After indicating at the end of 2023 that it would sell its Champion brand, Hanes seems to have a tentative buyer.
Authentic Brands Group has reached an agreement to take Champion off of Hanes’ hands by the end of May or beginning of June, a source close to the deal told WWD.
While the agreement is only at handshake level at best, the source said that the two parties could come to a formal agreement on paper as soon as this week.
Hanes also attracted interest from big names in apparel and promotional products, such as Sycamore Partners (previous owners of Staples and suitor of Gildan), G-III Apparel, WHP Global, and more.
Should the acquisition come to fruition, it could result in “thousands” of employees of Champion losing their jobs, as WWD reported that Authentic Brands Group would outsource a lot of Champion manufacturing, design, logistics, and operations to other companies, meaning that consumers might ultimately notice a difference in products with the Champion logo in the future, too.
Despite Champion’s recent popularity among millennials and Gen Z, the brand’s sales didn’t quite match, with Q4 sales in 2023 dropping 23%, and Hanes placed a rumored $1.4 billion price tag on it.
HanesBrands’ total 2023 revenues were down almost 10% from 2022, hitting only $5.6 billion, with Q4 revenue down almost 12% over the same time period of 2022.
In this scenario where Authentic Brands does buy Champion, WWD’s source said that the Champion brand would probably still have its licensing deals in place at universities across the U.S.
The question, though, is would the consumer notice any difference in the manufacturing and material if it is outsourced as planned? The Champion logo and name carries a lot of weight, but hype only gets you so far for so long in today’s apparel landscape.
