So it’s perhaps no surprise that Canada Goose president and CEO, Dani Reiss, was recently named to Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends, an honour that recognizes visionaries, enablers, builders, and mentors. It’s a great pleasure to welcome Dani Reiss back to the podcast. Dani, thanks for doing this.

Dani Reiss:

Goldy, thank you so much for having me on again.

Goldy Hyder:

Or let me, is it Mr. Legend now? Like how does this work? What’s the honoree of being a legend?

Dani Reiss:

That’s very, very funny. I think you could just call me Dani. That would be great.

Goldy Hyder:

But in all seriousness, I mean, how do you feel about being recognized in that way?

Dani Reiss:

Recognition of this kind is always nice, Goldy. It’s a tremendous honour to be included amongst the list of people who’ve been given this award over the years. Some people on this list are people I’ve looked up to for such a long time and it’s something I never, looking back over the last 25 years, would’ve really imagined that would ever happen. So it’s a humbling experience and it says a lot about what we’ve been able to do and what the whole team at Canada Goose has been able to do really.

Goldy Hyder:

Well it’s interesting you say that it may have never happened and the truth is it may have never happened, because you really didn’t want to do this. The younger you didn’t want to be in the company that your grandfather had built. And that of course begs the question, what made you change your mind?

Dani Reiss:

It’s a great question. And it’s true, I never wanted to do this. I didn’t go to business school and I was going to go traveling and I took a temporary role at the company and my parents never really wanted me to do this either. So it was really a foregone conclusion I wouldn’t do this. And…

Goldy Hyder:

That worked out well.

Dani Reiss:

Yeah. It didn’t happen the way anybody thought it would. But I realized that our product was important. I realized it was authentic. I learned from people in Northern Canada, I learned from people that I showed the product to in Europe as well. But especially, my first job actually was calling on northern airlines into Canadian High Arctic and realizing that our product actually meant a lot to them and enabled them to live their lives. And it was really an authentic product. And that meant a lot to me, was the authenticity behind it. And I think that has a lot to do with our success.

Dani Reiss:

And then I saw an opportunity. I saw this product that was only known in the furthest reaches of the world. And it was a product that the people who knew about it loved. And I saw the opportunity well, to just, if we can get more people to know about it, then more people would love it. And then we could build it into a bigger company. And so what started as a really small company, less than $3 million in revenue turned into a global luxury brand out of Canada. Canada’s only real luxury brand. And we’re sold all over the world now and we went from being an industrial brand to really turning this into a consumer brand.

Goldy Hyder:

Tell me more about that because surely it would be easier for you to make this somewhere else in the world, certainly less costly to make it somewhere else in the world. And you’ve been able to kind of be a contrarian that it can be done in Canada, and there can be a market for things made in Canada and that doing so is actually a value, perceived value by your customers around the world. Are you surprised by that?

Dani Reiss:

I’m not surprised by that, but it wasn’t always that way. Made in Canada was something that, especially in Canada, many people thought Canadians don’t care about made in Canada. And certainly when I, in the early days, was trying to sell Canada Goose products in Canada and going door to door on Queen Street. I was turned away a lot and people would tell me, “yeah, well, your stuff’s too expensive.” And mainly that was because it was made in Canada, but they said, “well, nobody cares about made in Canada anyways.” And the clothing was too warm. So we started to sell products in Europe. When we started to sell products in Europe, our prices were much higher by the structure of how the sales structure worked. But the most important point was they really cared about the fact that it was made in Canada. To them, a Canada Goose jacket made in Canada, it was like a Swiss Watch made in Switzerland.

