PEDS Legwear

Last updated

PEDS Legwear, formerly known as Richelieu Legwear, is an international legwear company. It manufactures socks and hosiery. PEDS Legwear has offices in Montreal, Quebec; Hildebran, North Carolina; and Shanghai, China. [1]

Contents

History

The Simard family founded Richelieu Legwear in Sorel, Quebec in 1934. The family gained prominence in the region as shipbuilders and owners of Marine Industries Limited (M.I.L.). Richelieu grew to eventually employee over 600 people in Quebec at its peak in 2002. The Simards maintained ownership of Richelieu until 1997, when Harvey Penner a Montreal businessman who joined Richelieu in the 1960s as a sales manager bought out the Simards and became president of Richelieu Knitting. [2] He remained with the company until 2006 when he sold the Richelieu Hosiery division to his son, Michael D. Penner, who is currently president and CEO. [3]

The company suffered in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when unfavorable exchange rates, competition from China and other lower costs countries impacted the Canadian manufacturing industry. Like many other Canadian textile companies, Richelieu moved production off-shore or risk going bankrupt. [4]

In 2011, PEDS Legwear invested $7 million to buy the assets of International Legwear Group (ILG), a failing sock company based in Burke County (Hildebran), North Carolina. The assets included the PEDS and MediPEDS brands In 2014, Richelieu Legwear changed its name to PEDS Legwear to better reflect its new main brand. [5]

In 2007, Deloitte named Richelieu Hosiery as one of Canada's 50 best managed companies. [6] In 2013, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Grant Thornton LLP named Richelieu Legwear as a finalist for the 2013 Private Business Growth Award. [7]

In 2014, Peds announced it was investing $16 million and hiring 200 workers at its Hildebran location over a five-year period after a multi-year commitment from Walmart. [8]

In June 2016, the Governor's Office and the North Carolina Department of Commerce announced the award of a $500,000 building reuse grant to Peds so it could expand the Hildebran location with the promise of adding 50 new jobs. Burke County and the town of Hildebran approved a 5 percent match to the state grant. [9]

In 2016, Gildan Activewear announced its $55 million purchase of PEDS. [10]

In 2018, Gildan Activewear Inc. announced its plans to close the operation in Hildebran and lay off all of its manufacturing and distribution workers. [11]

US investment

With its investment in ILG, PEDS Legwear became part of the rebirth of the American manufacturing sector, which had sustained severe losses during the Great Recession, particularly in the textile industry. [4] On March 11, 2015, the company opened a new $16 million manufacturing facility in Hildebran that is projected to create more than 205 jobs by 2018. [12] This investment was part of the SelectUSA program of the US Department of Commerce. As a result, PEDS has been cited as an example of how foreign investment can save and create American manufacturing jobs. [13] Penner was invited by President Barack Obama to talk about the company's investment at a roundtable meeting. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu</span> City in Quebec, Canada

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Canadian province of Quebec, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of Montreal, located roughly halfway between Montreal and the Canada–United States border with the state of Vermont. It is situated on both the west and east banks of the Richelieu River at the northernmost navigable point of Lake Champlain. As of December 2019, the population of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu was 98,036.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Quebec</span>

The economy of Quebec is diversified and post-industrial with an average potential for growth. It is highly integrated with the economies of the rest of Canada and the United States. Manufacturing and service sectors dominate the economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada Steamship Lines</span> Shipping company

Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) is a shipping company with headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The business has been operating for well over a century and a half.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sorel-Tracy</span> City in Quebec, Canada

Sorel-Tracy is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada and the geographical end point of the Champlain Valley. It is located at the confluence of the Richelieu River and the St. Lawrence River, on the western edge of Lac Saint-Pierre, downstream and northeast of Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 35,165. Its mayor is Patrick Péloquin and it is the seat of the Pierre-De Saurel Regional County Municipality and the judicial district of Richelieu.

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 including Gold Toe Brands, PowerSox, SilverToe, Auro, All Pro, and the Gildan brand. The company also manufactures and distributes Under Armour and New Balance brand socks. The company has approximately 44,000 employees worldwide, and owns and operates manufacturing facilities in Rio Nance, Honduras and the Caribbean.

Marine Industries Limited (MIL) was a Canadian ship building, hydro-electric and rail car manufacturing company, in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, with a shipyard located on the Richelieu river about 1 km from the St. Lawrence River. It employed up to 8,500 people during the World War II support effort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanes</span> American clothing brand

Hanes and Hanes Her Way is a brand of clothing.

Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals. It was established in 1794 and became the world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 into Courtaulds plc and Courtaulds Textiles Ltd.

Sylvain Simard is a politician and academic based in the Canadian province of Quebec. He represented Richelieu in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2012, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry. Simard is a member of the Parti Québécois (PQ).

Hanes Australasia, formerly Pacific Brands, is an Australian consumer products company. It is a business unit of the American company Hanesbrands.

