For Robert Chu, nothing is more rewarding for a young entrepreneur than owning and operating your own business—the ability to create your agenda, build your schedule and set the businesses structure the way you want.
But the single most important thing is that you need to follow through and deliver, no matter what.
“I think what sets us truly apart is that service is paramount for us—it’s our backbone,” says Robert. “If you say you’re going to do something, then you had better do it.”
That’s the simple ethos he’s lived by since founding Chewy Apparel in North York, Ontario over 11 years ago. It’s also a big reason why they’ve gone from a one-man operation to a flourishing team.
Chewy Apparel’s main claim to fame is providing high-quality custom printing and embroidery for t-shirts, workwear and promotional gear. According to Robert, they’ve done everything from unique one-off items to giant-quantity orders for large corporations.
“Really, we’ve become a one-stop shop for our customers from design through to the actual printing.”
Going beyond brick-and-mortar with .CA
Robert says his motivation for creating chewyapparel.ca was twofold.
He wanted customers to immediately recognize that Chewy is a proudly Canadian company.
“I want people to shop local, and I want people to support local and I think the .CA has definitely allowed us to let our clients know that we are Canadian,” he says. “I believe that .CA represents that Canadiana within us, and I wanted to be part of that—I wanted Chewy to be part of that.”
Establishing a .CA domain allowed Chewy Apparel to showcase the values that matter to them, being authentic, being a part of the local community, and showing that his customers can trust his business. For Robert, having a .CA domain presence supports Chewy Apparel’s ambition to grow and expand their business across Canada.
“For us, simply having a brick-and-mortar store just wasn’t enough,” he says. “Even though I’m kind of old-school, I know that having an online presence puts us on the map throughout Canada. And with what’s happening in the world today, I know that more customers are looking for Canadian-made products and businesses like us.”
.CA and Chewy Apparel’s future
When asked about what’s next for Chewy Apparel, Robert can’t help but grin at the thought that he’s building something meaningful.
“I can see that we’re just scratching the surface of where we’re going,” he says. “I enjoy coming to work every day, seeing my staff, seeing new projects and the challenges our customers throw at us. I just love it.”
“Our domain is also very important for our future because it’s an extension of our brick-and-mortar building. The outreach from the .CA is going to give us that much more visibility and credibility.”
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