Freed & Freed International

In 1920 David Freed began manufacturing boys knee pants. Knee pants were similar to golf trousers but slimmer and the buckled beneath the knee. The main retailer that bought their product was the T. Eaton company mail order. After 18 months on his own, David invited his nephew Morris Freed to be his partner. In 1921, with Morris as his partner, the... y incorporated the company to form Freed & Freed Ltd. Morris, being considerably younger than David, ran the sales part of the business. As business improved they moved to what then was the Coca Cola building and occupied the top floor which covered 8,000 sq. ft. By 1925 Freed & Freed required more space for manufacturing and warehousing so they moved to the 6th floor of 290 McDermot Avenue with 12,000 sq. ft. They were finding that the T. Eaton company retail stores were now interested in their product, mens cotton pants. Freed & Freed used better quality fabrics and their product was noted for quality manufacturing. The dress pant was woven coloured cotton, very similar to mens suitings. In August of 1940, Morris passed away very suddenly. David was 58 years old and his son Joseph was about to enter his final year of Law school. Joseph saw his father struggling trying to deal with problems which were unfamiliar to him. In January of 1941 Joseph left school and joined his father in the business. In 1950 Freed & Freed moved from 290 McDermot to a building purchased at 474 Hargrave Street that had formerly been a telephone headquarters, a 4-storey building with an elevator. The 1st floor was for the office and warehouse, the 2nd and 3rd floor for sewing trousers and cutting both trousers and jackets. The 4th floor was devoted entirely to the sewing and finishing of jackets. A new company was formed for the clothing and outerwear and named Joseph Freed Clothing: before long more space was required so Freed & Freed rented a 4,000 sq. ft. on the 2nd floor of a building on William Avenue about two blocks away where all the cutting and warehousing of fabrics would now ...Read More