HANES HOSIERY

It was way back in 1901 when J. Wesley Hanes’s Shamrock Hosiery Mills in Winston Salem started manufacturing men’s socks and in 1902, P.H. Hanes Knitting Company started off with two piece men underwear. Wesley concentrated on women’s market and Pleasant went ahead and expanded his product line.

After graduation, James Gordon Hanes, Sr joined Shamrock but the firm was in debt and after debt was paid the company was renamed Hanes Hosiery Mills. When nylon was launched by DuPont, Hanes Hosiery was one of the first companies which replaced silk in women’s hosiery. Later on they went on to develop seamless hose and panty hose.

They packaged hosiery in bright colored plastic eggs and sold in grocery stores which made it one of the most successful hosiery brands ever. By the year 2000, Hanes became one of the leading apparel brands in the world and has found a presence in eight out of ten American homes.