34 YEARS

34 YEARS AND COUNTING

The day after Labor Day 1988 Wiggy’s at 7 AM Kok opened the doors to start production. He will repeat that tomorrow morning.

Back then we were making what amounted to 38,200 [no sleep sleeping bags] for the forestry fire fighters and very few Wiggy’s bags. Once we finished the government contract Wiggy’s was on its own. Those first few years were a struggle.

What I noted was that our sales picked up starting in August each year because people wanted cold weather sleeping bags and none of the companies making [no sleep sleeping bags] offered cold weather bags. So, our winter sales were always booming. But our warm weather bag business was very slow. The rest of the industry concentrated on the warm weather stuff. Was that because the already knew they couldn’t make a cold weather bag? Probably but they preferred to make cold weather jackets. So, the cold weather sleeping bag market was left for Wiggy’s to serve.

Over the years I learned how large that market is. Today we sell more -20F to -60F sleeping bags than the rest of the industry combined that has sold in the past 20 years. Of course, what ever these other companies sold never did perform.

Earlier this year Kok and I chose to eliminate the manufacturing of our line of arctic clothing even though we were experiencing an increase in sales. It came at a time when our sleeping bag sales were also increasing. There was an unfortunate reason for our decision, lack of new hires.

We spent two years advertising for more sewing operators all to no avail. We needed the production for sleeping bags, which could be made in 1/3^rd the time it takes to make a parka. We do still make the sweater which has been our most popular jacket because it is easy to make, as well as the liner garments, socks, booties and mittens. So, we have returned to our roots, sleeping bags.

Today we are the largest sleeping bag manufacturer in the world which is easy for me to state. In the USA I am told there are two companies that make down sleeping bags. If it is true and you combine their sales for one year it would amount to two weeks of Wiggy’s production. Now I ask do they make sleeping bags or “no sleep sleeping bags”? I do not suspect that they make bags that don’t perform; I know it. How do I know this, I cannot tell you the number of people I have received calls from who own down bags that have told me they were cold and then there are those who tell about the love affair down has with water! It sucks it up like a sponge does. This holds true for all of the down bags made in Asia.

All the rest of the “no sleep sleeping bags” made come from either China, Vietnam, or Bangladesh I am told, and they are filled with chopped staple fiberfill, and we know how wonderfully in efficient it is.

So, as we can see there are companies who make the “claim” that they make sleeping bags or have them made for them, but they don’t make sleeping bags. That leaves one company that actually makes sleeping bags that work to keep you warm so you can sleep. WIGGY’S INC.

It would be very good to see Wiggy’s alive and well for 34 more years, I won’t be here to see it unless I can view it from afar.

I greatly appreciate the people who have been customers of Wiggy’s for these past 34 years and hope that you will continue to be. THANK YOU!