Latest news with #Sheertex
Globe and Mail
05-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Sheertex founder Katherine Homuth in dispute with Muskoka township over cottage venture
Prominent entrepreneur Katherine Homuth is dedicated to recreating a nostalgic cottage experience that brings community members together on a lake a couple of hours north of Toronto, but has found herself in a fight over her latest venture with the local township. Ms. Homuth has had a portfolio of startups, most notably founding rip-resistant tights maker Sheertex, the brainchild she spent years raising before suddenly departing earlier this year. Those years were harsh, she said, but not regrettable. Her time at the company led her to develop the 'scar tissue' for future business bouts. In her newest venture, Ms. Homuth and her husband, Zak Homuth, plan to host what they've titled 'Sunday House,' launching this Sunday at their principal residence near Port Carling, Ont. The service – priced at $750 a person over the age of 2 – will allow members to participate in a canoe and kayaking regatta and enjoy eight summer Sundays of food and activities at their home: a multimillion-dollar, nearly two-acre property on Lake Muskoka. The Homuth property is a short boat ride from Port Carling, a town which resembles the summer resort community in the movie Jaws (minus the shark). The main street is bordered by Adirondack chairs on the sidewalks and an ice cream shop is just far enough from the docks for kids to finish their cone before buckling on a life jacket and squeezing into a motorboat. But the Homuths' business proposal, launched with the hope of drawing together that community, was rejected by the Township of Muskoka Lakes for contravening local bylaws. They plan to operate Sunday House under two bylaws – as a home-based business and as a short-term rental (renting to Sunday House as a business). The Homuths expect it will meet the conditions of at least one of those rules. However, in an e-mail that Ms. Homuth shared with The Globe, a township employee told her that neither of those approaches will comply with the bylaws, citing issues such as parking availability, the scale of the event and the size of the buildings used. But, she said she remains confident in her plan. 'They don't want there to be a way that it could exist, which is just super bizarre to me,' she said. After striking out in negotiations with the township, Ms. Homuth posted an open letter online outlining how she believes the township has erred. Township officials turned down a request for an interview, but township communication adviser Mia Palantzas said in an e-mailed statement that the community considers all proposals within applicable bylaws and legislation. 'As this matter involves ongoing discussions between the Township and a property owner regarding plans for their land, we're not in a position to provide further comment,' Ms. Palantzas said. The Homuths said they are prepared to defend their business plan if the township penalizes them for being in contravention of bylaws, but they are hoping it does not come to that. 'Being told we can't use our property in a way that we believe we have a legal right, which we also believe has a noble cause to it, is definitely something I'm willing to fight for,' Ms. Homuth said. The Homuths' vision is driven by Ms. Homuth's childhood memories of visiting her grandparents' cottage in Lake Manitou in Quebec, where life was intertwined with the local community. They want to create that same sense of community in Muskoka for their two-year-old son. At her grandparents' cottage, an orange towel would be hung on the deck railing to signal to the grandkids outside that it was breakfast time. Similarly, an orange towel will signal the opening of Sunday House at 8 a.m., launching a seven-hour day of water and beach activities and games alongside a small breakfast and a hefty lunch meal. So far, about 30 people have signed up, including neighbours who are being given free memberships, Ms. Homuth said. Most are people in the area with their own cottages and are looking for access to the waterfront or for a deeper sense of community, she added. She said that part of being part of a community is contributing – in this case, to the cost of operating Sunday House for the day, which will make the venture more sustainable long-term. The couple said they are expecting to lose money in the end, because the cost won't fully cover food and staffing, including lifeguards. But she compares it to the energy of a church community or full-family, intergenerational hangouts. 'People don't have that, a lot of people, any more, but there was a lot of good in that ritual,' Ms. Homuth said. While Ms. Homuth said she spent thousands of dollars to advertise Sunday House, some – including locals – milling about Port Carling on Thursday had never heard about it. Tyler Puley, whose family has owned a cottage at Walkers Point on Lake Muskoka for nearly two decades, said the idea sounds interesting. With his eyes trailing his bouncy three-year-old daughter outside a town shop, he said, 'the sense of community, especially among kids, it's a little harder to get here.'
