The KAMA name originated as the abbreviation of KAteřina and MAhulena, the two founders.
It all started with Mahulena, who was burning the midnight oil making winter hats on a knitting machine at home, selling them on young artists' markets.
It all started with Mahulena, who was burning the midnight oil making winter hats on a knitting machine at home, selling them on young artists' markets.
Mahulena's husband Jiří was a musician in the 1980s and 90s. His longest cooperation was with Karel Černoch, a prominent Czech pop-rock singer, who designed KAMA's first logo. At that time, we had our trademark registered and established a limited liability company.
KAMA took part in the very first edition of the largest sports fair, Sport Prague. The organisers couldn't help warning us that it was a serious fair and if we wanted to just sell stuff on a Saturday market, we would be better off elsewhere.
Having opened a small knitting factory and shop, we celebrated in a nearby wine bar in the Letná district with our singer friends, Karel Černoch and Hana Křížková.
We rented a space in a residential building in the Letná district, formerly occupied by a carpentry workshop, swept up wood shavings, knocked a hole in the wall and, with the help of a professional heavy-lifting company, installed a three-ton knitting machine – CMS 430. Seeing it hanging on the crane's rusty chains, our stomachs tumbled, because we took out an enormous loan to be able to buy the machine.
Home knitting machines were no longer making us competitive in terms of quality and volume. We also wanted to start exporting, which is why we acquired the best technology there was – STOLL.
In our desire to produce the best quality knitwear, we started cooperating with the Austrian yarn supplier Schoeller AG. Our partnership still continues.
The GORE company saw KAMA as a perspective partner and granted us a licence for processing their renowned membranes for sports clothing. KAMA acquired the FASHION & FUNCTION label and businesses from abroad started to show interest. We have been cooperating with GORE to this day.s.
The company had grown out of its space. We took up the offer to rent a former fire station in the village of Panenské Břežany, where we set up a small factory and a remote worksite.
It is the dawn of the Internet. Never had we imagined what would happen in e-commerce when we launched our first static web page www.kama.cz on 1 December 1998, just after 10 pm.
Doing business can get stressful at times. We at Kama are fans of animals and nature and believe that a dog is the perfect stress reliever. MAX the First was everybody's darling.
We spent the first few years building partnerships with international distributors. Only after that we invested into ISPO, our first international fair. Since then, we have been regular participants.
Following years of renting all kinds of non-residential properties (in Vinařská street, for example, we stored yarn in a former bomb shelter), KAMA built its own premises in the Suchdol district of Prague. Finally, everything was under one roof: material and product storage, the knitting factory, sewing workshop, our dedicated KAMA shop and offices.
Although we liked our old jagged logo and our customers got used to it, the time had come to redesign it. The Najbrt studio came up with an ingenious solution in the form of a star/snowflake which looks like the letter K.
KAMA has always been a sports fan. It was with great pride that we produced around 400 sweater and hat combos for the Czech olympic team taking part in the Torino 2006 olympics.
Not all business founders from the 1990s can experience the joy of passing the company on to the next generation in the family. We can.
As a producer, we prioritize wholesale and export to distributors abroad. Some of our retail partners did not survive the 2008 economic crisis, but as the demand for KAMA products did not waver, we opened our dedicated brick-and-mortar shop as well as an online shop.
With Adam joining in, the whole family now works in the company's management. Lean years having kicked in and it having become difficult to compete with brands which produce goods cheaply in Asia, we must roll up our sleeves and work hard. Family support and solidarity are our advantage.
The expert jury of the Czech Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Crafts awards our long-term stable position on the market, constant development, economic results and other parameters, such as transparency and ecological, economical and social sustainability.
We never stop evolving. Our original knitting machines are still in operation, but regular technological upgrades are necessary.
The compact machine can manufacture not only hats, scarves and headbands, but also gloves, socks, ties, neck guards and other small items.
In 2018 we dedicated the building of a sophisticated E-Commerce solution in cooperation with the Company Giant Interactive s.r.o. The project immediately won II. Place in the prestigious competition WebTop 100 2018. We also received the "Award for outstanding contribution to the region" from the Association of Small and Medium-sized Tradesman and the main prize in the category "Best Board 2017" organized by the Czech Institute of Directors.
In 2019 and 2020, we took a major step in the history of Kama. We have reconstructed and significantly expanded our production area and the company´s headquarters in Prague 6. We have now a modern energy-saving complex worthy of a 21st century society on the way to economic, social, and environmental sustainability.
The founder of KAMA, Mrs. Mahulena Pertlová, was awarded the Order of Vavřín 2021 by the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic . This is an honorable and prestigious award expressing respect and recognition for important personalities and business entities.
The Order of the Laurel takes into account lifetime achievement, social impact, international or other outreach. It is awarded to personalities who represent and significantly support the Czech Republic, as well as to those who create timeless values and whose work and actions leave a lasting mark on society.
The emphasis on sustainability is becoming more and more important for brands. At Kama, a responsible approach to business with all the attributes of sustainability has always felt natural to us. We have always behaved accordingly and are building the brand. This is most likely why, as part of the SME EnterPRIZE international competition for 2022, the jury ranked us among the TOP 10 sustainable companies in the Czech Republic.
The use of clean energy from the newly installed solar power plant on the roof of our production facility in Prague's Suchdol is another Kama investment in sustainability. Times demand the maximization of energy savings, which is why, with the use of financial support from the EU, we are also starting to save thanks to photovoltaics.