Cloudveil has closed on a financing deal with Wells Fargo that will allow the company more freedom as they grow. The credit line was finalized on June 30, 2003.
According to Jon Boris, VP of Business Development at Cloudveil and a partner in the firm that is now the majority shareholder in the company, “Essentially we moved from a local bank in Jackson to an International bank that we could grow with, that understood out seasonality issues and that could assist us more smoothly with trade finance.”
As the company moved beyond the $5 million a year mark, it became more difficult for their local bank to keep pace with the company, which has been growing at more than 40% a year, according to Boris.
In addition to the increased growth and credit line, Cloudveil has opened a new office in Denver where a team of five will be handling finance, operations, IT, and dealer/customer service.
“By moving the admin out of Jackson, we are allowing everyone on the product and sales team to be 100% focused on staying leading edge in product design and staying proactive on the sales side. The Denver office is the support for those efforts,” said Boris. “I would rather be answering customer service call overflow than pulling the executive team or product people from their work”, he said.
As we reported last week (SEW 0333), Cloudveil had their busiest show ever, even though the company is historically a stronger Fall/Winter player. Reports from the show floor indicate that the company may be in store for a blockbuster year. The strong response is attributed to Cloudveils debut of a new line of casual wear.
“We introduced the beginnings of our sportswear program and teamed Lisa Hadley, from our product group, with an outside color/merchandising consultant to re-color the entire product line, all of which led to a very good retailer response at the summer show,” said Boris.
>>> Good move to build credibility through technical innovation first and THEN launch the lifestyle product. Cloudveil aficionados will be happy to see the goods on the shop floor next spring
>>> Strong financial partners may help these guys avoid some of the pitfalls that have befallen some of our other industry start-ups…
