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Gildan

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Gildan Activewear Inc.
Company typePublic company
TSX: GIL
NYSE: GIL
S&P/TSX 60 component
IndustryTextile, clothing
Founded1984
FounderGlenn Chamandy, Greg Chamandy
Headquarters
KPMG Tower, Montreal, Quebec
,
Canada
Key people
Vince Tyra (CEO), Rhodri J. Harries (CFO)
RevenueIncrease US$ 4.234 billion (FY 2022)[1]
Increase US$ 1.259 billion (FY 2022)[1]
Decrease US$ 705 million (FY 2022)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$ 4.713 billion (FY 2022)[1]
Total equityIncrease US$ 2.55 billion (FY 2022)[1]
Number of employees
44,000 (2020)[1]
SubsidiariesAmerican Apparel (online retailer)
Websitegildan.com

Gildan Activewear Inc. (/ˈɡɪldən/) is a Canadian manufacturer of branded clothing, including undecorated blank activewear such as t-shirts, sport shirts and fleeces, which are subsequently decorated by screen printing companies with designs and logos. The company also supplies branded and private label athletic, casual, and dress socks to retail companies in the United States[2] including Gold Toe Brands, PowerSox, SilverToe, Auro, All Pro, and the Gildan brand.[3] The company also manufactures and distributes Under Armour and New Balance brand socks.[4] The company has approximately 44,000 employees worldwide,[1] and owns and operates manufacturing facilities in Rio Nance, Honduras[5] and the Caribbean.

Glenn and Greg Chamandy founded Gildan in 1984 with the acquisition of a knitting mill in Montreal, Quebec, Canada,[6] to make fabric to supply Harley Inc., the childrenswear business already owned by the family. It later expanded to sell t-shirts made of 100% cotton to wholesalers, which resold them to United States and Canadian screen-printers, to be decorated with designs and logos. By 1994, Harley was closed in order to focus on the expansion of what had become Gildan Activewear.[7]

Gildan has factories in low-wage countries like Honduras and Haiti, which has allowed Gildan to lower its price per shirt to below that of Chinese manufacturers as of 2006.[8]

Growth and acquisitions

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Gildan opened its first offshore sewing facility in Honduras, in 1997. The plant was vertically integrated and employed 1,200 workers. A year later, the company achieved an initial public offering and was listed publicly on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE MKT.[9]

By 2001, Gildan was the leading distributor of 100% cotton T-shirts in the US as determined by the ACNielsen S.T.A.R.S. Report.[citation needed] The next year, the company opened a knitting, bleaching, dyeing, finishing, and cutting facility in Rio Nance, Honduras.[9]

In 2010, the company invested $15m in Shahriyar Fabric Industries Limited in Bangladesh to support planned growth in Asia and Europe.[10]

Gildan Activewear shirts with Wikia logo

In May 2012, Gildan again expanded with its purchase of 130-year old apparel maker Anvil Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Anvil Knitwear and producer of environmentally-friendly lines of sustainable, recycled, and organic apparel.[11]

In 2014, Gildan Activewear acquired Doris Hosiery for CA$110 million.[12]

In February 2015, Gildan announced its intent to purchase the Comfort Colors brand and assets, for a total purchase price of approximately US$100 million. Comfort Colors is the leading supplier of garment-dyed undecorated basic T-shirts and sweatshirts for the North American printwear market.[13]

In 2016, Gildan Activewear announced its $55 million purchase of PEDS Legwear.[14]

In 2017, Canadian company Gildan Activewear acquired American clothing company American Apparel for $88 million.[15]

In 2021, Gildan acquired 100 percent of the equity interests of Phoenix Sanford, LLC.[16]

On 11 December 2023, Glenn J. Chamandy left his position as president and chief executive officer and director of the company. Vince Tyra was appointed president and CEO effective 12 February 2024, with Craig A. Leavitt assuming the position of president and Chief executive officer during the interim period.[17]