Dani Reiss:

It’s a quintessential Canadian product when the place of manufacturing of that product cannot be separated from the product itself, almost. That is how we were seen at that point in time, in that place in the world. And we were able to take that over time and expand that to be seen that way globally. And as it turned out, as many companies did leave Canada to manufacture in other parts of the world, we decided that we’re going to stay made in Canada. We’re going to stay here. And we were small then, and we weren’t even working 12 months a year in the factory, but we decided if we could stay made in Canada for call it five years while everybody else left, and if it’s true that as we thought made in Canada was going to become more important in the future, then in five years from now, we’re going to have this massive competitive advantage because there will be nobody left making apparel or outerwear like us in Canada. And it came true.

Goldy Hyder:

Yeah. It’s played out. It’s played out exactly as advertised to some extent, or drawn up.

Dani Reiss:

It’s pretty crazy, but it did work well.

Goldy Hyder:

I’ve heard you talk about, and people in positions of leadership often have to manage the issue of change, and I remember reading a billboard decades ago and in Calgary, on a church and had said, “The only one looking forward to change is a wet baby.” And I heard you say that your job actually changes every year. And that change is something people need to have some comfort in embracing. What did you mean by that?

Dani Reiss:

Our company, being a fast growing entrepreneurial company, is one that is different every year. I’ve seen so many different generations and iterations of this company over time as we’ve grown from less than $3 million company to well over a billion dollar company in the last 20 years, obviously there’s many different iterations, and my job has changed so much. I remember back in the really early days doing cost sheets for a jacket by hand, and then it became on Excel. And then I didn’t do that anymore. And I mean, I was the company’s first customer service person.

Dani Reiss:

And so we’ve been through so many iterations. And even today at our scale and our size, I always tell everybody who works at Canada Goose, things are going to change a lot. Your job will change. I even warn people before they take a job at Canada Goose, this is the kind of place where a fast paced environment, it’s dynamic and we have to be able to move with those. That’s really the kind of person that does well at this company. And for me, yeah, my job’s been different every year. I mean, I’ve had to restructure the way the executive team works many times.

Goldy Hyder:

You just did one recently, an appointment of a president.

Dani Reiss:

We did indeed. Yeah. And I’m very happy with that.

Goldy Hyder:

All right. Well, look, you and I spoke earlier in the pandemic, so we won’t get in the pandemic too much, but because we’re talking about leadership and we’re talking about change, it’s been a couple of years now, Canada Goose, partly through your involvement in hospital board, just like so many other CEOs are on hospital boards and others. They got a line of sight to the pandemic. They got a line of sight as to how things were going to go. And you responded as a company immediately with making critically needed PPEs and speaking of change, your company had to change to do that. And again, I note that it was done at cost for the healthcare workers and so forth. I don’t want to get in the pandemic, but want to ask you is, what did you learn from the pandemic that you think is going to enable you to take the company to the next level?

Dani Reiss:

We will always do the right thing. We always have done the right thing. That’s been very important to us to always do. And it was a no brainer for us, honestly, at the time to go and do the right thing for the country. I think that what I learned about the country is that it’s important that our country is prepared from a strategic point of view with whatever assets and whatever capabilities it deemed to be essential and strategic, so that should this sort of situation ever occur again, that we don’t find ourselves in the situation we did before. And so, I do believe that our manufacturing infrastructure that we have to manufacture apparel is, I don’t think there’s one that is even similar in Canada. And I think that’s a very important strategic asset for our country and I think that our country needs to learn from that.

Goldy Hyder:

Let me build on that theme by asking about, and I think I heard you say, or we’ve talked about this actually, is that the role of business and government has changed. How so?

Dani Reiss:

It’s a very good point. And I think it’s extremely pertinent these days. Government used to be trusted and relied upon to cause change of all kinds, policy change, social change. And I think people, they’ve realized the government can’t do it at the speed that they need to do it anymore, and that people are relying more and more on companies to do these things. So I think things like sustainability, fighting, climate change, social justice, those sorts of very important societal issues. Companies have the ability to act in a very quick way and make things happen very quickly, much more so than governments. Governments get together and decide to cut emissions by X, Y, Z percentage in the next 10 years, and then hit half of that, meet again and argue and disagree. And they have a really hard time building consensus, whereas companies can just act and make things happen.

