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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBuilding a Quality Business<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Storm Creek\u2019s quest began with a man determined to provide\nthe promotional products space with quality outdoor apparel that was approachable\nyet rivaled high-end retail brands in its appeal; in other words, says founder Doug\nJackson, \u201cfunctional outerwear at a much more approachable price.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Storm Creek began under a wholesaler model, Doug says, but\nhe found the clientele too often wanted to sacrifice quality for price, and\nthey were unable to capture the essence of the Storm Creek brand and what it\nstands for. \u201cI was letting wholesalers dictate the product selection instead of\ndetermining that myself.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2014, Storm Creek\u2019s trajectory was altered\u2014for the\nbetter\u2014by a change in ownership and a shift in its sales model. Doug helms the\ncompany as president, and co-owner Teresa Fudenberg serves as CEO. \u201cI said to\nTeresa, \u2018Let\u2019s build the team to be able to do it exactly our way,\u2019 and it\u2019s been\nfun since then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doug, who \u201cgrew up in the apparel industry,\u201d spent countless\nhours traveling throughout Asia searching for partners in manufacturing who\nshared his vision and values for outdoor wear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doug found such a partner in Jesse, owner of several\nmanufacturing facilities in Vietnam whose passion rivals his own. \u201cHe is a\nquality nut,\u201d Doug says of his good friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This shared passion for quality extends into materials\nsourcing as well. Doug explains that the raw material producers and finishers\nthey choose must also adhere to the same high standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to its facility in Vietnam, Storm Creek also\nworks with facilities in China and India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEach facility is different in what they focus on,\u201d Doug\nsays. \u201cWe go where we feel we can get the best bang for our buck, but it\u2019s\nreally all about the relationship with the owners who share our values.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n All other major aspects of Storm Creek\u2019s operations are\nbased in the United States. \u201cLine development, product design, sales and\nmarketing, and warehousing\u2014it\u2019s all done here,\u201d Teresa says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Path to Sustainability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The supplier also saw a growing interest in, and the burgeoning ability to, develop apparel made in an eco-friendly manner in 2014. Doug says he made a point of asking about eco-friendly processes on every trip to Asia in the supplier\u2019s early years, but the capabilities were slow to appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSix years ago, we tried to make eco-friendly pieces, but\nthe world wasn\u2019t ready,\u201d he said. However, in 2017, recycled content was\nbeginning to show up in apparel manufacturing, signaling a shift toward broader\ncapabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI came home [from a trip to Asia] and said, \u2018Teresa, we\nreally could become an eco-friendly company.\u2019\u201d And as more dyeing and fabric\nmills began to shift toward eco-friendly practices such as Bluesign\u00ae\nand oeko-tex\u00ae,\nDoug found opportunities to build new relationships with owners who shared his\nvision for eco-friendly apparel from fabric to finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the change in focus on the manufacturing end,\neco-friendly apparel wasn\u2019t met with immediate interest from distributors. \u201cTwo\nyears ago, 70 percent of people did not care [about eco-friendly apparel\noptions],\u201d Doug says. \u201cIt is slowly increasing more, and there are people who\nare super excited\u201d about Storm Creek\u2019s eco-friendly capabilities and the\nresulting offerings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, shifting away from traditionally produced apparel\ntakes more than a season. \u201cOne thing people don\u2019t always understand when you\u2019re\nin our industry\u201d is the effort involved in recreating an already popular item\nlike that best-selling vest as an eco-friendly piece, Doug says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The company\u2019s signature vest\u2014Item #3120\u2014has been at the\ncenter of Storm Creek\u2019s eco apparel journey all the way through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe hallmark of Storm Creek has always been quality, fit,\nand value,\u201d Teresa says. Doug adds, \u201cWe put a lot of thought into every part of\na garment. You can\u2019t just switch fabric or insulation; the feel will be\ndifferent. We have items that have taken two years to transition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking ahead, Doug says, the company has plans to become\n100 percent eco-friendly by the end of 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping Up With Trends<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Also part of the company\u2019s evolution is the expansion of its\nlines. \u201cWe are constantly adding items so we can have the best\noffice-to-outdoor collection,\u201d Teresa says. \u201cFor us, that means adding\nlightweight pieces, and that we have evolved to a year-round