Bonds (clothing)

Last updated

Pacific Brands Underwear Group
Type Subsidiary
Industry Clothing
Founded Sydney (1915;108 years ago (1915))
FounderGeorge Alan Bond
Headquarters
115 Cotham Rd, Kew, Melbourne
,
Products Underwear
Sleepwear
Light casual apparel
Parent Hanesbrands
Website www.bonds.com.au

Pacific Brands Underwear Group, known under its core brand Bonds, was an Australian manufacturer and is now a subsidiary of Hanesbrands. It is an importer of men's, women's and children's underwear and clothing. The head office is located at 115 Cotham Rd in Kew, Melbourne. They sell a range of clothing including underwear and sleepwear.

Contents

History

A Bonds Outlet store, 2022 StocklandRockhamptonInternal4.jpg
A Bonds Outlet store, 2022

George A. Bond & Co. Limited was established in 1915 by George Allan Bond, [1] an American who came to Australia in the early twentieth century. He started importing women's hosiery and gloves. In 1917 he began manufacturing hosiery in Redfern, Sydney. In 1918 he moved to Camperdown and began also making underwear. [2]

In 1923 Bond's company established a cotton-spinning mill at Wentworthville in western Sydney, with imported machinery costing 150 thousand pounds. [3] The mill commenced operations in October 1923. [4] This particular section of Wentworthville was soon renamed Pendle Hill in honour of his Scottish family origins. To facilitate easy access to Bond's Spinning Mills for employees, a railway station and eventually a whole new suburb were created. [2]

The company went into liquidation in 1929 and a public company, Bonds Industries Limited, was established. In 1970 the company merged with Coats Paton Pty Ltd. In 1987 the company was taken over by Pacific Dunlop, and it was then sold in 2001 to form a separate entity, Pacific Brands Holdings Pty Ltd. At that time also the spinning mill was closed. In 2004 Pacific Brands Limited was listed as a public company on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and the New Zealand Exchange (NZX). [2]

In 2006, Bonds manufactured 40% of its goods in Australia at three sites in New South Wales: Cessnock, Unanderra and Wentworthville.

Pacific Brands cut 1850 jobs and ceased manufacturing in Australia by September 2010 to reduce manufacturing costs. [5] After public outrage and media coverage of the sacked staff, a group of former employees banded together to form Tuffys & Tuffetts underwear, buying much of Bonds' old equipment and rehiring sacked staff. [6]

On 28 April 2016 Pacific Brands entered into an agreement with Hanesbrands for the acquisition of 100% of the company [7] and it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hanesbrands on 15 July 2016.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinning jenny</span> Multi-spool spinning frame

The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialisation of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 or 1765 by James Hargreaves in Stan hill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fruit of the Loom</span> American clothing manufacturer

Fruit of the Loom is an American company that manufactures clothing, particularly casual wear and underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since 2002, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

Gildan Activewear Inc. 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.

Berlei is a brand of women's lingerie and in particular bras and girdles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pendle Hill, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Pendle Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Pendle Hill is located 29 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Cumberland Council and City of Parramatta and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AWA Technology Services</span> Australian telecommunications manufacturer

AWA Technology Services, name based on former name Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd, is an Australian provider for technology related services. Throughout most of the 20th century AWA was Australia's largest and most prominent electronics organisation, undertaking development, manufacture and distribution of radio, telecommunications, television and audio equipment as well as broadcasting services.

John Smedley Ltd is an English luxury clothing brand specialising in knitwear like polo shirts and sweaters for men and women. The company applies a “Made in England” tag to every garment made. John Smedley has remained a family business since 1784, and is now managed by the 8th generation of the Smedley family. Historically, four generations of men named John Smedley owned Lea Mills, near Matlock, Derbyshire. The most famous of these was John Smedley (1803–1874), who is considered the namesake of the brand. The John Smedley company sells clothing in over 30 countries; its largest export market is Japan. In the UK, John Smedley has concessions in branches of Flannels and Fenwick.

<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.

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

Hanesbrands Inc. is an American multinational clothing company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It employs 65,300 people internationally. On September 6, 2006, the company and several brands were spun off by the Sara Lee Corporation.

Gazal Corporation Limited was a leading Australian branded clothing company and was a listed public company of the Australian Stock Exchange. The company was based in Banksmeadow in the Australian state of New South Wales. Its main business areas were men's, ladies' and children's clothing, and it and its subsidiaries are engaged in the design, manufacture, importation, wholesale and retail of clothing and accessories including business shirts, school wear, surf and casual wear, as well as intimate apparel. The company owned brands such as Mambo Graphics, Davenport and Bisley Workwear and imports brands such as Nautica, Calvin Klein Underwear and held the license for Oroton underwear. The Company had operations in Australasia and Europe. Mambo was sold to Saban Brands in 2015.

Brickworks is Australia's largest brick manufacturer, consisting of four divisions – Building Products Australia, Building Products North America, Industrial Property, and Investments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedar Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne</span>

Cedar Mill was a cotton spinning mill in the Hurst area of Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, in England. It was built between 1903 and 1905 for the Ashton Syndicate by Sydney Stott of Oldham. It was the last mill in Ashton spinning cotton. It ceased in 1980. It was demolished and the land was used for housing.

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.

Ansell is an Australian company which manufactures protective industrial equipment and medical gloves. It was originally known as a condom manufacturer but sold that division in 2017.

DBApparel, also known as DBA is a group of companies who manufacture well-known brands of clothing (lingerie), and is based in France.

Sunspel is a British luxury clothing brand, founded in England in 1860. The brand is best known for boxer shorts, T-shirts and polo shirts. It is based in Long Eaton, near Nottingham, where it has its own factory.

References

  1. Kaye, Byron (27 April 2016). "Australia's top underwear brand back in U.S. hands after $836 million buyout". Reuters. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bonds UK - About us". Bonds UK. Archived from the original on 24 October 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2006.
  3. Industrial Section, Daily Commercial News and Shipping List (Sydney), 24 October 1923, page 18.
  4. Cotton Spinning Mill!: Bond's Enterprise, Windsor and Richmond Gazette, 9 November 1923, page 6.
  5. Sharp, Ari; Zappone, Chris (25 February 2009). "Pacific Brands Exit Australia". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  6. "Bonds Staff resurrect Australian manufacturing". Daily Telegraph. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  7. "Pacific Brands Board unanimously recommends acquisition proposal from Hanes Brands" (PDF). Company Announcement. 28 April 2016.