Underwear Maker Hanes Tries On Fashion
Hanesbrands, Inc. is trying its hand at fashion through a new graphic T-shirt division. The new company will be called Hanes Ink. Hanes is betting it can use its size and scale to make decorated tees faster and cheaper than competitors.
“The potential is sizeable. T-shirt consumption has risen sharply, to more than 10 per person last year from around four in 1990, according to Hanesbrand data from market-research firm NPD Group and the Census Bureau. Americans bought 3.2 billion T-shirts in the 12 months ended in May, up 4.1% from a year earlier.”
In 2006, Hanes consolidated a lot of its production to factories in China, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador and has “substantially increased capacity, meaning Hanes could make more shirts at a cheaper price. For years, the company has been selling small batches of its plain T-shirts to graphic designers or screen printers who would decorate them and then sell them to retailers at a markup. Hanes thought it could eliminate the middleman” says Jim Phelan, vice president of Hanes Ink.
Hanes has already produced fashion tees for Walt Disney Co., Wal-Mart , Macy's, Kohl's and arget.
The questions I have after reading this article are:
- How soon before Hanes Ink applies for its first college license?
- If they go after the college business, will they be able to offer a lower price at the same minimums as many of the current suppliers in our industry (“eliminating the middleman”)?
Post Written By Marty Duncan, ICBA Program Manager
graphic tees has always been one of my favorites, i do have plenty of them in my wardrobe. Still searching some good and new designs.
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