|
|
 |
 |
 |
The story of JM is really the story of a family business. JM got its start in Montreal 30 years ago when Alphonse Battah and his two sons, Robert and Allan, started a small undergarment company. Seeing a gap in the marketplace, they turned their attention towards creating and designing a collection of body fashions for men that would be both stylish and offer optimum comfort and fit. "Up until 15 years ago, men had very little choice when it came to underwear, and frankly, they didn't expect much. That's all changed now", says Robert Battah, President of JM Intimode.
JM burst onto the scene with its bold design vision and today has evolved into one of the world's leading brands of men's underwear offering a broad range of body shapes and fits. And despite all the incredible growth and recognition that JM has earned in the past decade, it is still very much a family business. One that values strong relationships with customers and employees built over many years. "Our principal designer, who has created every single one of our collections, has been working with us for over 20 years", says Robert Battah. "We value that kind of loyalty, and it's the same kind of loyalty that we give back to our customers. From the very beginning, we have been committed to offering our customers the best quality, and the perfect fit and comfort. All at the best price possible."
From its home base in Canada, JM manufactures and markets nine underwear collections. Each of its lines has met with critical and consumer success throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada, and today Bambou, Athletix, Basix, Koton, Koton Plus, Skinz, Natura, Silver and Action have each carved out their own unique niche in the very competitive underwear industry. "Our customers like the fact that we manufacture our collections exclusively in Canada. We made the decision not to set up shop in China where production and labour costs are obviously cheaper. Controlling and maintaining a high level of quality was important to us. And from what our customers tell us, it's important to them too. Whether a customer purchases JM in Berlin or Boston, the quality is exactly the same. The garments are identical. You can't say that about too many other underwear manufacturers", says Mr. Battah. "I believe that's why our customers stay with us because they know the quality is there. The styling, fit and price can't be beat." And we're proud of that."
Recently, JM launched a new underwear collection, Bambou, which has been a top-seller. "Everything starts with the fabric. The stretch, the fiber, the texture, colour and softness. These are the things that inspire me to create a new line," says Denis Cossette, Head Designer at JM. "I travel to France, Germany and England twice a year to see the latest trends and then translate them into new designs for our customers," explains Cossette. Under our designer's creative eye, JM expanded into the swimwear business with a very sexy collection called "Waves", and last year he was instrumental in launching the company's new loungewear line offering customers the easy-wear attitude of yoga and exercise clothing with a stylish, modern and masculine slant. Over the past year, one of JM's principal objectives was to re-design its packaging. "We had two things in mind: we wanted to create a consistent brand look across all of our collections, and, in conversations with our retailers, we wanted to create a package that would be easier to display". "We've achieved that with striking black and white lifestyle photography that puts the sexy side of JM up front. The package itself is longer and leaner making for a cleaner, more compact in-store presentation."
"Another thing we're very proud of at JM is our annual advertising campaigns. Each year, we re-invent ourselves---looking at new ways to promote our collections---and we reflect these new ideas and directions in our billboards, busboards, and magazines right across North America and overseas", Battah says.
30 years after its founding, the JM brand can now be found across Canada, the U.S., Europe, Mexico and Asia. "We've grown and we've garnered a lot of attention but at the end of the day we're still a family-run business."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
