LOS ANGELES – March 18, 2024 – PRLog — National New Markets Fund (“NNMF”), an affiliate of Los Angeles, CA-based SDS Capital Group, and the TD Community Development Corporation (“TDCDC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of TD Bank, N.A., together have invested $25 million in New Market Tax Credit (“NMTC”)allocation into Charles Komar & Sons, Inc. (“Komar”) distribution center expansion in Ellabell, GA. The cumulative local employment impact of Komar’s new plant is substantial, creating an estimated 300 full-time jobs.
Komar is a 50% women-owned apparel manufacturer and distributor that works with more than 100 owned, licensed, and private label brands to produce 110 million garments annually. NNMF’s $15 million allocation, coupled with TDCDC’s $10 million allocation, will fund the equipment at Komar’s new 765,000 SF e-commerce and distribution center in Ellabell, GA.
The investments utilize capital from the NMTC program administered by the U.S. Treasury Department. Investment groups, such as NNMF and TDCDC, compete annually to receive NMTC awards. These selected allocatees sell the tax credits to institutional investors, using the proceeds to invest in projects benefiting low-income communities – such as Komar’s new plant.
“The New Markets Tax Credit program was critical to our ability to fund this new manufacturing and distribution site,” said Komar Chief Financial Officer, Harry Gaffney. “Thanks to these NMTC allocatees, we are bringing hundreds of quality, full-time jobs into our Savannah community.”
“The economic benefit from Komar’s creation of this new plant is immense,” said Deborah La Franchi, CEO, National New Markets Fund. “Not only is this a women-owned company—a rarity in the industry – but 300 new, quality jobs will be created with most positions not requiring any advanced degree.”
Komar received the NNMF allocation as part of a complex $25 million NMTC financing package. TD Bank is the investor purchasing the NMTCs from each of the participating NMTC allocatees: NNMF and TDCDC.
“We are proud to support Komar’s strategic expansion into Bryan County,” said Michael Cooper, President of TDCDC. “At TD, we’re committed to fostering economic development via projects that create quality and accessible jobs, and Komar, a third-generation family-owned business, is well-positioned to deliver on this shared commitment.”
About National New Markets Fund
National New Markets Fund, LLC
, founded in 2005, has invested $752 million (51 investments) of its New Markets Tax Credit allocation into projects located in the Great Lakes region and the
Deep South. Each investment has provided critical community services or quality jobs to high-distress communities – such as hospitals, charter schools, and food banks, as well as job-creating manufacturing expansions. In 2013, NNMF narrowed its focus to invest only in manufacturing and food-processing companies (26 companies total). This more focused strategy centers on creating quality jobs for the local residents of these distressed communities – both rural and urban. SDS Capital Group, (http://www.sds.capital/) the parent of NNMF, is a pioneer and national leader in impact investing. SDS’s founder, Deborah La Franchi, launched SDS in 2001 with a vision of creating a platform of impact funds that would attract and engage the private-sector in the battle against poverty. Today, SDS’s platform includes five distinct impact fund strategies ($1.3 billion current asset under management; additional $1.1 billion exited), with its direct investments having helped support the creation of over 25,000 jobs and over 6,500 low-income or permanent supportive housing units throughout the US.
Contact Bruce Beck DB&R Marketing Communications, Inc ***@dbrpr.com
U.S. Polo Assn., the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), served as the Official Apparel Partner of the Dubai Polo Gold Cup 2024. This world-renowned polo tournament was hosted at the iconic Al Habtoor Polo Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Feb. 6-24, 2024.
In collaboration with the Aydinli Group, U.S. Polo Assn.’s brand partner in the Middle East, the classic, sport-inspired brand provided performance jerseys for multiple teams, branded apparel for all on-site staff, and gifts to the finalists including branded leather duffle bags and watches.
The Dubai Polo Gold Cup was an unforgettable two-week tournament ending with the final game between two strong teams, Habtoor Polo and Dubai Wolves By CAFU, that fought to have their name etched into the Gold Cup trophy. Ultimately, Habtoor Polo won the cup with a final score of 11-10. The event offered spirited sports fans and generous sponsors the ability to watch the highest-rated polo in the UAE while also enjoying international musical entertainment, delicious cuisines, and retail shops.
“U.S. Polo Assn. is proud to once again support the iconic Dubai Polo Gold Cup as the Official Apparel Sponsor in one of the great venues for polo in the UAE,” said J. Michael Prince, President and CEO of USPA Global, which manages the multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand. “This region is a key market for U.S. Polo Assn., and we are honored to highlight the sport of polo along with our global, sport-inspired brand in front of so many sports fans and consumers in the Middle East.”
U.S. Polo Assn.’s popularity in the UAE has grown since the launch of the first brick-and-mortar store in March 2012 at the Dubai Marina Mall. Available to consumers in the region on all sales channels, the classic, sport-inspired lifestyle brand currently has 10 stores in the UAE with Lals Group, U.S. Polo Assn.’s UAE Partner, with plans to launch additional locations in 2024. Globally, the U.S. Polo Assn. brand is in 190 countries and has global retail sales of more than $2.4 billion.
