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Nygård International
Company typePrivate
IndustryClothing
Founded1967; 57 years ago (1967)
FounderPeter Nygård
Defunct2020
Fateliquidated
Headquarters1771 Inkster Blvd Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 1R3, Canada
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsApparel
Brands
  • ALIA
  • TanJay
  • Nygård Slims
Number of employees
formerly 1450 [1]
Corporate headquarters in Times Square

Nygård International was a Canadian clothing brand, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that was founded and named after Peter Nygård. It was the largest producer of women's apparel in Canada.[2]

The company produced clothing under brand names such as Nygård Fashions, Nygard Slims, Bianca Nygard, ADX, TanJay, Alia, and Allison Daley.

In March 2020, a few months before Peter Nygård's arrest on charges of sex trafficking, Nygård International filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in New York, [3] and its subsidiaries were ordered into receivership.[4] The next month, a Canadian judge approved the liquidation of the company.[5]

History

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In 1967, Peter Nygård founded Nygård International, simply called Nygård at the time, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, initially as a sportswear manufacturer.[6]

In 1978, the company expanded into the United States,[7] and in 1987 Peter Nygård opened the company's international sales and marketing team in Toronto.[7]

On 6 November 2009, Nygård opened its flagship fashion concept store in Times Square.[2][7] Guests at the opening party included Finland's UN ambassador and Ramona Singer of The Real Housewives of New York City.[2]

On 25 February 2020, the company's New York headquarters were raided by the FBI and NYPD, in connection with sex trafficking claims against Peter Nygård. This led to Nygård stepping down from the company.[8][9][10][11] In March, following Peter's arrest, Nygård International filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in New York City,[3] and its brands were ordered into receivership.[4] The subsequent month, a Canadian judge approved for the company to be sold and liquidated.[5]

Liquidation and closure

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Nygård International filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in New York City on 18 March 2020,[12] and the company's brands have since been put up for sale.[13]

In May 2020, Nygard companies owed almost $50 million to approximately 350 creditors around the world, including 40 Manitobans.[14]

On June 30, it was reported that Dillard's would buy parts of Nygard's inventory and Allison Daley's trademark and inventory.[15] The company was put into court-ordered receivership of Richter Advisory Group.[16] On October 20, a judge approved the sale of Nygard's Winnipeg warehouse, which sold in late January 2021 and was the last Canadian property of Nygard International's to be liquidated.[17][18]

Operations

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Though headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Nygård International sold its product in the United States for decades, including in many Dillard's stores. Nygård's big Canadian partners included Sears and The Bay.[2]

The company had corporate facilities in:[19]

  1. New York, New York, United States — world headquarters, research and design
  2. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada — IT/Retail/Services/Design & Merchandising, production & distribution
  3. Toronto, Ontario, Canada — International sales & marketing team

Nygård also had a flagship fashion concept store in New York City's Times Square, which opened in 2009.[2] The corporation also had manufacturing facilities in Shanghai, Tianjin, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Mexico.

Nygård International's board consisted of Peter Nygård himself and two division presidents.[2]

Brands and retail outlets

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Nygård International had multiple product lines, including ALIA and TanJay. The Nygård Fashions brands included Peter Nygård Collections, Bianca Nygård, and Nygård SLIMS. Nygård Moderate also had three national brands that were exclusively available at Dillard's in the United States.

Retail stores carrying Nygård brands included Walmart, Costco, Winners, and Belks, as well as a number of small independent stores across North America.

