Montreal-based activewear manufacturer Gildan announced today it will be consolidating its U.S. Sales and Marketing offices from Newton and Greensboro, North Carolina to downtown Statesville, North Carolina. The move will bring approximately 30 professional jobs to the 9,500 square foot building at the corner of Tradd and Broad Streets, formerly occupied by Wachovia Bank and, most recently, Dana Corporation. The real estate deal was brokered by Harry Tsumas of Tsumas Real Estate & Development and Edwin Hunter of Edwin Hunter & Associates.
Chuck Ward, Vice-President of Integration for Gildan noted that the company plans to expand its U.S. Sales and Marketing operations in the future and the ability to recruit highly-skilled employees was one of the key reasons for choosing the Statesville Region. In addition to sales and marketing functions, the Statesville offices will also house the merchandising and design groups.
Gildan is a marketer and globally low-cost vertically-integrated manufacturer of quality branded basic apparel, and is the leading activewear brand in the screenprint market in the U.S. and Canada. The brand is continuing to grow in Europe, Mexico and the Asia-Pacific region. The Company sells T-shirts, sport shirts and fleece as undecorated “blanks”, which are subsequently decorated by screenprinters with designs and logos. The Company is also one of the world’s largest suppliers of branded and private label athletic, casual and dress socks sold to a broad spectrum of retailers in the U.S. Gildan markets its sock products under a diversified portfolio of company-owned brands, including Gold Toe®, PowerSox®, SilverToe®, Auro®, All Pro®, GT®, and the Gildan® brand. The Company is also the exclusive U.S. sock licensee for the Under Armour® and New Balance® brands. In addition to socks, the Company is increasingly becoming a significant supplier of underwear and undecorated activewear products in the retail channel.
With approximately 30,000 employees worldwide, Gildan owns and operates highly efficient, large-scale, environmentally and socially responsible facilities in Central America and the Caribbean Basin and has begun the development of a manufacturing hub in Bangladesh to support its planned growth in Asia and Europe.
Statesville Regional Development thanks Harry Tsumas, Edwin Hunter, Downtown Statesville Development Corporation, Statesville Chamber of Commerce and the City of Statesville for their assistance with this project.
