Sabu Nath, CEO of Spandex House, Inc.
Written by Pat Craddick
Spandex House, Inc. is one of the largest spandex suppliers in the world with a global client-base. Established in 1991 and based in NYC Fashion District, the company has stood by its strong morals and principles for supplying customers with the best fabric selection at the lowest price. “It’s our philosophy from start to finish that the customer is our number one priority and that’s why we’ve been around for 30 years,” says Sabu Nath, CEO of Spandex House.
Mr. Nath has been the main driving force behind the success of Spandex House since its inception. Migrated from Bangladesh at the age of 27, Mr. Nath began his career in Textiles working for Gladstone Fabrics that specialized in Theatrical Fabric supply while working with some well-known Costume designers. It was there that Mr. Nath established many key contacts throughout his career.
“In 1989 Gladstone moved North and I began to work more closely in the costume, dance, and performance apparel trades,” Mr. Nath recalled. “I began this journey by working from home and delivering samples to clients while cultivating many long-term relationships,” he added. One noted and famous designer was Barbara Metera. “Barbara and I worked closely, which led me to many other notable designers like Michael Jon costumes, AnNA SUI, and Norma Kamali just to name a few,” recalled Mr. Nath. Ringling Bros Circus and Cirque du soleil were among the A-list of clients at Spandex House. As the company grew, its reach expanded to Canada, UK, Australia and throughout the Caribbean Islands.
“Our fabrics go into some of the everyday stuff you see from swimwear, costumes, bras, belts, gloves and hosiery -- you’ve probably run into spandex on a daily basis. Most of the clothes we wear contain some type of spandex, so there is always a demand for spandex and Spandex House will keep supplying it,” says Mr. Nath.
Mr. Nath knows the importance of Philanthropy and throughout his career has donated to the PBA and NYC Fire Department. Corporate social responsibility is vitally important to who we are as a company and we look to support local nonprofits like Groove With Me and others in the performance industry” says Mr. Nath.
Teetering on the brinks of uncertainty during the height of the pandemic, Mr. Nath quickly figured out how to scale back and tighten up the 35-staff operation to stay afloat. “Like a lot of businesses in NYC, Spandex House was forced to send all of its loyal and long-term employees home. Not knowing how long it would be, the company shut down for a few months; and although we continued with our online business, the wholesale and retail operations suddenly stopped,” Mr. Nath recalled. Fortunately, Spandex House was able to adjust and through the help of their loyal staff, slowly started back.
“Spandex House is resilient and today the company is almost back to full staff. We continue to streamline operations, negotiate with loyal suppliers and bring consistent product quality to our customers. We will make it through this and are thankful to our many loyal customers for their continued support,” says Mr. Nath.
Please visit their retail store online at www.spandexhouse.com.