Specialty Fabrics Review October 2020 - 21

PERSPECTIVE

by Michelle Miron

INNOVATING
FOR THE END USER

JOHN DELALOYE COMBINES DIAMOND BRAND GEAR'S
HISTORY AND REPUTATION WITH A STRATEGY
THAT FOCUSES ON DOING WHAT LOWERPRICED COMPETITORS CAN'T.

I

get really pumped about new
products, new fabrics, and when
we learn from something we've
researched or read about or seen
somewhere and can bring those elements
to fruition here," says John Delaloye, CEO
of Asheville, N.C.-based Diamond Brand
Gear Co. "We all try to pitch in on R&D."
Diamond Brand's willingness to
develop new products to meet changing
market demands has been a theme
in its 139-year history. Founded as
a Philadelphia, Pa., fur and leather
distributor in 1881, the company moved
to New York City before 1920 to help meet
demand in canvas drop cloths for painting
crews. Through the years its product line
expanded to include well-crafted tarps,
coverings and utilitarian knapsacks, which
helped Diamond Brand land contracts
with both the U.S. military and the Boy
Scouts of America.
In the 1940s, the company moved
its production to North Carolina, and
in the 1960s the firm added a contract
manufacturing arm that began furnishing
tents and outdoor gear to other well-known
consumer brands. Through the years,
Diamond Brand's reputation grew as a

dependable source of functional, highly
durable outdoor shelters and equipment sold
through both wholesale and retail channels.
Delaloye came on board in 2005,
when his friend Will Gay, owner of the
original Diamond Brand, offered him the
opportunity to be chief financial officer
(CFO) and a minority partner. At the time,
Delaloye was a 38-year-old former banker
and CFO, and he says he was attracted by
the chance to "be more entrepreneurial
and creative ... and to get my hands dirty."
That leap of faith set him up for an even
greater leadership role in 2015, when Gay
decided to sell Delaloye the manufacturing
division, while keeping the specialty
outdoor retail stores that were also part of
the company (Diamond Brand Outdoors
and Frugal Backpacker). Logistically, the
change was fairly simple; Delaloye kept
the production workforce, made some
new hires, installed new equipment and
technology, and began enacting his own
plans for company growth.
"My biggest learning curve was how
to day in and day out manage a factory,"
he says. "I knew a little about that from
a higher level, but now I'm literally in
the factory every day."

PHOTOS BY EVAN ANDERSON PHOTOGRAPHY / FILM

www.SpecialtyFabricsReview.com 21

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Specialty Fabrics Review October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Specialty Fabrics Review October 2020

Specialty Fabrics Review October 2020 - Cover1
Specialty Fabrics Review October 2020 - Cover2
Specialty Fabrics Review October 2020 - 1
Specialty Fabrics Review October 2020 - 2
Specialty Fabrics Review October 2020 - 3 [5]
Specialty Fabrics Review October 2020 - 4
Specialty Fabrics Review October 2020 - 5
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Specialty Fabrics Review October 2020 - Cover3
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