CASE STUDY
The Real McCoy jackets that caught Hollywood’s eye
| Challenge: | Funding the purchase of materials required to fulfill export orders |
| Situation: | The company required Trade Finance/Working Capital to fund a spike in sales to Japan. |
| Solution: | Lock Finance worked with the Real McCoy to provide a Trade Finance facility, supported by the assets of the business and future orders. |
The Real McCoy’s is a Christchurch based export success story. The owner, Masa Ishizuka, was born in Japan and has a strong interest in aviation and World War 2.
This interest lead him to developing a niche market designing and manufacturing replicas of World War II fighter pilot jackets. Sales are predominantly to Japan where there is a collector market for reproduction of American vintage clothing.
The business has been successful due to the focus on quality by Masa and his 11 staff. Every piece of a Real McCoy’s jacket is made individually and by hand. “We are a steady business. Our jackets are not mass produced so we do not deal with mass orders,” Ishizuka says.
The company keeps to its philosophy of producing authentic pieces using top quality material such as horsehide and sheepskin from New Zealand and also Italy. It keeps its production to just over 3,000 pieces per year including Jackets along with 1930s and 1940s style jeans.
So authentic are the company’s products that they have caught Hollywood’s eye. The Real McCoy’s is supplying jackets to be worn by the cast for an up coming George Lucas’ movie, Red Tails. The company also supplied jackets in Tom Hank’s Band of Brothers, Ishizuka says.
Ishizuka says Lock Finance has been fantastic. “They took the time to understand my cashflow and placed a value on the orders I had in my hand. The additional funding from Lock was used to help finance the purchase of materials and to help with distribution and sales.”
Ishizuka says the company’s strong track record of sales helped. Traditionally, 75 per cent of the company’s products are pre-sold within three days at a trade show in Japan.
Sonia Harvey - Lending Manager at Locks says, Lock Finance was able to help as The Real McCoy’s had a proven track record of sales and they sell a quality product.
For more information on the company, go to
http://www.realmccoys.co.nz/home.html