Cision Canada
13-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
SRTX FINALIZES US$40M NEW EQUITY FUNDRAISING TRANSACTION LED BY BDC, EDC, H&M Group, IQ
MONTREAL, May 13, 2025 /CNW/ - SRTX has announced that it has reached the first close of a US$40 million fundraising round investment led by its largest shareholders: BDC Capital, Export Development Canada, H&M Group and Investissement Québec. This funding will support SRTX' strategy to scale its Montreal-based manufacturing operation, doubling production capacity in 2025. In 2023, the company expanded its operations into a new 300,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility in Pointe Claire (Montreal) where it has established a highly automated, vertically integrated manufacturing plant with room to expand to meet its tremendous growth opportunities in North America and Europe. This facility is unique, where UHMWPE powder is converted into finished products under one roof, and enables SRTX to continuously drive its unit costs down as it scales the production of its market-leading tights product, Sheertex. As part of this financing round, Katherine Homuth, founder of SRTX, has transitioned out of her day-to-day responsibilities as CEO. The Board has launched a recruiting process to identify a new CEO and Timothy Leyne, who has been CFO of SRTX for the last 3 years, has been named interim CEO. "This new equity injection will reinforce SRTX' capital base as we pursue the plan to scale our production to capture a growing share of the tights market in the face of uncertain trading conditions," said Timothy Leyne, Interim CEO of SRTX. "The success of this financing round is a testament to the tremendous conviction of our shareholders to the pursuit of SRTX' strategy," he added. "Katherine's exceptional drive and vision built this innovation-based vertical manufacturing platform, and the Lead Investors, Board and management team are committed to realizing its full potential," concluded Timothy. "We're excited to support SRTX's journey as they enter this next stage of growth. We see strong potential in their vision and product, and believe the company is well-positioned to develop in a meaningful way. We'd like to thank Katherine Homuth for her dedication and the foundation she helped build at SRTX, and we wish her the best of luck in her next chapter." says lead investors BDC Capital, Export Development Canada, H&M Group and Investissement Québec. SRTX is the holding company of Sheertex Inc., the manufacturer and leading brand of rip-resist tights. Established in 2017, SRTX moved to its first facility in Montreal in 2019. SRTX has built an integrated technology platform that outcompetes traditional manufacturing by leveraging proprietary materials, intelligent automation, and a vertical manufacturing infrastructure.
CBC
07-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Sheertex could face 'tens of millions of dollars' in tariffs, CEO says DESC:
Canadian pantyhose-maker Sheertex is temporarily laying off 40 per cent of their staff in part because of tariffs the U.S. has promised to place on Canadian goods, the company's CEO Katherine Homuth said Wednesday. Homuth opens up about how the U.S. tariff threats are impacting her business.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Canada's SRTX temporarily cuts 40% of jobs over US tariff concerns
(Reuters) - Canadian textile maker SRTX said on Wednesday it had temporarily laid off 40% of its workforce amid concerns about potential increased costs resulting from expected U.S. tariffs. U.S. President Donald Trump suspended his threat of imposing steep tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Monday, agreeing to a 30-day pause in exchange for concessions on border and crime enforcement. However, he went ahead with the implementation of tariffs on all Chinese imports. The Sheertex tights maker, which has about 350 employees, cautioned that it was now at risk of facing a potential 41% duty on all its shipments to the U.S. The company added that the 30-day grace period has allowed it to transfer some of its inventory to the U.S., but not in sufficient quantities to mitigate the impact of the proposed tariffs. "We are in a worst case scenario," Katherine Homuth, SRTX's CEO, said in a LinkedIn post. SRTX said that 85% of its sales are in the U.S. and it has invested "tens of millions" in its Canadian factory. The proposed tariffs, along with a delay in the final stage of its fundraising efforts, have led to "tremendous financial uncertainty", the company added. Sign in to access your portfolio
CBC
05-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Quebec companies announce layoffs ahead of Trump tariffs
Quebec manufacturers are announcing layoffs, saying U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats of tariffs, now expected to come into effect in a month, are already affecting sales. The U.S. is Quebec's top trading partner, with most manufacturers in the province trading and selling to American companies and consumers. Montreal-based tights manufacturer Sheertex (SRTX), now a publicly traded company, announced on LinkedIn Wednesday morning it would be temporarily laying off 40 per cent of its 350 employees in preparation for the tariffs. Katherine Homuth, the company's CEO and founder, wrote that although the U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods are planned at 25 per cent, SRTX is facing 41 per cent tariffs across its U.S. shipments due to additional duty fees it faces. "We are in a worst case scenario," Homuth wrote, explaining that the company's tights cannot be considered to be made in Canada because SRTX imports more than nine per cent of its raw materials. The company is using the 30-day delay on tariffs — announced after a phone call between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump Monday — to move some of its inventory to the U.S., where Sheertex does 85 per cent of its sales. The layoffs are temporary but come at a time when SRTX has been fundraising additional capital to stay afloat. "If you believe in the importance of making things here, in building not just brands, but the factories and technologies that power them, now is the time to stand with manufacturers," Homuth wrote. Another up and coming Quebec manufacturer, furniture-maker South Shore, also announced on Wednesday that it would be laying off 115 employees. In a news release, the company said 70 per cent of its sales are conducted in the U.S. and that it had seen those plummet in the face of Trump's tariff threats. It said the threats had prompted the company's American buyers to increase their imports of Asian products. The layoffs include 97 jobs at South Shore's head office plant in Sainte-Croix, a town 200 kilometres northeast of Montreal on the St. Lawrence River. Another 18 employees at South Shore's Coaticook plant in the Eastern Townships will be affected. "South Shore is calling on consumers to turn massively to Canadian products to collectively face this unprecedented situation," the news release said. The company, which was founded in 1940, noted it had already survived several economic crises and that it intended to review its current business model. Uniboard, a Laval-based wood products manufacturer, said Tuesday it would be temporarily closing five production lines at its plant in Sayabec in the Gaspésie region. Fifteen employees will lose their jobs, which CEO James Hogg said represented less than 10 per cent of the company's roughly 400-employee workforce. He attributed the layoffs to the uncertainty caused by U.S. tariff threats. "We don't know exactly what the customer reactions are going to be. Are they going to cancel orders? Are they going to put things on hold? Those are all [reactions] we've seen since Sunday," Hogg said. Hogg said he hopes the company will be able to resume its normal operations if Trump drops his tariffs idea.