On 19 March 2024, Gildan announced its intention to sell the company after a special committee review and amid a battle between its top stockholders, following the dismissal and proposed reinstatement of co-founder Glenn Chamandy as CEO.[18]

Advertising and sponsorships

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Gildan bought a 30-second spot to air an advertisement during the third quarter of the 2013 Super Bowl. The ad was part of an overall $25 million marketing push created by DeVito/Verdi, which included broadcast, print, digital, event marketing, and public relations. Gildan started speaking to the media about its Super Bowl ad in early December 2012.[19]

The company also sponsored the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, which was played 15 December 2012, in Albuquerque.[20]

In a 2017 commercial, Gildan depicted older men in (sometimes ill-fitting) white briefs and urged younger men not to wear their fathers' underwear.[21] Blake Shelton was a spokesperson for the company.[22]

Allegations of labor rights violations

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Genesis, S.A. is a Haitian factory manufacturing T-shirts whose main customer is Gildan Activewear. It has been accused as the most serious offender in a campaign of retaliatory dismissals, targeted at the leaders of a new labor rights and union organizing effort in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.[23][24]

According to Workers Rights Consortium, https://www.workersrights.org/communications-to-affiliates/wrc-update-workers-reinstated-at-genesis-s-a-haiti/, dated January 11, 2012: "Gildan ultimately intervened aggressively at Genesis and, to Gildan’s credit, played a pivotal role in achieving reinstatement. Hanesbrands played a similar role at Multiwear."

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Gildan 2022 Annual Report to Shareholders". Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  2. ^ "How to coax profit from the market's 'Great Rotation'". Market Watch. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  3. ^ "Leading Apparel Manufacturer Turns To DeVito/Verdi To Develop Retail Brand And Refresh Iconic Gold Toe Brand". Free Online Library.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ 2011 Annual Report
  5. ^ "Gildan Will Build New Textile Plant at Rio Nance".
  6. ^ "Gildan Activewear Inc". 10 August 2023.
  7. ^ "HSBC Global Connections – Helping businesses grow internationally". Bwob.ca. Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Beat China On Cost: Gildan taps other labour pool and trade pacts". 9 January 2006. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Story of Gildan Challenging China". www.mkma.org. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  10. ^ "CANADA: Gildan invests $15m in Bangladesh factory". just-style.com. 31 March 2010. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  11. ^ Dunn, Brian (3 May 2012). "Gildan Activewear to Purchase Anvil Holdings for $88 Million". WWD. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Gildan buying hosiery company Doris for $110-million". The Globe and Mail. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Gildan Activewear Announces Agreement to Acquire Comfort Colors for $100 Million". Marketwired (Press release). 4 February 2015.
  14. ^ Delean, Paul (27 July 2016). "Gildan snaps up Peds Legwear". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  15. ^ "Gildan wins auction for American Apparel, pays $88M for the brand — but not the stores". CBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  16. ^ Ryan, Thomas. "The 2021 Year In Review: M&A Accelerates Across Active Lifestyle Market". SGB Media.
  17. ^ "Gildan Activewear Announces Leadership Changes - Vince Tyra Appointed as President and CEO; Glenn Chamandy Leaving". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Canadian apparel maker Gildan Activewear is up for sale". CBC. 19 March 2024. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Early Kickoff for Marketers at Super Bowl". The New York Times. 12 December 2012.
  20. ^ http://www.gildannewmexicobowl.com,ESPN[permanent dead link‍]
  21. ^ "OKRP, Gildan Advise Millennials, 'Don't Wear Your Dad's Underwear'". adweek.it. 24 April 2017.
  22. ^ Reuter, Annie (6 June 2016). "Blake Shelton Is Officially an Underwear Model". Taste of Country.
  23. ^ "WRC Factory Investigation Genesis, S.A." Workers Rights Consortium. 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  24. ^ "Preliminary Report on Unlawful Dismissals at Genesis, S.A. (Haiti)", 11 October 2011.
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