company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She adds that current lifestyles and the pandemic\u2019s effect\non workers shifting from offices to their homes also influences the supplier\u2019s\ninnovations. \u201cThe way that people are living their lives and wearing their clothes\nis what we pay attention to, identifying what the consumer in a changing world\nneeds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Doug, it has meant embracing at least one staple of\npromotional apparel: the polo shirt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have fought doing polo shirts because everyone does\nthem,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut we finally knew we needed to have them for our spring\nand summer line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Storm Creek polos will come with a Storm Creek twist, of\ncourse. \u201cWe jokingly call the women\u2019s style the \u2018Nolo Polo\u2019,\u201d Teresa says,\nreferring to a fashion-forward, non-masculine design in the works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The women\u2019s shirts will be non-traditional styles that\nfeature feminine tailoring with high-end, eco-friendly fabrics, Doug says. \u201cThe\nkey for us is knowing what it will look like after it\u2019s washed. It has to look\nnice as a wash-and-wear item.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Women\u2019s fits are a Storm Creek signature thanks to Doug\u2019s\ninsistence, Teresa says. \u201cWhen Storm Creek first started, women\u2019s apparel was\noutselling men\u2019s. Unisex is not in our vocabulary. Our women\u2019s pieces have\nalways had respect for different body shapes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This attention to consistent fit is something Storm Creek\nhopes customers recognize. They also want customers to know that trust is\nparamount, especially when it comes to displaying customers\u2019 logos on Storm\nCreek products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have a litmus test for quality, sizing, fabrics, and performance,\u201d Teresa says. \u201cWe do all the homework so [distributors and customers] don\u2019t have to. They can trust that all Storm Creek products will meet that test.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer and Community Driven<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Storm Creek is also future-focused in its workforce\nstrategy. Teresa explains that the supplier has adopted the Entrepreneurial\nOperating System, or EOS. EOS principles and practices are designed to ensure\nevery member of an organization understands and is committed to helping fulfill\nthe company\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have made a commitment to have this be the way we run\nour business,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s about strong focus, alignment of teams, and\naccountability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of the Traction EOS strategy is to revisit the\ncompany\u2019s three unique propositions and its core focus. \u201cOur three unique\npropositions are: better fabrics made eco-smart, giving back for the greater\ngood, and being trusted to elevate your brand,\u201d she says, adding that this is simply\nwhat makes Storm Creek different from other industry suppliers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Storm Creek also stands out by sharing the fruits of its labor with the surrounding community. As one of 100 business members of the Minnesota Keystone Program, Storm Creek commits to giving back five percent of its annual pre-tax earnings to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and 10 percent of its Q4 consumer sales go to charities (check out Storm Creek\u2019s Wear For BetterSM<\/sup> program on its website<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Keystone Program began in the 1970s as \u2018The 5% Club\u2019 by\nthe area\u2019s large business owners with the intent to give five percent [of\nearnings] back to the community,\u201d Teresa says. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to be one of the\nsmaller size companies on the roster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doug says while some companies might not share news of their\ncharitable efforts with customers or the general public, \u201cwhen Teresa and I\nmet, we decided this was important.\u201d The result is Storm Creek\u2019s Wear For\nBetter\u2120,\nwhich supports more than 40 charities with donations of funds, meals, and\nvolunteer hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The company\u2019s recent charitable efforts are highly relevant\nin the current national climate. Profits from the Work from Home collection\nwent to Feeding America, and for every order of apparel created to honor\nfrontline heroes, Storm Creek donated one to the customer\u2019s hero. Storm Creek\nalso participates in 1% for the Planet, donating one percent of every purchase\nfrom the Eco-Collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Focusing on the life cycle of apparel and its impact on\neveryone from employees to end users could very well be considered Storm\nCreek\u2019s fourth unique proposition\u2014or the one that wraps up all three into an\neco-friendly, community-focused bow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Storm Creek makes quality apparel that\u2019s good for the environment, Teresa says, \u201cand that\u2019s how we give back to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sageworld.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Doug.jpg\")
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