Dani Reiss:

And I think that consumers realize the urgency of certain things of the realities of our society these days, and that we have to do certain things for the climate and we have to do certain things for our society and we can do that. And certainly from a sustainability point of view, Canada Goose is committed to doing that. I want us to be one of the leaders in the apparel industry and making it not only more sustainable, but very sustainable. We’ve pledged to be net carbon neutral by 2025 and we’re going to hit that target. And I think it’s now the domain of companies. I don’t think that consumers are going to buy things from companies that are not good for the world. And I don’t think there’s going to be a company left 20 years from now that isn’t good for the world, but I just don’t think people are going to buy from those companies.

Goldy Hyder:

Well, let’s hope you’re right about that because obviously it’s a challenge of our time and you’re right, that ultimately the pressure probably falls on the business community to be the innovators. Governments can set policies and frameworks. There’s another alignment that comes across often between business and government and that is this whole notion of short-termism versus long-termism. We’re looking for governments to create a long-term economic growth strategy, for example, and they will come back and say, “well, this is rich coming from a business community that measures its performance quarter to quarter.” How do we square that circle?

Dani Reiss:

I know that for our business, we’re a public company. We report in quarters. We think in generations, we don’t think in quarters. We have always tried to build and focus on building a business that is good for the long term, and that is going to be sustainable and is going to be around for generations to come. And that’s the way we’ve always looked at our business. It’s the way I’ve always made decisions at this company. And when we became a public company, I told the public markets that’s the way we’re going to look at this business and not make short term decisions. I think that from our part, this short-termism is not the way we look at our business and hopefully our best investors understand that.

Goldy Hyder:

How are you positioned coming out of this pandemic? Are we back to normal for you? Are you still feeling that there’s still risk ahead in some regards? How well positioned are you for whatever the future has in store?

Dani Reiss:

I feel very confident. I think that obviously there’s lots of things that are uncertain for everybody. We’re living in very interesting times with regards to many things, but with regards to our business in particular, we’re optimistic about the future, our business is doing well. We just are coming off a year which will be the best year we’ve ever had. And I think that we have strong momentum heading into the next year. So I think that I’m feeling very good about the future.

Goldy Hyder:

And what’s your sort of outlook on some of the geopolitical risks that have emerged around the world. I mean, there may well be areas that you had sales or you were looking to grow in. I’m assuming things going on out there is making you sort of rethink.

Dani Reiss:

Yeah. You know, I think that, I mean, we are a global brand. And so obviously there are things that are macro factors that affect us. I’m optimistic, obviously. I’m optimistic by nature. I’m optimistic that, I think this is where the role of government comes in actually. And I think that this is their domain. And I think the governments will, I’m optimistic that they will resolve the horrible situation that’s happening right now in Eastern Europe. And I’m optimistic that the diplomacy will be able to resolve that as I’m optimistic that the current lockdowns in China will be resolved through political means. For us, our busy season, this is not our busy season right now. We’re lucky. So we just got lucky, but the lockdowns in China are not having a material impact on our business at the moment. And I think that I’m optimistic by the time it is important for us, that the Chinese economy will be open and strong and will continue to be one of the most important markets for our business.

Goldy Hyder:

But we are seeing certainly down right here in our neighborhood, our friends in the United States and others are looking inward, more protectionist. Some have suggested that new supply chains are taking form and taking hold that will alter the way in which the world functions, no matter what happens in Europe or in China. Some have suggested that quote unquote, economic balkanization is taking place. And this whole nearshoring, onshoring, and all those kinds of things. And there are people out there saying, we need to be careful what we wish for, that there are costs to some of these things and the importance of the customer and the consumer and stuff. And trade of course, is central to all of this. How concerned are you that around the world trade seems to be attacked and international organizations are coming under attack, and there’s a lack of trust in them?