In February 2020, Dillard's dropped Nygård products due to allegations of Peter Nygård being involved with rape and sex trafficking.[20]

Fashion and technology

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Throughout the 2000s, Nygård International used the slogan "Where Fashion Meets Technology." The company developed an electronic purchase-order system that automated and streamlined the processing of vendor transactions.[2][21] Using Microsoft .NET Framework and Internet Information Services in conjunction with Nygård's enterprise software solution from Epicor, the system linked manufacturing with a network of Nygård's retail accounts to keep them fully stocked at all times, allowing reorders to be shipped the same day.[21] Another system input information and put out a use of pattern and material that reduced fabric-cutting time substantially.[2] Microsoft would go on to use Nygård International as the subject of a case study highlighting the early adoption of their software.[21]

Moreover, the company has won numerous technology-related awards, including the 2007 Most Innovative VICS CPFR Implementation,[22] and 2009 BeyeNETWORK Vision Award for Business Impact.[23]

Alleged sweatshop

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In late April 2010, the National Labor Committee (NLC) issued a report claiming that Nygård pants from its Alia line were being sewn in a sweatshop in Al-Zarqa, Jordan, called International British Garments (IBG). According to the investigation, the factory employed 1,200 guest workers (mostly young women) from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India who had "been trafficked to Jordan, stripped of their passports and held under conditions of indentured servitude." The report said that women were forced to work 15-hour shifts, 7 days a week, and were paid only half of what they were owed.[2][24]

The IBG sweatshop in Jordan is owned by G4S, the largest security service company in the world.[24]

References

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  1. ^ HARTNELL, NEIL. "Receiver takes over Nygard firms". www.tribune242.com. The Tribune Limited. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Falkenberg, Kai. "Peter Nygard Answers to No One". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  3. ^ a b Al-Muslim, Aisha (19 March 2020). "Canadian Fashion Tycoon Peter Nygard's Company Files for Bankruptcy". Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b Kubinec, Vera-Lynn (18 March 2020). "Judge orders Nygard companies into receivership". CBC News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b Al-Muslim, Aisha (30 April 2020). "Fashion Mogul Peter Nygard Business Properties to Be Sold". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  6. ^ Aronovich, Hanna (2005-03-15). "Ready-Made Couture". U.S. Business Review. usbusiness-review.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-04. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  7. ^ a b c "Nygård International Company Profile". Nygard International. 2016-10-28. Archived from the original on 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  8. ^ Petz, Sarah (February 25, 2020). "Peter Nygard to step down from company after FBI raids New York offices". CBC News. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  9. ^ "FBI raid Nygard fashion house in New York City". CTV News. February 25, 2020. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  10. ^ "FBI raids fashion mogul Peter Nygard's NY office after he was accused of sex assault and sex trafficking". CNN. February 25, 2020. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  11. ^ "F.B.I. Raids Headquarters of Company Run by Fashion Executive Peter Nygard". The New York Times. February 25, 2020. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  12. ^ Al-Muslim, Aisha (19 March 2020). "Canadian Fashion Tycoon Peter Nygard's Company Files for Bankruptcy". Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  13. ^ Velasquez, Angela (2020-06-04). "Scandal-Ridden Brands Owned by Peter Nygard Are Up for Sale". Sourcing Journal. Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  14. ^ Barghout, Caroline (May 13, 2020). "Nygard employees racked up $186K in debt a week before receivership, court documents say". CBC News. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  15. ^ "American fashion retailer Dillard's to purchase Nygard inventory, trademark". Archived from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  16. ^ "Nygard lawyers ask judge to end companies' receivership | CBC News". CBC. Archived from the original on 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  17. ^ "Nygard Warehouse Liquidated". Manitoba Post. 2020-11-20. Archived from the original on 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  18. ^ "Sale approved for Nygard property on Broadway in Winnipeg, last of 4 sold under receivership | CBC News". CBC. Archived from the original on 2021-01-30. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  19. ^ "Nygård International, Corporate Website, Headquarters". Archived from the original on 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  20. ^ "In Wake of Rape, Sex-Trafficking and rape Allegations, Dillard's Drops Peter Nygård Collection". 25 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  21. ^ a b c "Case Study: Nygård International". Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2010-10-22. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  22. ^ "VICS 2007 – Merit-Trax Technologies Food Traceability Software". Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  23. ^ "BeyeNETWORK: Global coverage of the business intelligence ecosystem". Archived from the original on 2011-06-13. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  24. ^ a b Committee, National Labor. "NLC: Women's Clothing Lines for Nygard/Dillard's, J.C. Penney and Wal-Mart Linked to Human Trafficking in Jordan Sweatshop". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Archived from the original on 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
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