Tough Duck, one of Canada’s leading producers of premium Canadian workwear and safety apparel, is still going strong and even expanding its footprint in our city after more than 85 years in business.
“We owe our success to the gift of our customers, the drive of our employees and the partnership that we have forged with industry leaders,” says Gavin Rich, Tough Duck’s president and the third generation in his family to lead the company. (His father, David Rich, is CEO and Chairman of the Board.)
“Throughout our journey, we have grown and evolved with an unwavering commitment to excellence,” Gavin Rich continues.
“With our uncompromising focus on durability and performance, we deliver high quality work wear built for those who demand more – always putting customers at the heart of our mission.”
It was Gavin Rich’s grandfather, Abe Rich, who started the company – formerly known initially as Winnipeg Pants, later becoming Richlu Sportswear – in 1939. As David Rich tells it, his father arrived in Canada from Poland as a teenager in 1925. Like many an Eastern European immigrant, Abe’s path to employment and, eventually, success was through the booming garment industry.
“My father’s ambition was to start his own business,” recalls David Rich. “After several years working as a cutter for different manufacturers, one day in 1939, he found himself laid off and he decided to take the plunge.”
Rich opened on Jarvis Avenue in the old North End. The first years were a struggle, recounts, David Rich. Abe initially employed four cutters. His first wife, Gertie (who died in childbirth in 1943), made the patterns.
“Dad had a real hard time getting fabric in the beginning,” David Rich says.
Nonetheless, Abe persevered and, gradually, the business began to grow. The breakthrough came with his order for Eaton’s in 1946.
It was in the 1960s, coinciding with David joining his father in business, that the growing manufacturer relocated from Jarvis to the Bedford Building (which was built in 1903) in McDermott in the Exchange District. In the 1970s, the Rich family moved around the corner to its current head office at 85 Adelaide Street.
“When we moved here, this building was the centre of the apparel market in Winnipeg,” David Rich recalls. “There were wholesalers, full retail outlets here, sales reps’ offices, suppliers.
Everything anyone in the apparel trade needed. We started with two floors. Now we have all five floors.”
At one time, he remembered, there were 400 sewing machine operators in the building – but that was long ago – before North American manufacturers began outsourcing production to China and other Asian countries.
“It was a slow decline,” says Gavin Rich.
The Rich Family was among the first to see the writing on the wall. In 1998, Gavin notes, Richlu began outsourcing production overseas – mainly to China and South Korea.
“We still do all of our design, specifications and accounting here,” he points out.
It was David Rich who began diversifying Richlu’s products beyond pants and sportswear. “Under my dad’s leadership, we began creating new labels and focusing on producing better-quality workwear.”
Among those new labels was “Tough Duck,” which was brought to life in the early 1980s and eventually became the company’s premier brand. About ten years ago, the Rich Family adopted Tough Duck as the company name.
“My dad saw the potential for a line of workwear that, though it was more expensive than competitors’ brands, was longer lasting,” Gavin says.
Gavin himself joined the family business in 1997 after working several years in management at CBC, followed by some time working with Drew Craig at the then-new CITI-TV.
“I was advised to get some outside working experience before jumping into a family business,” he recalls. “At CBC, I learned about the internet (which was still relatively new back then), the World Wide Web and using email. I also learned about the importance of budgeting and managing costs.”
Today, Tough Duck employs 65 workers divided among the main building on Adelaide, warehouses on Gomez in the East Exchange and on Inkster, sales offices in Toronto and Montreal, and a quality control team stationed in Southeast Asia.
We couldn’t have succeeded the way we have without the contributions of our talents and (in many cases) long-term staff,” Gavin Rich says.
He further points out that Tough Duck operates with a half million square feet of space. So, what does Tough Duck do with all that space? The company uses most of it for storing product.
“We stock an 18-month supply of inventory,” Rich explains. “We believe in staying well ahead of demand. So, if Toronto, for example, is going through a particular cold period and there is a run on our workwear, we can quickly replenish the stock.”
Despite the many challenges businesses face in operating from the Exchange District, Rich avows that Tough Duck remains committed to the area. As proof of that, he reports that the company – already one of the Exchange’s largest property owners – has recently increased its footprint with the purchase of another large, historic warehouse around the corner from their current headquarters, and they will soon be moving head office to the new site while increasing storage capacity in the Adelaide location.
Will there be a fourth generation to carry on the business? Time will tell.