Dani Reiss:

I do think it’s concerning, but I also think at the end of the day, and I’m optimistic that at the end of the day, the economies of the world are too intertwined to disentangle them. When you talk about onshoring or reshoring, we’re the original reshoring company. We’ve been making stuff Canada forever. So I’m not opposed to making things where they’re supposed to be made.

Dani Reiss:

I also am a strong believer in globalization and in global trade. And I think that’s imperative for all of the countries involved. I think that die is cast and I think that if you look at the world’s two largest economies, China and the United States, I mean, certainly they have different political systems, but they have the same financial system and they each need each other. You can’t disaggregate the two at this point in time, as much as any groups may suggest that that’s what they want to do. I personally think it’s too hard to do. And I think that there probably is a way, and again, I think this is where the politicians need to come in, but there is a way to put together some sort of framework that allows everybody to feel comfortable doing business together, even though we operate different political systems. And I don’t think it’s beneficial for the world to go back to isolationist, nationalistic ways.

Goldy Hyder:

Now, the other issue that somewhat can become a political hot potato, and we’ve been very fortunate that our political parties here in Canada to their credit have avoided the politicization of immigration because it’s connected to labour market needs. It’s connected to the skilling and reskilling agenda and more broadly the housing and so forth. How are you managing what I know is a C-suite issue in terms of labour and skills?

Dani Reiss:

Personally, I’m pro-immigration, I think it’s important that Canada has a strong workforce and we continue to grow as our population continues to grow. As a company, Canada Goose, we’ve been training our own employees to become sewing machine operators and many of them are new Canadians who are coming here as immigrants and we’re creating meaningful jobs for them and that’s helping them and the economy. And then I think on another level, the nature of work has changed and the pandemic has changed that, that’s a whole other issue. And I think that businesses have to be open to the fact that we’ve realized through a pandemic that people can do good work from home. And we’re looking at some sort of hybrid model of work, where over time people spend time in the office and also sometime not in the office. And I think that’s actually a good thing. I think it creates a lot more flexibility. And if used wisely, I think can be an asset for companies.

Goldy Hyder:

What about the fact that some people don’t have that choice, that there are, it is said 60% or so of Canadians have no choice but to go to work because they’re providing services that require them to be there, whether it’s a chef, or a waiter, or somebody picks up the garbage, the police officer, the doctor, the nurse, they don’t have any choices. They have to go to work. And then there’s this other swath of society that says, “ah, I think I’ll do it from home today.” Are you concerned at all about an inequality that might develop there?

Dani Reiss:

That’s a very interesting question and interesting way of putting it. I mean, yeah, even within our own company we have jobs that, if you’re a sewing machine operator, you have to be a sewing machine operator. If you work security, you have to be working security. So there are jobs that require you to come to work and then there are jobs that perhaps you could do from home, maybe graphic designing or something like that, perhaps you can do it from home more often than from the office. So I think that anytime in history when there are these transitions, or there are these inflection points, sure it can cause some dislocation for a short period of time. But I think that it’ll work itself out. Ultimately as time passes, people will realize that they get to choose what kind of work environment they want. And so in choosing that they can choose what kind of profession they want to get into. And I certainly realize that at this point in time, perhaps there’s people who don’t get that choice, that’s what happens when big change occurs. I think though, that like everything, this will settle itself out over time and a new normal will emerge. And I think that new normal, I’m optimistic that it will be a good thing and I know that whatever it is, it has to be a sustainable thing.

Goldy Hyder:

Yeah. Now one of the things about Canada Goose, of course it’s been innovative in the way in which it’s developed its products and the way it’s obviously, where it’s manufactured and its competitiveness. I want to come back to and close really on the issue that I know you’re really very passionate about. And that is the climate crisis in and of itself. And you had said that part of your purpose at Canada Goose is to, and I quote, “keeping the planet cold and the people on it warm.” What does that mean in practice?

