The Face of the Factory

MADE IN THE USA | BRANDING
The Face of the Factory
Textile Suppliers Are Finding Success Launching Their Own Labels.
one would look at us because
they had no idea who Indera was.
Now sales are soaring and we’re
looking to kick things up a notch,”
says Peggy Denomme, VP sales/
marketing, who helped usher in
the ColdPruf label for Indera.
Nester Hosiery and Longworth
Industries are two other examples
of mills expanding business with
in-house branded products. Execs
agree that the marketplace is
ripe for innovation and domestic
resources.
elling thermal
underwear,
socks and
t-shirts is
nothing new
for mills; these
businesses
have been
supplying the military and
mainstream markets for decades.
But now, mills are making a name
for themselves with their own
branded product lines.
Traditionally, mills have been a
behind-the-scenes type business.
While recognized for textile
talent, development experience
and manufacturing, mills mostly
left the front lines of selling to
apparel and hosiery brands.
While this approach continues,
mills are also creating new roles
and relationships in the industry,
building on the foundation of
conventional mill operations.
A changing marketplace,
especially in the active/outdoor
arena, is contributing to this trend.
For example, supply chain issues
are increasingly in the spotlight
advancing awareness and interest
in locally made goods. At the
same time, mills are evolving to
stay relevant to the needs of their
customers, whether that is brick
and mortar stores or online retail.
Another contributing factor is a
S
22 • Textile Insight ~ March/April 2014
new generation of mill execs who
bring a fresh outlook on branding
and marketing to the business.
North Carolina mills serve
as a prime example of what is
happening on a national scale.
Interviews with four businesses
in the Tar Heel state illustrate
how mills are transitioning and
succeeding with in-house brands.
“10 years ago, Coville was
a converter and owned no
manufacturing assets. Today
we are a complete supply chain
organization. We buy yarn on one
end and sell to the consumer on
the other,” says Kevin Williams,
VP business development for
Coville. The company has three
branded labels: Rockface, Junction
Threadworks and Slix.
Indera Mills has also evolved
through branding. “At first no
Nester Hosiery: An example of a mill
expanding its business with in-house
branded products.
A Matter of Trends & Timing
For Nester Hosiery the launch
of Farm to Feet socks occurred
organically. Explains president
Kelly Nester, “Back in late 2010 as
a leading global sock manufacturer
observing an emerging trend of
supply chain transparency we
initiated a small effort to tell our
manufacturing story.”
The Mt. Airy, NC business
began to invest in high quality
photography of the team and
the processes to support all of
their customers. “The pictures
immediately told the story so the
idea for a 100 percent American
brand of performance socks just
sprang up,” explains Nester. “We
knew the concept was special so
we then spent the next two years
developing the product line always
with the long-term in mind.”
Located not far from Nester, in
Yadkinville, NC, Indera Mills also
took advantage of circumstances in
the marketplace. Filling a gap left
by the demise of Duofold, Indera
execs recognized an opening for
their own performance product
and launched ColdPruf in 2007.
The ColdPruf brand was created
as the mill’s performance division
to launch new technologies and
base layers for high activity
pursuits such as alpine skiing and
snowshoeing.
“We have been selling thermal
underwear for decades, and even
had the ColdPruf name tucked
away from 50 years ago,” says
Denomme. Founded a century ago
producing knitted undergarments
such as slips and bathing
suits, Indera has been selling
to independent stores, such as
buying group retailers with several
locations or single mom and poptype shops for decades.
While timing played an
important role in the ColdPruf
launch, Denomme admits that
her coming aboard the company
helped the branding initiative.
She recruited the initial 22-person
ColdPruf sales force representing
regions across the country, and
continues to manage their efforts.
Prior to joining the company,
Denomme spent nearly two
decades operating her own fullservice promotion agency. “I was
a good person to see this branding
through,” she comments.
Reacting to Changes at Retail
Coville’s new business model
was an effort to accommodate
shifts at retail. “By listening to the
customer, in this case the large
retailers we do private label with,
we transitioned from garment
maker to vendor manager role,”
explains Williams.
textileinsight.com
“Retailers don’t want to take on
any more inventory than they have
to, so we build inventory to their
forecast, get the orders and we ship
to consumers,” Williams states.
Coville pioneered this unique
textile supplier model in the last
year and a half. The company
invested in information systems
and integrated a third party
contractor for the distribution
and fulfillment. And, according to
Williams it is working out well.
“If you figure that e-commerce is
growing at a 30 percent clip, this is
money in the bank for the retailers
and for us. We have become a
complete supply chain solution
for them. We are the experts from
making the garment to getting it to
the consumer.”
He also sees this model as
having an added benefit for
Coville’s own brands. “By creating
this model it opens doors for us
with new business by being able
to say we can drop ship. This is
a trend we’ve seen growing for a
while and when the idea came up
for us to do this it was agreeable.”
Coville is headquartered in
Winston-Salem, but facilities
include Alandale Knitting in Troy,
NC; dyeing/finishing operations
in the Carolinas; Carolina Apparel
Group factory in Wadesboro, NC
and distribution and fulfillment in
Stallings, NC.
The company’s Rockface brand
of men’s thermal underwear sells
online for large retailers such as
JC Penney, Sears.com Amazon
retail, and AAFE’s (Army Air Force
Exchange).
The men’s Junction
Threadworks base layer brand
debuted two years ago. The
garments are more lifestyleoriented than Rockface and tell a
strong made-in-the USA, heritage
story that resonates well with
today’s trends in menswear.
Williams says that the line can be
sold in stores and/or online and
Coville will handle orders to the
retailer or direct to customers.
Last May Coville acquired a
men’s performance underwear
brand called Slix and recently
re-launched the line with a boxer
brief and light-compression
dress sock targeted at executives
textileinsight.com
and available online at the site
getyourslixon.com. Originally
produced in Asia, Coville has
brought the sourcing to Mexico.
Williams says the company
is looking to add a wholesale
business as time goes on.
Think Outside the Box
Mill execs agree that it is
important to identify their strengths
as well as consider areas where they
need outside help when considering
launching a label.
Says Demmone, “We
acknowledge that we don’t have
the manpower and don’t have the
branding expertise to do it alone.”
She says an ad agency they use
helps with messaging and she
gives praise to the outside PR
agency for their work with wear
testers, the website and Facebook.
Longworth Industries has
established an in-house marketing
team to support the growth of the
company’s PolarMax brand. But
now Longworth must contend with
a changing base layer category.
“A challenge now is the fashion
aspect,” says Jacqueline Wazir,
marketing coordinator. “We have
expertise in the technical end, and
for a long time that was all that
was required of base layer. It used
to be that base layer was basic and
black. Now, however, base layer is
a fashion piece being worn for ski
or out to dinner.”
Longworth has an in-house
creative department, but with
base layer trending more fashionforward, the company has
consulted with outside designers.
PolarMax was initially
conceived as a concept brand for
Longworth’s business neighbor
Russ Knits many years ago. Then
having established PolarMax as
a brand sold to buying group
retailers, Longworth took the
next step marketing PolarMax to
outdoor and ski specialty.
Longworth Industries is a
vertically integrated company
that designs and manufactures all
product within a 15-mile radius
of the company’s Candor, NC
headquarters.
“These days we wear many
hats, but have got a system in
place,” says Wazir. O
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