Moses says licensing deal would be a boon for company
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Fort Simpson (May 11/01) - Nats'enelu Ltd. has a lucrative licensing agreement in sight, but only if it can stay afloat in the meantime.
The Dene-inspired clothing manufacturer, one of Fort Simpson's most successful home-grown businesses, needs interim funding until returns from the licensing agreement begin streaming in, according to D'Arcy Moses, general manager and chief designer for Nats'enelu Ltd.
Moses recently met with representatives from a Canadian-owned company based in Winnipeg, a company that he won't yet identify. The business, which he said does $350 million in sales each year, has selected 10 Nats'enelu products, such as leather jackets, pull-overs, winter coats and accessories, that it would like to market.
"They want to work with us and they're a huge company," he said. "They figure they can do a few million dollars in sales. It would basically put the Nats'enelu label all across the States and also in select locations throughout Canada ... this is the next step. It's pretty exciting."
However, Nats'enelu wouldn't see any returns on this deal for eight to 12 months, so provisional funding is needed, he said.
"We still have to pay off our existing debt, which isn't a lot, and our suppliers," said Moses, who has been with Nats'enelu since it opened its doors three years ago. "They (the Winnipeg company) want to get started on samples right away so they can do test marketing with it this fall. They said the big launch, an entire collection, would be in January of next year. The revenues from that would not only sustain this business, but allow it to grow."
Then Nats'enelu employees could concentrate on producing more traditional products, such as tanned moose hides, for markets in Alaska and the Yukon, Moses said.
It's hoped the NWT Development Corp. will provide the interim funding. An operational plan was to be submitted to the Development Corp. late last week.
Moses is also considering southern investors, but high overhead costs in the North and the emerging workforce make it a tough sell, he acknowledged.
"I don't think shutting our doors is an option," he said.
The unnamed Winnipeg-based company isn't willing to provide the funding, according to Moses.
"They already said they're going to give us a break in terms of doing our sample-making for us and financing that," he explained.
