The tale of JM began as a family business in Montreal 30 years ago, when Alphonse Battah and his two sons, Robert and Allan, started a modest undergarment company. Noticing an opening in the marketplace, they began to focus on producing and designing an assortment of body fashions for men that would be both stylish and provide the best possible comfort and fit. "Up until 15 years ago, men had very little choice when it came to underwear, and frankly, they didn't expect much. That's all changed now", says Robert Battah, President of JM Intimode.

JM took the scene by storm with its brave design vision and aggressive marketing campaign, and today has progressed into one of the world's foremost brands of men's underwear offering an extensive array of body shapes and fits. Yet despite all the unbelievable growth, success and respect that JM has rightfully earned in the past decade, it is still every bit the family business it has been since square one. JM’s emphasis on building and maintaining strong relationships with customers and employees still remains intact after so many years. "Our principal designer, who has created every single one of our collections, has been working with us for over 20 years", says Robert Battah. "We value that kind of loyalty, and it's the same kind of loyalty that we give back to our customers. From the very beginning, we have been committed to offering our customers the best quality, and the perfect fit and comfort. All at the best price possible."

From its headquarters in Canada, JM creates and markets nine underwear collections, and each of its lines has enjoyed critical and consumer success throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada. The Bambou, Athletix, Basix, Koton, Koton Plus, Skinz, Natura, Silver and Action lines have each maintained a solid foothold in the ever-evolving underwear industry. "Our customers like the fact that we manufacture our collections exclusively in Canada. We made the decision not to set up shop in China where production and labour costs are obviously cheaper. Controlling and maintaining a high level of quality was important to us. And from what our customers tell us, it's important to them too. Whether a customer purchases JM in Berlin or Boston, the quality is exactly the same. The garments are identical. You can't say that about too many other underwear manufacturers", says Mr. Battah. "I believe that's why our customers stay with us because they know the quality is there. The styling, fit and price can't be beat. And we're proud of that."

One of JM most recent underwear collections, Bambou, has quickly become a top-seller. "Everything starts with the fabric. The stretch, the fiber, the texture, colour and softness. These are the things that inspire me to create a new line," explains Denis Cossette, Head Designer at JM. "I travel to France, Germany and England twice a year to see the latest trends and then translate them into new designs for our customers." Under their designer's creative eye, JM spread out into the swimwear business with a very alluring collection called "Waves", and last year he was a key figure in launching the company's new loungewear line, offering customers the easy-wear attitude of yoga and exercise clothing with a tasteful, contemporary and masculine angle. Over the course of the past year, one of JM's primary objectives was to re-design its packaging. "We had two things in mind: we wanted to create a consistent brand look across all of our collections, and, in conversations with our retailers, we wanted to create a package that would be easier to display". "We've achieved that with striking black and white lifestyle photography that puts the sexy side of JM up front. The package itself is longer and leaner making for a cleaner, more compact in-store presentation."

"Another thing we're very proud of at JM is our annual advertising campaigns. Each year, we re-invent ourselves---looking at new ways to promote our collections---and we reflect these new ideas and directions in our billboards, busboards, and magazines right across North America and overseas", Battah says.

Since its inception 30 years ago, the JM brand is now available across Canada, the U.S., Europe, Mexico and Asia. "We've grown and we've garnered a lot of attention but at the end of the day we're still a family-run business."