Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Gildan history
Gildan company history timeline
In order to cut costs, Gildan was incorporated on May 8th, 1984 as a fabric manufacturer.
Gildan’s beginnings can be traced back to 1984 in Montreal, Canada.
Garments were sold wholesale, beginning in 1992, in mass quantities and shipped to North American clients via UPS.
Textiles Gildan's first full year of production in 1994 brought in sales of over $32 million.
1995 The company is renamed Gildan Activewear.
In 1997, Gildan opened its first offshore sewing facility.
The Chamandy brothers, with Greg as chairman and chief executive and Glenn as president and chief operating officer, took Gildan public on the Toronto Stock Exchange (under the ticker symbol GIL) in June 1998, in preparation for entering the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) the following year.
As the decade came to a close Gildan had become a force to be reckoned with; the company had reached sales of just over $144 million for 1998 and controlled 10 percent of the market, a healthy slice in an industry notorious for slight profit margins and frequent flameouts.
Sales soared accordingly to $223.9 million for 1999 (ending in October), with net earnings of $32.8 million.
In 1999, as Gildan achieved inclusion at the NYSE and geared up for international expansion, rival garment manufacturer Fruit of the Loom faced bankruptcy, as did several other sportswear and T-shirt firms.
1999 Gildan begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Up until 2000 Gildan had sold its products only in Canada and the United States, but the Chamandys decided it was time to expand outside North America.
While the takeover and FTL lawsuit (settled quietly in October 2001 without disclosure) did affect Gildan's bottom line, it was not significantly damaging.
Year-end figures for fiscal 2001 climbed to $382.3 million with net earnings of over $66.7 million.
2001 The company begins selling outside North America.
The company also opened its first large-scale distribution center in Eden, North Carolina in 2001.
"Gildan Activewear Buys Rival," Daily Deal, June 28, 2002.
In 2002 Gildan continued its upward swing and even attempted a takeover of ailing rival Fruit of the Loom.
In 2002, Gildan launched its Biotop system, which treats wastewater using bacteria, gravity and sunlight before returning clean water back to the environment.
For fiscal 2003 sales had skyrocketed to $431.2 million and net earnings reached $81.5 million.
Near the end of 2003 Gildan acquired part-ownership of a yarn spinning plant in Cedartown, Georgia.
In addition, the company's European expansion gained momentum with a total of 37 distributors in 19 countries by January 2004.
Share prices went from a low on the NYSE of $13.83 per share in October 2004 to a high of $39.13 in September the following year.
2005 Gildan begins selling its own branded shirts.
A new, fully-integrated knitting, dyeing and cutting facility opened in the Dominican Republic in 2005 to meet growing demand.
Another segue came in early 2006 with the purchase of the Hopkinsville-based Kentucky Derby Hosiery Company for $45 million.
Gildan Activewear, darling of the stock markets, continued to shine in 2006.
2006 Gildan buys Kentucky Derby Hosiery Company and starts selling socks.
In 2010, Gildan Activewear even invested in a manufacturing company in Asia to further their production capabilities.
In May of 2012, Gildan purchased the Anvil Holdings, Inc.
They also received the Presidential Exporter award in 2013 for excellence in export improvement and job creation at their largest sewing facility located in Honduras.
In 2014, the company purchased Doris Hosiery for $110 million Canadian.
Comfort Colors was purchased in 2015 and added a vintage garment dye collection to the company’s printwear business.
In 2016, it acquired PEDS Legwear for a sum of $55 million.
Updated in 2016, Gildan’s Code of Ethics applies to all Gildan employees, officers and directors.
Most recently, Gildan purchased American Apparel at auction for $88 million in 2017.
© 2022 Gildan Activewear - All rights ReservedTerms of Use Privacy & Confidentiality PolicyCookie policy
Rate how well Gildan lives up to its initial vision.
Gildan jobs
Do you work at Gildan?
Does Gildan communicate its history to new hires?
Gildan competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shakerag Elementary School | - | $720,000 | 7 | - |
| Anvil Knitwear | 1994 | $1.2B | 5,055 | - |
| Bell Sports Corp | 1954 | $410.0M | 3,000 | - |
| Fruit of the Loom | 1851 | $6.6B | 32,400 | 20 |
| Renfro Corporation | 1921 | $660.0M | 3,000 | - |
| Gerber Childrenswear | 1928 | $47.5M | 2,400 | 2 |
| Berne Apparel | 1915 | $2.3M | 25 | 2 |
| Pennington Seed | 1945 | $29.0M | 232 | - |
| Frogg Toggs | - | - | - | 2 |
| Land 'N' Sea Distributing | - | $238.0M | 200 | - |
Gildan history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Gildan, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Gildan. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Gildan. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Gildan. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Gildan and its employees or that of Zippia.
Gildan may also be known as or be related to Gildan, Gildan Activewear, Gildan Activewear (eden) Inc and Gildan Activewear Inc.