Dani Reiss:

It means dramatically reducing our carbon footprint. It means really making our products be sustainable and we’re making great strides in doing that. And we’re making great strides in changing the materials we use and changing the amount of carbon that we emit. And as I mentioned earlier, we’re committed to being net carbon neutral by 2025 and that means taking lots of steps, both internally with our own operations and also with our partners that we work with, to make sure that we’re able to achieve that objective. And I think it’s critical we achieve that objective. I think from a planet point of view, we have to achieve that.

Dani Reiss:

And I think that the majority of people realize that’s an imperative right now. And that’s why I don’t think that anybody is going to buy things from companies that aren’t good for the world. And our intention is to be good for the world. We always were, it was always important to us. We’ve been a purpose driven brand since we started and we’re going to continue doing that and being good for the world. And then hopefully many other companies or most other companies will follow suit.

Goldy Hyder:

Now I know you make a lot of time for people. And I’m wondering, when you have a chance to speak to young emerging leaders, people who want to go on to be the next Dani Reiss, what’s the one piece of advice you give them?

Dani Reiss:

I mean, it sounds simple, but you got to do what you love. You got to do things that you believe in. And for me, when I joined this company, one of the reasons I stated is because it was real and authentic, and that was important to me, is that I did something that meant something. And I didn’t know it was going to lead to this. I didn’t set out to be here today. It kind of happened to me. Sometimes your life kind of chooses you, you don’t choose your life. And I think that the most important thing is to do something that you’re really passionate about and that you get enjoyment from. And I think that today more than ever, I think we’ve learned that life is precious, the world is a very fragile place and I think people need to make decisions that are healthy for themselves and healthy for the world.

Goldy Hyder:

Okay. Last question. The one that we’re asking everybody on this season of the podcast is the question of, what is one big idea? One big idea that you think could help transform Canada?

Dani Reiss:

From my experience, the Canadian brand is very strong. And I think that many Canadian companies, even ones on a global stage, especially ones on a global stage, don’t leverage the power of the Canadian brand enough.

Goldy Hyder:

Well, some would say on the contrary.

Dani Reiss:

Yeah. I have known Canadian companies to pretend they’re American companies. I don’t think they do that so much anymore, but that was more 10 years ago. But still I think that our brand is very strong, I know that our brand is very strong. People react very well to it. People love Canada. People love the image of Canada. And I think that Canada has a very big opportunity to take a leadership and a thought leadership position on a global stage. I think people look at Canada, they romanticize Canada in a certain way, and they look towards Canada as a beacon of hope for the world. And I think that one big opportunity that we have is to leverage that and to really become that thought leader in the world. And I think that our brand can be a path for us to get to that point.

Goldy Hyder:

What do you think our brand is? I guess you would know, you’re measuring this. What is it that people buy, when they buy Canada?

Dani Reiss:

I think that when people buy Canada, they buy authenticity, they buy honesty, they buy the perception which is true, of the great expanses of wilderness and natural resources and imagery of the North and the Northern lights. I think that there’s part of it which is romanticized and part of it which is goodness. And I think that there is a lot of prestige attached with being Canadian. And I think that, I’ve always found that every time, from the last 20 years traveling around the world. And I think that we don’t leverage that enough.

Goldy Hyder:

Touché my friend, what a great place to end. Dani Reiss says double down on Canada.

Dani Reiss:

Goldy thank you so much for having me on again, once again. I really appreciate it.

Goldy Hyder:

Well, we appreciate your time. Thank you for doing this.

Dani Reiss:

Pleasure.

Goldy Hyder:

Dani Reiss is the president and CEO of Canada Goose. If you are enjoying our Speaking of Business, conversations with innovators, leaders, and entrepreneurs, please give us a review. And if you’re new to the podcast, why not subscribe? Search for Speaking of Business wherever you get your podcasts or go to our website at thebusinesscouncil.ca. Until next time I’m Goldy Hyder. Thanks for joining us.