We spoke with the owner of USA Brands, which includes businesses such as All-American Clothing, Vermont Flannel Company, Vermont Teddy Bear Company and Gussett Brand, about his commitment to Made in America.
After seven years at tech giant Google, Joe Van Deman decided to quit his job, move back to Indiana, and start investing in small businesses. After a brief stint working for early stage tech companies, he wanted to support small businesses that manufacture their products in the United States.
The 40-year-old Indianapolis native used his technology and marketing skills to scale the growth of All American Clothing Company after acquiring the company. American Brandshas four well-established “Made in America” brands under its umbrella.
Q: What got you involved in the apparel industry?
answer: Unfortunately I have no experience in the apparel business, but in 2019 when I was looking to purchase an existing business, All American Clothing CompanyLawson and BJ Nicol started the company, but due to Lawson’s health issues, they decided it was a good time to sell. I knew this business was a good fit for me, given my interests and strengths, and I loved the fact that it was made in the USA. What’s really appealing about All American Brands is that they make really high-quality, functional clothing, and they’ve been making American-made blue jeans for almost 20 years.
Q: Would you say you’re more of an investor than an owner?
answer: No. I started out running a small company with just a handful of employees, but from day one I did a little bit of everything: running marketing campaigns, working with suppliers, ordering raw materials, handling finished goods, etc.
Q: What prompted you to move from a promising career at Google to managing these American-made clothing brands?
answer: I met my future wife, we got married, and we wanted to raise our kids somewhere a little more familiar than New York or the San Francisco Bay Area. We decided to move back home to Indiana, and I worked in early stage tech for a few years, but decided that wasn’t the path for me, that’s not what I wanted to do. When you work for a big company, it’s all about the big company environment. Now, when I think about what I do, we make things with our hands. You can touch and hold a shirt or a pair of jeans, and show someone what we made. I love going to the airport and seeing people wearing our products. It’s nice to be able to show my kids something they can actually touch. It feels good.
Q: What brands are currently under the USA Brands label and what is your role?
answer: Of course, All American Clothing was the first company that I acquired and then I created the USA brand after I took over. Vermont Flannel CompanySince then, we Vermont Teddy Bear Company And recently, Gusset Brand It’s a jeans and apparel brand. I’m the CEO of USA Brands. The way we operate is I’m the CEO of USA Brands overall, and we have functional leaders within the organization. Someone leads marketing, someone leads customer service, someone leads retail operations, someone leads production. This spans all the different brands, and I think of it as a matrix. We have a brand director who makes sure everything is done to highlight that brand and make it special and unique. That person ensures the authenticity of each brand.
Q: What is your commitment to Made in America?
answer: Our promise is to make our products in the USA. And we keep our promise. Made in the USA is what we stand for as a company. And it’s really why people are interested in joining us. We have brands that have decided to join us because it’s very important to the founders and owners and the next generation of the company to make in the USA.
Q: Do you source from American manufacturers?
answer: While we source most materials in the United States, it is not always possible to source them here. There are some materials in our product line that are not made in the United States. At Vermont Flannels, we work with European factories to produce the finest flannel because we do not have the capacity to produce in the United States. At Vermont Flannels, we have always done so. We source and manufacture everything in the United States, but you just can’t find high quality flannel domestically. We are working to bring flannel manufacturing back to the United States.
Q: What prompted you to acquire Vermont Flannel?
answer: I met Mark Baker, the owner of Vermont Flannel, when I was looking for American-made products to sell to our All American Clothing customers. I said, I sell a lot of blue jeans, but I can sell flannel shirts. That’s when our relationship really started during COVID and I got to know him over time. He started to tell me that he was nearing retirement, where the company was going in the future, and he just wanted to make sure that the manufacturing was done in the United States. He had been approached by several private equity firms with investors who wanted to buy the brand and move the manufacturing overseas. He was adamant. He didn’t want to do that, so we decided to create a USA brand together. Combining the two companies would allow us to operate at a little more scale.
Q: Will you be able to maintain the personal service these companies are known for?
answer: Absolutely. But even though we’re one company, our entire customer service team is now six people. We’re not a big organization, but we have to provide a high level of service and support to our customers. As an example, what we’re doing now with Vermont Teddy Bear, who recently joined our team, is an eight-week program we’re calling Teddy Bear University, where all our employees learn the history of the brand. The brand has been around for over 40 years, and there are a lot of different factors that go into making it special. We want our employees to know how the products are made, how they’re sold, what worked well in the past, why the company grew, and why the lifetime warranty is so important. It’s our intention to preserve that tradition.
Q: All American Clothing Company and Gusset Brands both make blue jeans made in the U.S. Is this sustainable?
answer: Yes. I run two denim brands as part of USA Brands and we are fighting daily to gain market share, but we are a long way from being the Wrangler brand. Gusset Brands is based on American made blue jeans, and All American Clothing Company has been selling domestically made jeans for many years. At Gusset, we use denim made right here in Georgia at Mount Vernon Mills. All pockets, rivets, zippers and other parts are made in the USA. Both brands are 100% Made in the USA.
Q: Can these blue jean brands compete in a market flooded with jeans made overseas and sold at low prices?
answer: All American Clothing jeans start at $65 and $85 for gussets. We want to focus on keeping our products affordable. A lot of American-made men’s jeans are probably $150-$300 a pair. We know that there are people who like those jeans, but again, that’s not good working-class America. The people who buy our jeans are choosing our jeans over the ones they buy at Walmart or Kohl’s. The quality, the thickness of our jeans will be closer to heavy-duty work jeans like Carhartt or Dickies. We usually use 15-ounce denim for most of our jeans. Maybe they’re not comfortable to go to the office, but if you work in the yard, they’re great. A lot of our customers are plumbers and electricians, people who are on their knees a lot and need durability. A lot of our customers buy five pairs at a time and wear them as a uniform Monday through Friday. Some people who wear our jeans say they haven’t worn jeans like this since Levi’s in the 70s and early 80s before they started going international.
Q: Where is USA Brands apparel made and sold?
answer: We have 10 retail locations, the majority of which are Vermont Flannel branded stores. We have one Vermont Teddy Bear Company store and one Gusset branded store in Tennessee. Manufacturing-wise, we currently have three locations, all in Vermont. The rest of our manufacturing is done through contract manufacturing partners. We do denim with contract manufacturing partners in Kentucky and Illinois, and occasionally in Texas and California. We make our t-shirts in California, Texas, North Carolina, and New York. Our t-shirts start at $13.95 and are made in the USA. If I’m going to pay $10 for a t-shirt at Walmart, I’m willing to pay $14 for something that’s made in the USA and will last.
Q: There are currently four companies under the USA Brand umbrella. Are you worried about getting too big with employees spread across the country?
answer: I worry about getting too big, but I think we’re nowhere near that point right now. We’re still a small company. Yes, we have over 100 employees, but they all have my cell phone number and can call me if they need anything. We’re expanding, but we try to keep it a family-run feel. I’ve had two brands call me in the last two weeks asking how they can get involved. For me, it really shows that there’s value in what we’re doing when other companies realize they can get involved. It’s good for my brand and it’s good for my employees.
