The story of Denmor Garment Manufacturing Inc. is of one of perseverance, determination and an unrelenting desire to make an indelible mark on a sector in which Guyana had not previously been known to make anything even remotely resembling distinction. The company’s founder, the late Dennis Morgan, had come to the table with no grandiose illusions. Rather, he had possessed a conviction that success was much more likely to come from unrelenting effort than from grandiose illusions and wishful thinking.
Established in 1997 with a vision of both making a mark on the garments sector and creating new job opportunities for mostly ambitious working class women, the fortunes of the company appeared to be ‘up in the air’ when in 2012, its founder, Dennis Morgan died of a heart attack at the age of 64. That left the ‘manning’ of the Denmor ‘ship’ in the hands of an all-female crew, Dennis’ wife Fatima and daughters Serojinee and daughters Serojinee, Upasna and Nandani, all of whom have since had to divide their time between their private and diverse professional lives and serving as Directors of a company that had been built on the foundation of expansive ambitions.
To say that the death of the ‘family man’ and ambitious business owner had unexpectedly thrust some weighty decisions on the shoulders of an all-female team possessed, at the time, of little more than an ambition to keep the vision alive, is to indulge in profound understatement. Indeed, the more frequently this remarkable story of entrepreneurial stamina is told, the more one marvels at the steady growth that Denmor has made since the loss of its founder more than a decade ago.
These days, the complex at Plots 7-9 Coldingen Estate, East Coast Demerara has come to be seen as a ‘shrine’ to the vision of its founder and a tribute to the stamina of his wife and daughters whose determination to keep his dream alive has become one of the most pleasing stories in the contemporary history of Guyanese entrepreneurship.
The ‘dream’ it seemed, was to seek to rise to the top of the local manufacturing industry by securing local and international contracts to ‘turn out’ the broadest range of clothing…………..Safety Gear, Lingerie, School Uniforms, Fashion Wear, Sports Wear and a range of Costumes, among others. This ambition was to be secured by embarking of the pursuit of contracts with various international high-profile brands.
Contextually, there are two distinguishing marks to the Denmor brand that no other local company has matched up to this time. There is the distinction it enjoys of having trained a number of ordinary, unemployed women in skills that required their work to stand up to some of the highest levels on international scrutiny; secondly, Denmor served at the time to provide a number of working class women many of whom possessed few if any marketable skills with training and afterwards, with gainful employment.
At 27 and with no prior training or experience in managing a complex and multi-dimensional business it was Upasna, who was thrust to the forefront of the company. She had had no choice but to hit the ground running. It would take time for her to get her head around the twin tasks of continually refining a local structure that could be sufficiently responsive to respond to the demands of a demanding international market whilst inculcating in the company’s employees the understanding that Denmor was aiming at heights that were, in many respects, giddier than any that had, hitherto, been reached locally.
Meeting the challenges of the weighty responsibility that the all-female entrepreneurial team had decided to embrace required specialist support. Upasna and Seojinee enrolled themselves with the local business training company, Action Coach, a decision which they said, proved worthwhile. Thereafter, Upasna decided to read for a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.
What, unquestionably, makes Denmor a standout among local business enterprises is the success it has enjoyed in consistently meeting demanding international quality standards, having been tested by quite a few standout international brands. Indeed, it can be argued that no other local company is more deserving of the Made in Guyana quality standard award recently bestowed on the company by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards.
The family team appears to be in no doubt that their effort, in the absence of the company’s departed brought a pleasing measure of success. They believe that the global popularization of Guyana arising out of its new-found status as an ‘oil and gas economy’ positions Denmor to ascend to hitherto unreached heights in the global market. Upsana, now entirely committed to hinging herself to the future of Denmor, has completed a Masters’ Degree in Oil and Gas and is currently reading for a Doctorate in Business Administration. She concedes that she is now on the way to taking the same road that her father had paved rather than acceding to his own wish that she become a medical doctor.
Denmor, Upsana says, remains unyieldingly committed to providing training and equally important, jobs for unskilled and unemployed women. The company’s commitment to its gender focus, she concedes, is also a function of what, in the experience of the company, has been the more itinerant disposition of men.
