Founder of Bermo Enterprises to lead next Entrepreneurship Forum
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The owner of the company that got its start as a small retail jeans store near the Western Michigan University campus and has grown to be the largest off-price apparel wholesaler in the Midwest will be the next speaker in the Entrepreneurship Forum at Western Michigan University.
Ed Bernard, founder of Bermo Enterprises, will speak at 8 a.m. Friday, April 12, in 2150 Schneider Hall. Bermo Enterprises Inc., a wholesaler, retailer and manufacturer of off-price sportswear, was founded in 1973 by Bernard.
Over the years, Bermo has become a company that now includes 12 retail locations in Michigan and Indiana. It has a wholesale division that is the largest off-price apparel wholesaler in the Midwest. Bermo also has a showroom in New York’s garment district and a manufacturing division that makes clothing under privately-owned labels, as well as under labels for which Bermo owns the licenses–Case IH, International Harvester, and Farmall.
The company has a 160,000-square-foot warehouse, showroom, and office complex in Schoolcraft and a sales office in Minneapolis.
The event is free and open to the public and begins at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast. The Entrepreneurship Forum is sponsored by Educational Community Credit Union and hosted by the WMU Haworth College of Business. For more information, visit the school’s website or call (269) 387-6059. Reservations are required and can be made by contacting Kayla Hunt by email or by calling 269) 387-6059.
Free parking is available in the nearby Fetzer Center parking lot.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Stacey Markin, Western Michigan University
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