JEFF SCHMITT, Colorado Trading and Clothing Company

Name: Jeff Schmitt
Company: Colorado Trading & Clothing Company
Location: 1390 Lawrence Street 4th Floor Denver CO 80202
Title: President
Established: June 1998
Type of Business: Apparel Design, Manufacturer and Importer
Number of Employees: 19
Year Born: 1965
Hometown: Denver
Number of years in Colorado: Entire life
Family Status: Married with two children
Outside Interests: Avid Golfer. Have played and won in the pro-am at the International Tournament at Castle Pines. Skiing, Travel.
Trade Associations: PPAI, ASI, MAGIC
Bank: Guarantee Bank and Trust
Accounting Firm: Hein and Associates
Favorite business quote: "Good is the Enemy of Great" Author Jim Collins
All time hero: Chuck Yeager

Business category: Apparel Manufacturer & Importer; privately owned.

Bread and butter: Knits including microchenille robes, sweaters, throws and baby products; fleece garments and blankets.

Business philosophy: An unflagging dedication to bringing unique, competitively priced products to market, putting the customer's needs first, and remaining true to the ethics and principles of a family owned and operated business.

The future: Blending untraditional natural fibers with more common textiles. In September 2004, the company introduced its proprietary SoyBu™ to the apparel trade at MAGIC in Las Vegas. SoyBu is a soy and bamboo blend, enhancing the luxurious feel of the fabrics while making them even more eco-friendly. Plans are to continue to develop more unexpected, cutting-edge textiles to introduce to the world. The CTCC culture thrives on innovation.

Sales and marketing tactics: Mostly word of mouth. We give retailers what they're looking for: margin-enhancing products. We offer that with our microchenille, that sells itself and SoyBu which is even hotter. We can offer sub-brands in prices ranging from $18.99 to $100 so we can appeal to a gamut of retailers from big box mass merchants to specialty sporting goods retailers to high-end resorts.

Trend lines: For the first five years we focused on private label and we learned how to operate in the hard-core, me-too, knockoff world. Our product offerings used to be 80 percent private label; 20 percent branded and we've completed turned that around in the past two years to where now we are 85 percent branded and only 15 percent private label, most of which is co-branded. Right now, we're averaging five new customers per day and by the end of '04, we'll be up 30 percent from '03. The future continues to be bright - orders we've already booked for Spring '05 indicate we'll be up 50 percent year-to-date.

Why Colorado? We're a Colorado family - I was born and raised in Colorado - as are many of our 18 employees. Four of us are CSU alumni. Being based here rather than L.A. or New York supports our non-traditional view of business. We don't get caught up in the apparel "scene" which often leads to companies copying each other. We don't do four seasons so we can respond to changing customer demands on a moment's notice making the company far faster and more nimble than most clothing manufacturers. An intentional lack of brand filters means products can go from concept to market within six months. No other apparel manufacturer can react that fast.

What made you choose this industry? The apparel industry is one I was familiar with having worked at Reebok. My passion is creating and developing new products and seeing projects through from start to finish. Other directors that helped launch our company, and are still with us today, have tremendous sales and marketing skills and industry contacts as well. I'd worked with them before so we had a great deal of trust and mutual respect between us. Together we bring more than 55 years of business experience, creating the foundation upon which Colorado Clothing is building its dynamic future.

Why did you start this business? We saw a need and an opportunity to bring unique, competitively priced apparel products to market, putting the customer's needs first. We are constantly striving to bring new products and fresh ideas to market that show value and make sense. Many companies bring new products to market on the backs - or deep into the pocketbooks - of consumers, and we simply reject that approach.

How did you get your start-up capital/initial investment? The initial capital came from my father, Gary, who was, thankfully, willing to invest in my vision. We also garnered lines of credit from domestic suppliers that we had previously worked with while at other companies. We basically started the business on a shoestring.

What was the biggest challenge when you started? Our biggest challenge was staying true to our business philosophy of offering the consumer high-quality products at value pricing. Our initial product line centered around fleece fabrics, which at that time were becoming a commodity product, with an increasing number of competitors dropping prices and decreasing quality. Finding suppliers willing to work with us to provide high quality goods and keeping prices reasonable was a challenge.

What was your best business decision? My best business decision was to go into business for myself. There are few things more gratifying in the business world than creating your own business, making it successful and watching it grow.

How do you market your products/services? Our sales and marketing tactics mostly include hard work from a dedicated sales team, word-of-mouth consumer marketing and a smattering of public relations. We work hard to give retailers what they're looking for: margin-enhancing products. We offer that with our micro-chenille apparel that sells itself, and our new SoyBu™ apparel that is even hotter.

We're extremely flexible and responsive, so we can design and produce sub-brands in prices ranging from $20 to $100. This appeals to a gamut of retailers from big box mass merchants to specialty sporting goods retailers to high-end resorts. Our product offerings used to be 80 percent private label; 20 percent branded and we've completed turned that around in the past two years to where now we are 85 percent branded and only 15 percent private label, most of which is co-branded.

What are your plans for growth? Colorado Trading and Clothing Company thrives on innovation and supplying consumers with high-quality, value-priced products. In September 2004, the company introduced our proprietary SoyBu at the premier apparel tradeshow in Las Vegas. SoyBu is a soy and bamboo blend, enhancing the luxurious feel of fabrics while making them even more eco-friendly. We intend to continue blending uncommon natural fibers with more common textiles. This past season, we averaged five new customers per day and at the end of '04, were up 30 percent from '03. The future continues to be bright - orders placed for this spring indicate we'll be up 33 percent in 2005.