Athletic knit

One of the first supplier accounts I ever had was Athletic Knit. This was the time when I had the business behind my house. John Larin, the sales representative of Athletic Knit, came over and showed me some brochures, and decided to open me up as an account. He stated that his boss started his business inside of a van. He was impressed with all the machinery I was able to accumulate in such a small space. I made sure every time I picked up my team orders at the back of Athletic Knit’s factory, I included a couple of extra jerseys. This gave me ample time to meander through their facilities. One time I saw Bernard Sliwin, the president of Athletic Knit, pacing the work floor. I asked Bernard if he could take me on a tour of his factory and to my surprise, I couldn’t believe how staggering his operation was. He showed me all the rolls of materials and fabrics stacked one on top of another that seemed to stretch the whole factory. He had a huge inventory of sewing machines that also stretched the landscape of the factory. Bernard had a soft voice that made it difficult to hear him. He said machines are good, but they can also be bad. He was a gentle soul but we both continued our journey through the company and a speedier pace. Of course, I felt he had other things to do.

Bernard Sliwin’s story is poignant and goes far behind triumph and success. The family endured many nightmares, but they also waged an unspeakable optimism to survive. The family indefatigable will to survive and endure was also rooted to protect the youngest member of the family to live through the systematic and economic machinery of death. Benard was a one of three children who lived in the ghettos of Poland. Between 1942 and 1945, they ran away from Nazis, hiding in barns, fields, forests and chicken coops for hours on end. There was an impromptu attitude not to arouse suspicion that would ultimate prompt a police raids. Before the liberation, a few so-called Polish friends, ratted them out. From their hiding spot, Bernard, his siblings and his parents were dragged out naked in the snow. His father was shot in the head in front of them. The perpetrators achieved some poetic sensibility of not harming the rest of the family. After the liberation of Poland, they returned to their home only to be attacked by their Polish neighbors. Bernard and his brother eventually fled to Germany, to France where Bernard met his wife, and then immigrated to Canada.

In 1962 Bernard founded Athletic Knit, manufacturing sports team uniforms including baseball, soccer, and hockey. Bernard’s focus and culture was to provide high quality sportswear and high quality service to his customers. Indeed their sales model was to use sales representatives who promoted Athletic Knits products through the use of catalogues and now a website to retailers, unlike Bauer, Nike, CCM and sports groups, that now deals with the consumer directly. Bernard believed in nurturing retailers without taking food off their tables. This ultimately built long term relationships with all his retailers whereby their interaction catered to growing retailers business as they scaled upwards. They built a reliable economic machinery of quick deliveries and stocking inventory and replenishing inventory quicker than any other competitor including those from China.

Bernard’s grandchildren took over the business and it is still the largest manufacturer of team wear in Canada. When Bernard passed away it was a huge shock in the sporting goods industry. The soft spoken man was indomitable force that continues to echo today. His machines are still humming. Better yet, he can hear the symphony of his machines.

#hockey #teamwear #goalie #athleticknit