Menswear is an important ingredient in the recipe of Roots success
New collection is called “The Future Looks Bright” with good reason
The collection is the fruit of several creative minds working in harmony in the Design Department at the Roots Headquarters in Toronto. Jules Power, Rita Shulman, Dylan Anderson, Karl Kowalewski, Elsa Desouza, Lynne Morris, Marisa Battaglia, Stephanie Briers and Tracy Klem represent menswear, womenswear, leather goods, accessories, kids, baby and graphic design. Together, they bring a richness of backgrounds, styles and sensibilities to the table.
Sounds pretty simple and straightforward but it’s not. With each product, there’s so much more than meets the eye. What the customer sees is only the last stage in the product’s multi-faceted evolution from the original idea to the actual manufacturing. It’s all part of the creative and production process at Roots that’s both intuitive and logical.
Although the ‘Future Looks Bright’ theme is unique to Roots, it reflects certain current trends. For example, one of the elements in the collection is a nautical theme, which is in fashion this season. Roots integrated it with an environmental angle in the graphic T-shirts for men and women which highlight the message ‘Save Our Oceans’.
New “Future” collection inaugurates use of informative hangtags
US television producers can’t seem to get enough Roots
• The People’s Court - The judge of the widely popular American “judge show” in which actual small claims court cases are heard, ordered micro fleece fabric zip-polos. Some 220 polos with embroidery details on the neck and sleeve were shipped to the offices of the show in New York and Los Angeles.
Los Angeles when the makers of the US-based drama series needed branded products for the show’s cast and crew. The hoodies were made in Canada from 80% cotton and 20% polyester fleece fabric with distressed print details.
• The Jimmy Kimmel Show – Executive Producer Jill Leiderman of the late-night Jimmy Kimmel Show purchased more than 350 full-zip hoodies for the program’s staff and ABC TV’s executives. Made in Canada from 80% cotton and 20% polyester fleece fabric, the hoodies have with white satin twill appliqué and embroidery detail.
Fashion cognoscenti from Canadian media take in ‘trunk show’ at Roots
They were received by Diane Bald, Founder and Director of Roots Home and Denyse Green, Founder and Director of Roots Yoga. Company Co-Founders Michael Budman and Don Green were also present for the gathering. As part of the refreshments, guests were served organic coffee (now sold at Roots Bloor Street).
What a month! Spotlighting the top-performing stores in December
Taking attendance of special guests at Roots stores
· Birmingham, Michigan - Actress Cheryl Hines, most famous for her role as Larry David’s wife on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, shopped at the store while preparing her wardrobe for this month’s Sundance Film Festival.
Results from pilot project to determine benefit of in-store kiosk with computer
Staff usher in holiday with annual celebrations
The leather factory hosted its traditional holiday lunch for its employees with freshly cooked turkey along with potatoes and fresh vegetables. Karl Kowalewski, Director of Leather and his brother Henry Kowalewski, Plant Product Manager at the factory, participated in the celebrations as they always do every year. As part of a lucky draw, Leather Stitchers Ibette Urbine won a 32" LCD High Definition flat screen TV and Maria Silva won a mountain bike with anti-shock suspension. All employees also received a turkey and other gifts.
Baker, Director of the DC, held a holiday luncheon on the premises for his entire team. Adding to the holiday spirit, they were accompanied by Buddy the Roots Beaver and Mrs. Clause. Several prizes were given away including a 27” Toshiba TV, won by Jaswinder Phull and two Panasonic Microwave ovens won by Yvette Gordon and David Cheng. Other prizes included a music system and Roots items.
Spotlight shines on the man on the move who delivers the goods
Windsor launches line of city-branded Roots products
Stores in Western Canada show their real colours by helping their communities
• Kingsway, Edmonton, AB – Store Manager Sheila Brisson and her team donated their Christmas staff party money to Catholic Social Services, which provides support to new immigrants in Canada. They also collected money among the staff by selling bottles of water in recent months to purchase Roots clothes and toys for an immigrant family.
