Regarding asking for some leads from your previous company I’d like to share my experience.
I went to Hugo Boss, the German company in Canada. Here in Canada its operation is handled by a different company.
Up on talking with the Manager in charge, I understood he has no knowledge beyond the products in Canada, i.e., the manufacturing process, the design process.
The moral of the story is even it sounds exactly the same company the chances are it has a complete different operation in Canada. So please keep your options open.
By the way, it is always helpful to get some practical market information from someone in your field. So get the best out of the opportunity.
Good Luck.
