Kyle Findlay

About Kanati Co.

Kanati Clothing Company was formed in July 2009 in Toronto. Kanati Co. quickly gained market traction by becoming a celebrity favorite which led to the company entering a multi-year international distribution arrangement. The company gained notoriety as a pioneer in the fashion industry by creating an Aboriginal influenced premium lifestyle band which had not yet been seen before. "Kanati Co." grew to national distribution in the first year in business and it eventually developed into a 14-country distribution network over the next 5 years. The brand was popularized in the U.S by its appearance in numerous music videos from artists like Drag-On of Ruff Ryders Entertainment, Joey Stylez, Meek Mill/Rick Ross, Ja Rule and other popular musicians such as Sean P from the group YoungBloodZ. The label was seen on music group Winnipeg's Most in the Maclean's Magazine "Straight Outta Winnipeg" feature as well as on CBC Television's Aboriginal series "8th Fire" hosted by Wab kinew.

The company launched its flagship store in Waterloo, Ontario in August, 2014.

On-Demand Program

In 2014, along with Liam Massaubi, he designed a program for retail fashion designers. The program runs on a pre-qualified membership basis and enables retail labels to meet compliance and expand product lines without the capital investment and need for inventory and minimum orders. The system handles warehousing and distribution for retail labels. The program launch was extremely successful seeing as many as 100 retai-ready labels joining. But unforeseen disruptions arose a couple of months into production in Pakistan relating to flooding, power shortages and political unrest the company to pull all production from the country. The decision to exit the country was called a "wake up call, both for those representing multi-nationals' interests in Pakistan and those Pakistani firms in the multi-nationals' value chains." by the Contracting & Procurement Manager at Shell Pakistan.' In an article published by The International New York Times, Liam Massaubi was quoted saying "Energy issues, transportation issues and continuous supply chain disruptions were creating problems for us."'

The events, in part, prompted the Government of Pakistan to respond with a new plan to implement a new textile policy aimed at doubling exports. Kanati Co. was not the only company that experienced problems at that time. Walt Disney Company pulled approximately $200 million worth of production from the country due to an unfriendly business environment.

Kanati Company negotiated a $5 million deal over 5 years with GSG Apparel, Inc. establish a first of its kind Canadian facility. This was accomplished in only 3.5 months time. The move to production in Canada was mentioned in Just-Style.com's "Outdoor Brands in Innovation Buzz."

GSG Apparel, Inc. would eventually adopt the entire On-Demand program in a negotiated deal with Kanati Co in 2015.