• Chinook Centre, Calgary, AB - Store Manager Denise Bazzana and her team donated their Christmas Party funds to the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
• Kamloops, BC – Store Manager Darlene Thorne and her team saved all their empty bottles of water in the store during the whole year, and recycled them to get money and buy food for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Mayfair, Victoria, BC – Store Manager Bob Heyes and his team donated money to the grocery chain Thrifty’s Feed a Family campaign. With this money, they were able to purchase hampers for 12 families.
Manager Lea Weir and her team arranged a clothing drive for the Women in Need Society, which helps women and children. They also donated their Christmas staff party money to buy Roots clothes for underprivileged children in their community.
The littlest customers show their Roots
Roots.
The ski-city line of Roots apparel that arrived in stores in recent weeks is not just stylish but also a source of information. Inspired by popular North American locations, the collection features creative graphics reflecting the lifestyle of each chosen ski resort – Whistler, Banff, Mont-Tremblant, Aspen, Park City, and Sun Valley – and spotlights the year in which each was established. For example, the oldest is Banff which was founded in 1880.
To meet the big needs of a little baby, the right diaper bag can make all the difference. The solution from the Roots Babies Department has attracted many parents.
As part of the ‘Future Looks Bright’ campaign (see cover story), four new pieces have been added to the kids collection. For girls, the latest shirt to hit stores is the Haily long-sleeve T-shirt. Available in lotus pink, honey peach, and sunrise yellow, the brightly-coloured shirts feature positive messages: ‘The Future Looks Bright’; ‘Down to Earth’; and ‘Ready For Anything’.
The latest baby collection of the season is the Organic Layette Group. Made from 100% organic cotton, the environmentally friendly line has a soft texture just right for babies. Each piece features the traditional Roots beaver logo and comes in Solid Ice, Striped Ice and Driftwood.
Easy ways to help the environment
Easy ways to stay healthy
Someone’s obviously taking notice of the communication and public relations work of Roots. In January, Co-Founders Michael Budman and Don Green received the 2006 Award of Excellence for Communication and PR from the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). Awarded primarily for actions taken over the previous year, it is the greatest honour a business leader can receive from the professional association of communicators in Canada.
For two weeks in February, the eyes of the world were on Torino, Italy as the XX Winter Olympics took place. Roots was centre stage, thanks to its work as the official outfitter of Team USA. At the opening ceremonies, watched on TV by an estimated two billion people, Roots received huge recognition and widespread media attention for the distinct look of the large US delegation as it entered the stadium. Each athlete wore a beautiful white leather jacket and the Roots beret (in red, white or blue).
The printed word has always had pride of place at Roots - in its advertising, and in-store customer communication and its support of literacy. This year, Roots also helped launch two books, both of which were also sold in stores.
Last winter, it was announced that hockey legend Wayne Gretzky would be working with Roots on various projects over the next four years. In this role, The Great One is serving as an official ambassador for Roots and is involved in designing clothes and various items for the company. 
Roots has always been known to throw a good party, especially when it’s for a good cause. In February, leading personalities from the world of entertainment, sports, business, fashion and media took part in the Roots Motown Super Soul Revue in Detroit in support of the ‘Music Rising’ charity.
In reviewing the highlights of 2006 in Roots apparel for women, one of the great pieces was unquestionably the Denyse Jacket. It first appeared in stores in February and almost immediately started flying off the racks. Originally available only in a short version in black and kalamata, they later were also produced in a longer version in other colours (white, chili pepper and electric blue) due to popular demand.
In early May, as part of its on-going support for different causes, Roots helped kick off the annual Rethink Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC) campaign with a special gala at the flag-ship store in Toronto.
It’s easy to understand why so many people have the impression that Roots seems to pop up everywhere. In February, in yet another example, Roots made its debut at the Grammy Awards, capturing the fancy of prominent figures from the entertainment world.
For the second straight year, Roots was a sponsor of the Green Toronto Environmental Awards which celebrate leading companies, organizations and individuals who contribute to making the city a better place to live from an environmental perspective.
