Aero Leather Clothing trial update

[Blackadder]

Having read some of the posts, I think there are those who look strictly at the criminal case which involves stolen jackets, jeans etc from an established company by an individual while there are those who took the view that Aero not only suffered the loss of the physical properties but also the possible loss of confidential information, trade secrets, many skilled employees (not just intellectual properties) to a newcomer because of that same individual. Those could well be subject of a civil suit where remedy could be injunction against all former employees, the newcomer and not just that individual.

 

[Sloan1874]

*touches nose and points at Blackadder*

 

[pawineguy]

Having read some of the posts, I think there are those who look strictly at the criminal case which involves stolen jackets, jeans etc from an established company by an individual while there are those who took the view that Aero not only suffered the loss of the physical properties but also the possible loss of confidential information, trade secrets, many skilled employees (not just intellectual properties) to a newcomer because of that same individual. Those could well be subject of a civil suit where remedy could be injunction against all former employees, the newcomer and not just that individual.

Exactly!

 

[wdw]

So when's your report coming, Sloan?

At least when it's up there, those who don't want to know can avoid it and also any comments thread.

 

[Sloan1874]

This evening, come hell or high water.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Having read some of the posts, I think there are those who look strictly at the criminal case which involves stolen jackets, jeans etc from an established company by an individual while there are those who took the view that Aero not only suffered the loss of the physical properties but also the possible loss of confidential information, trade secrets, many skilled employees (not just intellectual properties) to a newcomer because of that same individual. Those could well be subject of a civil suit where remedy could be injunction against all former employees, the newcomer and not just that individual.

Of course. It's the betrayal that began as soon as Ken Calder retired. I'm sure he felt that everything was set up for the company to survive and run smoothly even with his departure since he had confidence in whom he had personally helped along the way and left in charge. Several years later, when curiously surprising events happened on several fronts seemingly all at once, a little detective work revealed a mess of mismanagement and wheeling & dealing with personal benefits in mind rather than Aero stability. Actually seemed like a plan with prospects of moving on when things had to eventually come to a head. Aero's US Rep's downfall brought about the rest of the story with an internal investigation. After that deliberate mess was discovered..then came more sacrifice of attempting to repair the situation as quickly as possibly while staying afloat. Luckily..Aero not only accomplished that..but expanded their jacket line while training new personnel and then even cutting down another problem of long wait times. It does seem that Aero is now flourishing...in spite of it all. However...if the Calders hadn't stepped back in, it sure seems like Aero would have been one jacket company that was doomed to go under...needlessly.

 

[garzo]

Having read some of the posts, I think there are those who look strictly at the criminal case which involves stolen jackets, jeans etc from an established company by an individual while there are those who took the view that Aero not only suffered the loss of the physical properties but also the possible loss of confidential information, trade secrets, many skilled employees (not just intellectual properties) to a newcomer because of that same individual. Those could well be subject of a civil suit where remedy could be injunction against all former employees, the newcomer and not just that individual.

Seeing as how we're talking about leather jacket making and not the manufacture of jet fighters, I think it would be difficult to demonstrate the loss or theft of confidential information and trade secrets, particularly since Aero's jackets were not exactly original creations but rather copies, or reproductions, of mostly well known and well documented classic U.S. military, motorcycle and utility jackets that are to a very large extent part of the public record.

 

[Smithy]

Haven't been round here much of late but very pleased that this is coming to an end and that the facts are coming out. I've always tried to be bipartisan in the jacket maker wars and not judge anyone in these matters before the facts come to light. I was planning a jacket through AL in late 2013 and had been emailing back and forth with Amanda a few times until I heard that WL had been arrested and that made me put the project on ice. Glad I did.

I too am interested in the nitty-gritties of the case and look forward to the indepth coverage Sloan.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

True....
..but it's obvious that mostly all of AL designs and models almost mirror Aero's compared to other top leather jacket companies whom most usually wouldn't be mistaken for an Aero jacket.