“We are proud to represent U.S. Polo Assn. in the UAE, and the Dubai Polo Gold Cup is the perfect opportunity to connect our authentic global brand with the sport of polo in Dubai,” said Seref Safa, Chairman of the Board of Aydinli Group, the Middle Eastern and Eastern European partner for U.S. Polo Assn. “This tournament hosts some of the best polo teams and ponies in the world, creating an exciting mix of top-class sportsmanship and glamour for event attendees.”
The Dubai Polo Gold Cup was founded in 2009 by His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai. This tournament is now one of the most prestigious events on the international polo calendar, on par with world-class events held in Argentina, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Al Habtoor Polo Club was established in 2000 by Mohammed Al Habtoor, who played a pivotal role in the development of the Dubai Polo Gold Cup and was also a player in the 2024 tournament.
About U.S. Polo Assn. and USPA Global
U.S. Polo Assn. is the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA), the governing body for the sport of polo in the United States and one of the country’s oldest sports governing bodies, founded in 1890. With a multi-billion-dollar global footprint and worldwide distribution through some 1,200 U.S. Polo Assn. retail stores as well as thousands of additional points of distribution, U.S. Polo Assn. offers apparel, accessories, and footwear for men, women, and children in more than 190 countries worldwide. A recent, multi-year deal with ESPN to broadcast the premier polo championships in the world, sponsored by U.S. Polo Assn., has made the thrilling sport accessible to millions of households globally for the very first time.
U.S. Polo Assn. has consistently been named one of the top global sports licensors alongside the NFL, NBA, and MLB, according to License Global. In addition, the sport-inspired brand is being recognized around the world with awards for global growth, expansion, licensing, and digital presence. Due to its tremendous success as a global brand, particularly in the last five years, U.S. Polo Assn. has been featured in Forbes, Modern Retail, and GQ as well as on Yahoo Finance and Bloomberg, among many other noteworthy media sources around the world.
For more information, visit uspoloassnglobal.com and follow @uspoloassn.
USPA Global is the for-profit subsidiary of the USPA and manages the global, multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand, providing the sport with a long-term source of revenue. Through its subsidiary, Global Polo Entertainment (GPE), USPA Global also manages Global Polo TV, which provides sports and lifestyle content. A historic, multi-year, global arrangement between USPA Global and ESPN now showcases many of the top championship polo games in the U.S., enabling millions of sports fans and consumers to enjoy the sport across ESPN’s broadcast and streaming platforms. For more sport content, visit globalpolo.com.
About Aydinli Group
Aydinli Group is the Middle Eastern and Eastern European partner for the global, multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand. Aydinli Group adopts the principle of quality service and universal values, produces environmentally conscious products, and provides world-class, customer-oriented service. With more than 690 stores, 300 of which are abroad, and more than 7,500 employees, it is one of the largest apparel retailers in the region. Aydinli Group, which has operations in nearly 50 countries with U.S. Polo Assn., 10 countries with Pierre Cardin, and eight countries with Cacharel, has license rights in 55 countries in total. For more information, visit aydinli.com.
Contact Information:
Shannon Stilson VP, Sports Marketing & Media sstilson@uspagl.com +001.561.227.6994
The global apparel market is forecasted to reach USD 992 billion by 2021. With labor costs keep increasing across China and ASEAN countries, apparel brands are forced to come up with cost-cutting measures. Our latest white paper, “Digital Transformation in the Apparel Industry: How to Improve Efficiency of Apparel Factor,” developed alongside Brother Machinery (Asia) Limited (BMA), highlights that going digital is key for the apparel industry to address this issue.
COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the push for digital transformation. Global spending on digital transformation technologies and services is expected to increase to USD 1.3 trillion in 2020. Consequently. this brings an opportunity for apparel brands to digitize their activities. Strict pandemic lockdown results in the apparel industry to lose over 70% of functions, with total sewing machine operating hours in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Indonesia falling to 27% in April 2020.
“COVID-19 speeds up the digitalization process in apparel, following an increased awareness among brands and manufacturers. As many factories have been forced to shut down, this challenging period should be taken as an opportunity to adopt digital transformation in order to alleviate long-term future costs burden while also improving efficiency,” says Satoshi Kuriga, Partner at YCP Solidiance. In the live webinar conducted for the launch, it was also discussed that most apparel brands have recognized the urgency to move quickly to digital solutions to address the cost and time issues.
How Digitalization Can Bring the Apparel Industry Forward
As business strategies are harder to maintain, and the Asian labor market is no longer the cheapest, apparel brands see potential in digitalization as the approach to save cost in the long run. In addition to hardware technology advancement, using integrated IoT systems has increased 5% of apparel production and cut time and cost by 88%.
Gen Kimura, General Manager at BMA explains, “Digital transformation journey in the apparel sector starts from automated machinery, passing the IoT integration and aiming at ecosystem coordination. This process aims to maximize the power of data and further enhance the efficiency of the manufacturing production, toward which the apparel industry is currently moving.”
Prior to adopting digital transformation, we suggest apparel manufacturers consider the following:
Understand the needs: Realize the current problem and how digital transformation will resolve those problems.
Make initiative prioritization: Evaluate the needs and the urgency of prioritized problems, and identify feasible solutions.
Implementing IoT and data visualization: Implementing the software and hardware must have visualized data to proceed to the analysis step.
Data analysis and action: Help manufacturers understand what needs to be improved.
For more insight on how digitalization offers solutions for apparel manufacturers and industries, download our white paper here.