In early June, the Roots United collection arrived in stores just ahead of the opening kick off of the World Cup soccer tournament. Made up of soccer jackets, jerseys and T-shirts, the collection was created in honour of countries playing in the FIFA World Cup, which takes place every four years. As the largest, most anticipated, most widely viewed international sport event, the World Cup and the Roots United line proved a potent combination in Canada’s multicultural cities.
Of the many great successes at Roots in 2006, one stands out as the most phenomenal, and also probably the most gratifying. Made in the Roots factory in Toronto, the Roots Flats collection has far surpassed sales projections. Launched in July, the popularity of these leather bags shows no signs of subsiding. To meet the demand, the factory has had to add staff and is working at full capacity.
Good vibrations reigned at Roots in 2006 for all kinds of reasons. One of them was the release in July of the CD The Roots of Reggae, part of the “Roots of…” music series of recordings launched in late 2005 with The Roots of Motown.
Things have never been better on the Roots outlet front. Due to the incredible success of the existing locations in Canada, five new ‘Roots 73’ outlet stores opened for business in 2006. The first of the ’06 generation was inaugurated in Thunder Bay, Ontario in July, followed in September by Brossard, Quebec where the Roots outlet is part of the new Quartier Dix30, set to be the province’s largest shopping centre when it’s fully built.
Unknown to most Roots customers and many staff, Roots has a highly successful, on-going relationship with NBC Television in New York. Initiated in the early 1990s with the Roots/Saturday Night Live collection, the collaboration has grown over the years and in August became even stronger when NBC signed a deal with Roots for a special line of merchandise for the hit series The Office. Based on the original British series of the same name, NBC’s version of The Office is now in its second season.
For nearly a quarter century, Roots has been a leader in the field of fleece. As Product Development Coordinator Syd Beder put it so aptly in the summer: “Fleece is to Roots like denim is to Levis.” But Roots knows better than to rest on its laurels and this year focused on taking its sweats to a new level of quality.
In keeping with its time-honoured involvement in community-related projects and social causes, Roots supported a major international AIDS conference in Toronto in August. As the official outfitter and sponsor of the XVI International AIDS Conference, Roots subsidized the cost of merchandise provided to the organizers of the massive event.
In a reflection of its increasing global presence, Roots launched the first phase of a major expansion of its presence in Asia. In November, Don Green and Michael Budman traveled to Hong Kong to take part in the official inauguration of two new stores.
In August, true to its heritage, Roots added a creative new dimension to its extensive retail presence when it opened Toronto’s first environmentally friendly store which combines fashion, home design and yogawear. Located just up the street from where Roots began in 1973, ‘Roots Rosedale’ opened on the 33rd anniversary of the inauguration of the first store.
In September, Roots Rosedale in Toronto added an important component with the opening of the Roots Yoga Studio situated upstairs on the third floor.
Ever since being an original sponsor of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) when it began in 1976, Roots has been one of its most passionate supporters. This year, Roots took on a more leading role through its involvement in several TIFF-related initiatives in addition to creating official TIFF merchandise.
In November, the Roots website unveiled an impressive new look. The homepage featured a beautiful winter image of the Roots lodge in Algonquin Park under two feet of snow. The next page on the site’s Canadian section showed another pastoral photo for the season along with an eco-friendly tip, in keeping with the Roots longtime commitment to the environment.
Hollywood just can’t seem to get enough Roots. Over the past year, producers ordered custom designed products from Roots for no less than 12 different movies. In most cases, the items, ranging from leather goods to apparel, were used as gifts for cast, crew and the media.
For the first time in several years, Roots produced a full-fledged gift catalogue for the end-of-year holiday period. Published in November and distributed in stores, as an insert to newspapers and delivered by Canada Post to select home addresses, the 44-page guide was well received. It featured a wealth of ideas for gifts for even the hardest to please on anyone’s gift giving list.