Going forward, the company has set itself the twin tasks of seeking out further long-term contracts with reputable international companies and working towards the creation of a cadre of employees prepared to deepen even further their commitment to the Denmor ‘experience.’ The management team understands only too well that in a country where fast-changing economic fortunes have created further avenues of opportunity, good help is becoming increasingly hard to find.
In the process of readying the company for the challenge which it believes lie ahead, Denmor has been paying particular attention to enhancing its inventory. In this regard Upasna told the Stabroek Business that the company is now well-positioned to undertake substantial “long-term contracts.” Its current pronounced focus on training is hinged to the realization that, going forward, sufficient numbers of adequately trained staff has to be its biggest focus.
Over time, the success of the company has derived from its preparedness to adjust to challenges. Upasna recalls that during the challenging period when the vicissitudes of the covid-19 pandemic had wreaked havoc with international markets Denmor had managed to successfully diversify into the manufacture of face masks. The lesson derived from that experience has caused the company to begin to focus its current energies on immersing itself in the manufacture of high-quality safety gear to meet the demands of the oil and gas industry.
The company already has prior experience in the manufacture of safety wear for international companies. It is currently fulfilling a contract for the manufacture of overalls for SBM Offshore – a Dutch-based company specializing in building floating machinery for the offshore energy industry.
Over time Denmor has also executed contracts for various internationally known apparel brands including Walmart, Victoria Secrets, Russell Athletics, Bullwart, Ariat Industries and Capzeio, producing safety gear, fashion apparel and sportswear, among others.
Satisfying the requirements of overseas clients including the rules and regulations of their countries of origin place additional responsibilities of expatriate service companies and Denmor has been no exception in this regard. Changing trade regulations has made it costlier to do business with companies in North America, particularly. In the instance of Guyana it has been, for the most part, a matter of not being able to compete with the less expensive Asian markets. Changing circumstances have
required Denmor to make key strategic decisions designed to retain market share. These have included compulsory staff cuts as well as an enhanced focus on securing local contracts with both the public and private sectors. Some seasonal markets including collaborations with local costume designers during the Mash ‘season’ and School Uniform Contracts have also been options that Denmor has pursued.
Recently, Denmor became the first local garment manufacturer to be bestowed with the Made in Guyana ‘mark’ by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards. It embraces the recognition even as it continues to strive to meet the demands of an international market that has become increasingly demanding. Nor is it unmindful of the illumination being afforded Guyana on account of its new-found recognition as an oil-producing country and the role that this plays in attracting greater global recognition to Guyana and by extension to the work to Denmor.
The company’s next goal is to secure the ISO-2015 certification.
At home and in the region, Denmor already boasts a number of local accreditations for the production of quality products, among which are National Quality Citations, Environmental Awards, Small Business Manufacturing recognition, Occupational Safety and Health Awards 2021, as well as the Ernst and Young Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2001 and 2003.
Upasna would not allow the Stabroek Business interview to end without a measure of reflection on the past, and on excerpts from the upbringing of her late father………. His early family life at Enmore, the fact that he was the eldest of the siblings and that the financial constraints of the family had compelled him to part with formal education prematurely and to begin his working life as a Sweeper/Cleaner with what was then Lyson’s and is now National Hardware. Beyond that, Morgan had eventually risen, first to the position of Salesman and subsequently to more senior positions within the company. His daughter reflects on what she says was his enduring willingness to learn and his passion for reading. Prior to pursuing his own entrepreneurial ambitions Morgan had worked his way up to becoming General Manager at the Regent street store Beesons.
There were to be other challenges in Morgan’s career as a businessman though his daughter prefers to recall his capacity to surmount challenges rather than swell on them. Adversity, she believes, was the motivation that drove him to take the ‘giant’ leap of creating Denmor. Nor did family concerns that such as the likelihood that such a leap might expose his lack of formal training deter him. His engagement with what, at the time, was the National Bank for Industry and Commerce (now Republic Bank) was a time of uncertainty for the family as was his initial leasing of a plot of land at 7-9 Coldingen, East Coast Demerara on which the Denmor complex now sits.
Setting aside the historic launch of Denmor In July 1997, Dennis Morgan will probably be best remembered for his contribution to affording poor and largely unschooled women the opportunity to earn.
The only substantive qualification which he sought, Upasna says, was a willingness to learn and afterwards to apply themselves to their jobs.
DENMOR provides practical training for its employees and allows a three-month probation period prior to confirmation of substantive employment.