Pharmascience Inc. is a Quebec-based pharmaceutical company founded by pharmacists Morris Goodman and Ted Wise in 1983. Pharmascience Inc. is headquartered in Montreal and distributes its products to more than 50 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Montreal</span>

Montreal's economy is the second largest of all cities in Canada and the first in Quebec. Montreal is a centre of commerce, industry, technology, culture, finance, and world affairs. In 2022, Metropolitan Montreal was responsible for $233 Billion CDN of Quebec's $425 Billion CDN GDP, with a population of 4.37 million people. Montreal's economy, therefore, comprises approximately 54.8% of Quebec's overall GDP.

Kayser-Roth Corporation is an underwear and hosiery manufacturer based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The company currently markets three owned brands in North America: No Nonsense, Hue, and Burlington.

NILIT Ltd. is a privately owned, international manufacturer of nylon 6.6 (polyamide) fibers headquartered in Migdal HaEmek, Israel. NILIT specializes in the polymerization, spinning and texturing of nylon 6.6 yarns for textile applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquid Nutrition</span>

Liquid Nutrition is a Canadian company that provides functional beverages, such as meal replacement supplements, sport drinks, as well as fruit and vegetable based juices and smoothies, through franchised stores and authorized third parties in Canada and other countries. The company was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange between March 31, 2010 and September 21, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Maine & Quebec Railway</span> Freight railroad operating in Canada and the USA

The Central Maine and Québec Railway was a Class II freight railroad operating in the U.S. states of Maine and Vermont and the Canadian province of Quebec with headquarters in Bangor, Maine. It was owned by Railroad Acquisition Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group, LLC. It is now a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway since June 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alain Simard (businessman)</span>

Alain Simard is a Canadian founder, producer, and manager of music festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael D. Penner</span> Canadian lawyer

Michael D. Penner is a Canadian lawyer, businessman and chairman of the board. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he served as chairman of the board of Hydro-Québec from 2014 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richelieu Hardware</span> Montreal-based manufacturers/distribution

Richelieu Hardware is a Canadian specialty hardware distribution and manufacturing company based in Montreal, Quebec. It has two manufacturing plants and 104 distribution centres in Canada and the United States, and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altitude Sports</span> Canadian e-commerce clothing company

Altitude Sports is an outdoor e-commerce clothing company that sells and manufactures a wide range of sports outerwear, outdoor equipment and urban wear, focusing on travel, hiking, and camping. The company was founded in 1984 and its headquarters is located in Montreal, Canada.

References

  1. ↑ Arnold, Janice, "Hydro-Québec gets its first Jewish chair", The Canadian Jewish News (Montreal), October 20, 2014, Retrieved April 22, 2015, http://www.cjnews.com/canada/hydro-québec-gets-its-first-jewish-chair
  2. ↑ Dougherty, Sarah, "Grabbing a toehold in hosiery market", The Montreal Gazette, December 24, 2007, Retrieved April 22, 2015, Archived in 2016 from http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=ec68ef8a-fe79-4d2a-8404-8bbd09629488
  3. 1 2 Ligaya, Armina, How the CEO of Montreal sock maker Richelieu Group got to meet Barack Obama, The Financial Post (Toronto), May 20, 2014, Retrieved April 22, 2015,
  4. 1 2 Carmichael, Kevin, An American revival: A Canadian manufacturer’s quest to rebuild itself, The Globe and Mail (Toronto), July 5, 2014, Retrieved April 22, 2015,
  5. ↑ Staff Reports, "Company changes name, starts production", The Morganton News Herald, December 4, 2014, Retrieved April 22, 2015, http://www.morganton.com/news/company-changes-name-starts-production/article_66877284-7c0e-11e4-aa9c-eb578acb68d0.html
  6. ↑ Deloitte Web Site. Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies 2007, Retrieved June 1, 2007, https://www.bestmanagedcompanies.ca/en/meetourwinners/Pages/2007winners.aspx Archived 2015-04-05 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Grant Thornton Press Release, "Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Grant Thornton LLP Announce 2013 Private Business Growth Award Finalists", November 6, 2013, Retrieved April 22, 2015, http://www.grantthornton.ca/press_room/press_releases/2013/11/107_1311061159-718 Archived 2016-04-27 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "Gildan to close its Hildebran facility". 10 July 2018.
  9. ↑ "Gildan to close its Hildebran facility". 10 July 2018.
  10. ↑ Delean, Paul (July 27, 2016). "Gildan snaps up Peds Legwear". Montreal Gazette . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Gildan to close its Hildebran facility". 10 July 2018.
  12. ↑ Matsumoto, Evan, "PEDS Legwear: Ribbon cut for new facility", The Morganton News Herald, March 11, 2015, Retrieved April 22, 2015, http://www.morganton.com/news/peds-legwear-ribbon-cut-for-new-facility/article_ad3f7adc-c835-11e4-8448-db16a9755c34.html
  13. ↑ Remarks by the President at SelectUSA Investment Summit, March 23, 2015, Gaylord National Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland, Retrieved April 22, 2015, "Obama at SelectUSA Investment Summit | London, UK - Embassy of the United States". Archived from the original on 2015-09-02. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.