Hanesbrands will sell Champion to Authentic Brands for $1.2 billion US dollars upfront with an additional $300 million.
👉 Background: Champion started back in 1919 as Knickerbocker Knitting Mills. It was first acquired by Sara Lee in 1989 (yep, that Sara Lee), which then spun-off its apparel brands into a company called Hanesbrands in 2006.
👉 What happened: Now, Hanesbrands will sell Champion to Authentic Brands for $1.2 billion US dollars upfront with an additional $300 million if Champion hits certain performance thresholds.
👉 What else: Hanesbrands, who own Hanes, Wonderbra, Bonds and Berlei wants to focus on extending its innerwear category. But also, it knows how fickle the consumer apparel market can be.
💡In the fast-paced world of fashion, timing the market can define a company’s trajectory.
💡Champion knows all about falling out of favour. After huge popularity in the 80's, Champion fell into the ‘discount’ brand bucket. But over the past 5 years, Champion has seen a major turnaround - it leaned into Gen Z’s love for 90’s culture, created a partnership with Supreme and has seen celebs then like Hayley Bieber and Chance the Rapper wearing the brand.
💡Champion is currently on a high - it generated more than $2 billion USD in sales in 2023. But when you’ve got a good offer on the table for a consumer brand… you take it, cash it and run for the hills.
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