Throughout the year, no sooner did the Business-to-Business Department complete one order for a concert tour of a major name in the music world than another would follow. And when we say major, we’re not exaggerating.
Roots employees are an impressive bunch. When not at work, many of them are busy serving their communities. Throughout 2006, The Source regularly published articles about the various initiatives of Roots staff determined to help with a good cause. Across the country, you’ll find Roots employees raising funds to fight deadly diseases, taking action to protect the environment, organizing food-drives, or initiating campaigns in support of the under-privileged.
Quebec and Ontario stores show their real colours by helping their communities
mmunities. The 
initiatives are numerous - so many that we can’t spotlight them all in one issue - and take many forms with different recipients. But the intention is always the same: to try to make the holiday season sweeter for people whose daily reality is anything but festive.
Taking attendance of special guests at Roots stores
Jan.: Roots releases official collection for Canadian Speedskating Team whose members excel at Winter Olympics the next month.
Roots supports Toronto lecture by noted French intellectual
As such, his appearance at the Grano event was much anticipated and attracted considerable press coverage. Roots provided guests with leather-bound journals, made at the Roots factory in Toronto. Inscribed On the inside cover page, they contained the following inscription: “In appreciation of Bernard-Henri Levy, a master of well-chosen words and original ideas, spoken and written.”
shopping period, Roots stores are busier than ever. Which means so is the Distribution Centre, the vital link between the manufacturing and the retail and wholesale sides of Roots
Most customers - even many staff - take for granted how products appear magically in stores. Most people give little thought to how the merchandise gets to each location with such regularity. Not Bob Baker. He thinks about it all the time.
It is almost two years since Roots moved the DC to its current location on Tycos Avenue. Previously, it was situated next to the leather factory in a smaller building. The new facility has 110,000 square feet of space, nearly half of which has a ceiling height of 24 feet, providing considerably more storage capacity than the old DC on Caledonia Road. The new facilities also have a highly efficient system for the put-away and retrieval of products along with a computer-controlled system for the daily replenishment of stores based on an automatic analysis of sales and allocation of products.
The DC is indisputably critical to the success of Roots. “Bob is actually running a very large business,” says Roots Co-Founder Don Green. “He has a huge responsibility dealing with all of our products, including everything that’s imported and exported. Michael [Budman] and I rely on Bob and his team to make sure that all of our company stores, outlet locations, franchisees and wholesale clients are served expeditiously. We know that Bob and his staff go out of their way to try to satisfy everybody. They run a very efficient operation and are a pleasure to work with.”
Open from 7 a.m. and rarely closed before 6:30 p.m., the DC is a hive of non-stop activity. To help move products around the large facility, the staff have at their disposal 20 manual pallet trucks, four battery-operated power lift trucks and two powered hydraulic pallet trucks. There’s also 1,000 feet of free rolling conveyor belt, and 500 feet of power conveyor to take away cartons of merchandise for shipping. Up to 16 people work on the conveyor belt at any one time. On the building’s southern side, there are six major receiving and dispatching docks with electric ramps that trucks use to load or unload.
When shipments arrive at the DC (whether from the Roots leather goods factory, or domestic and overseas suppliers), each must be first unloaded and inspected. Staff verify that each shipment includes the correct number of cartons (as indicated on the packing slip), that each product has its appropriate bar code and price tag, and that nothing was damaged in the shipping. In addition to the quantity of products, it’s also necessary to ensure that the vendor sent the requested size and colour breakdown.
Sometimes, the DC must also deal with time-sensitive, priority shipments. For example, as part of the Wholesale Department sale of custom-designed leather products for the U2 concert tour, the DC must ensure that products arrive at each venue exactly one or two days before each concert.
When it comes to the Roots leather factory, something made in the morning can be sent to the DC the same day and before the end of the afternoon can already be en route to a store. On Fridays, products are sent from the factory to the DC and a special courier picks them up in the afternoon for delivery to six main Roots stores in Toronto to guarantee they’re in stock for weekend customers.
Taking attendance of special guests at Roots stores