 

[pawineguy]

****** Sloan, ending your first post on that line was just cruel (brilliant).

 

[Sloan1874]

Think 'Serial'...

 

[Monitor]

Wow, that's some intense stuff!

Okay, could anyone please tell me in short, as this all happened before I joined TFL and I never quite managed to put the whole story together; what exactly happened with Aero USA and Mark Moye?

 

[Sloan1874]

Basically, he was accepting money for jackets, spending it without ordering the jackets, and waiting until more orders came in and then using that money to pay for the previous round of jackets. This is known as a Ponzi scheme - it exists in many forms - but it relies on a constant source of money coming in to keep the scheme going. The moment something disrupts this cash, the whole scam collapses.

 

[Monitor]

True....
..but it's obvious that mostly all of AL designs and models almost mirror Aero's compared to other top leather jacket companies whom most usually wouldn't be mistaken for an Aero jacket.

Exactly. I can't speak about Aero's military repros, but you don't have to do a whole lot comparing and research to see that every piece in, say, Aero's MC line, while clearly inspired by vintage jackets, is still in many aspects original product Aero has put a lot of thought and effort into. Aero Cafe Racer, for example, is not a direct copy of any vintage or contemporary CR jacket and is unique in this manner exclusively to Aero. On the other hand, put AL Cafe Racer next to Aero CR, remove the label and I'm not sure even Ken would be able to tell which company made which.

I mean, why of all the styles in the whole wide world does AL has 'Roadster', which is virtually identical to Aero's flag-ship Highwayman, as the first thing you see when you hit their webpage?

 

[tnjyoung]

Great stuff Sloan. Thank you. I'll be busy reading all weekend.

 

[Blackadder]

Seeing as how we're talking about leather jacket making and not the manufacture of jet fighters, I think it would be difficult to demonstrate the loss or theft of confidential information and trade secrets, particularly since Aero's jackets were not exactly original creations but rather copies, or reproductions, of mostly well known and well documented classic U.S. military, motorcycle and utility jackets that are to a very large extent part of the public record.

Actually trade secrets and confidential information are not just technologies, intellectual properties but technical know-how and in a lot of cases, list of suppliers, customers contact information, material costs (e.g. Horween's price list) etc acquired during his employment by the company.

 

[eggleman]

quick search of the web shows that a number of sites that previously carried AL jackets
have suddenly removed all mention of AL products from their stores .. wonder why ?

 

[devilish]

It seems to me that WL was in over his head at first and then at some point was either contacted by or contacted Sandy Alexander about buying Aero. At which point a plan to devalue the company was thought up. Thereby making the Caulders more willing to sell and at a drastically reduced cost. Not saying that SA was aware of it or not. I would hope not.

Honestly, the more information that comes the more I really think that WL was not equipped to deal with this business and did not have the strength of character to admit this to KC or himself. This then spiralled downward into disaster. I wonder if he thought that some of these actions would 'set things right' and he'd be back on track and they just snowballed or if at some point he decided to just take care of #1 and grab what he could before it all came crashing down.

I also wonder if the stolen jackets were to be used for copying for AL to then churn out? Or if he just intended to slowly sell things of item by item when no one was watching?

 

[pawineguy]

Exactly. I can't speak about Aero's military repros, but you don't have to do a lot of comparing and research to see that every piece in, say, Aero's MC line, while clearly inspired by vintage jackets, is still in this manner unique exclusively to Aero. Aero Cafe Racer, for example, is not a direct copy of any vintage CR jacket. On the other hand, put AL Cafe Racer next to Aero CR, remove the label and I'm sure not even Ken would be able to tell which company made which.

I mean, why of all the styles in the whole wide world does AL have 'Roadster', which is virtually identical to Aero's flag-ship Highwayman, as the first thing you see when you hit their webpage?

Yes, and just think about all of that pattern work. Or NOT having to do all that pattern work.

 

[winterland1]

quick search of the web shows that a number of sites that previously carried AL jackets
have suddenly removed all mention of AL products from their stores .. wonder why ?

Curious. What stores?