The World's Plainest White T-Shirts Have Become Even Simpler
Hanes or Gildan? It’s one of the great debates in the never-ending quest for the perfect basic white tee.
As two of the foremost makers of affordable staples, Hanes and Gildan regularly get pitted against each other. Gildan is a staple that's been used as blank streetwear canvas since time immemorial, while Hanes has mastered the art of the tagless T-shirt. (Streetwear giant Supreme uses Hanes for its range of seasonless staples.)
But these two historic makers of modest everyday clothing are no longer rivals, meaning that it's never been easier to decide between the two. Yes, as of August 13, they've become one.
Gildan Activewear purchased HanesBrands, which includes Anvil, Gildan, and Gold Toe, for $2.2 billion. This puts HanesBrands' value at around $4.4 billion, including debt.
It’s a billion-dollar partnership of two historic specialists in simple staple clothing. And it could have some repercussions next time you go to Walmart for an everyday tee or need a cheap blank to print a graphic on.
“Leveraging best practices and the exceptional teams from each side, we are poised to deliver outstanding value to our customers and shareholders,” said Michael Kneeland, chair of the board of directors of Gildan, in a statement.
Glenn J. Chamandy, president and chief executive officer of Gildan, added, “Our state of the art low-cost vertically integrated platform will be utilized to enhance efficiencies and drive additional innovation.”
Read between the lines a little here, and it’s clear what’s happening. Two giants of production are pooling together resources to dominate the world of low-cost simple staples.
The fallout won't be immediate but the world of classic white tees will never be the same.
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