PromoKitchen Podcast #159 | A Conversation with Kathy Cheng

Try as they might to avoid making a mess in the kitchen, your hosts and PK chefs, Mark Graham & Jay Busselle, pull on some industry threads to discover interesting people and situations in the apparel & branded merchandise space. 

This is a rags-to-riches, then back to rags… and climbing back to riches, story. Listen to how a small contract apparel sewing company of 5 family makers and a few machines in 1988 grew into a full service large scale apparel contractor who employed over 500 people in 3 different facilities in Canada. This podcast shares the account of Kathy Cheng and WS & Co. scaling up, scaling down and then rebuilding to launch Redwood Classics. Kathy Cheng is the founder & president of Redwood Classics. This is a story of family legacy, restructure, reinvention, fight, change and entrepreneurism.

What’s your North Star? Listen and learn from Kathy as she explains the importance of her North Star and how she’s used that to guide her through the challenges of reinvention and innovation. Kathy challenges us by asking why anyone would want to print a brand on an inferior garment as opposed to one that will last longer, and is higher quality? She also asks, “Why are you limiting your own earning potential?” This podcast will help you discover the answers to those questions and the benefits of embracing friction, being transparent and taking risks.