After spending four years in apparel retail, Jeff Glassman joined his family’s apparel manufacturing business in 1994, the same year NAFTA went into effect. By 1996, the New Bedford factory had lost so much business to Mexico that it laid off over three-fourths of its workers. An old customer then asked Glassman to fix 30,000 damaged trousers from Mexico, prompting him to launch his own company, Darn It!, specializing in repairing and refurbishing clothing.
Glassman, who grew up in the clothing business, graduated from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts in 1990 and gained retail experience before joining the family business. In 2007, he bought a 315,000-square-foot New Bedford mill building for Darn It’s growing businesses. The building coincidently, once housed a sewing plant where his great-uncle and grandfather worked. Glassman said Darn It! stands out by offering refurbishment, warehousing and fulfillment services all under one roof.
