Russell And Company history

Russell & Co. was founded in Canton in 1824 at a propitious moment in the development of early American trade.

After Russell & Co. took over the business of Perkins & Company in 1830, it subsequently emerged as the leading American commercial house in East Asia.(2)

Russell withdrew from the company in 1836 and returned to the United States.

Nahum, and Clement Russell arrived in Massillon in 1838 to start their general carpentry trade.

The Russell and Company was officially founded in 1842 as C.M. Russell and Company.

Clipping from the Massillon Weekly American, 1853

Clipping from the Massillon Weekly American, January 1854

Clipping from the Massillon Weekly American, c.1860

Samuel Wadsworth Russell 1789-1862 Courtesy: Wikipedia

Briton Nichol Latimer, resident of Shanghai and the publisher of the North China Herald, the most influential British newspaper in China, was the manager of Russell & Company’s Shanghai Steam Navigation Co. until his death in 1865.

In 1874 the American company Russell & Co. was actually the leading player on the Yangtze, with seventeen ships run by its Shanghai Ship Navigation Co.

And yet just two years later, by the end of 1876, China Merchants had already acquired a fleet of sixteen ships and had established branches in thirteen locations, including Chinkiang, Kiukiang and Hankow on the Yangtze, and Ningbo, Amoy, Swatow and even Hong Kong.

In January 1877 China Merchants bought out Shanghai S.N. Co., the Americans having decided that profits were too low to warrant the considerable effort required to fight the competition.(4)

When C.M. Russell died, the remaining six Russell brothers renamed the company Russell and Company and incorporated in 1878.

Russell and Company engines on train cars, shipping across the country, 1883 Collection Massillon Museum

The Russell & Company office Building, built 1885, on the Shanghai Bund.

From humble origins in a small Alabama town in 1902, Russell Corporation has evolved into a leading manufacturer and marketer of activewear, athletic uniforms, knit shirts, licensed athletic apparel, sports and casual socks, and woven fabrics.

Russell and Company engines in front of the factory, 1908 Collection Massillon Museum

In 1912, as Russell and Company was in decline, and it merged with New Jersey’s Griscom-Spencer Company.

Russell was born in 1930 in Summerhill, an impoverished neighborhood in Atlanta.

The worst year of the Depression, 1932, turned into a milestone year for the 30-year-old company; it acquired full finishing operations, thereby becoming one of the few fully vertical fabric factories in the world.

1938 Screen printing is developed for the printing of names, numbers, and designs on athletic uniforms.

In addition the company's founder, Benjamin Russell, had died at the outset of World War II. His son Benjamin C. Russell took over the helm during the difficult but prosperous war years but died prematurely of pneumonia in 1945.

The rental income from those two units was enough to pay for his college education at Tuskegee Institute where in 1952 he was granted a degree in building construction.

In 1957 Russell also inherited his father's company, valued at approximately $15,000, and renamed it H.J. Russell & Company.

The company continued to grow, concentrating on the construction of duplexes, small apartment buildings, and other rental properties for low and middle income families. As a result of this focus, Russell established the Paradise Management Company in 1959 to manage its residential and commercial properties.

In 1960 the Southern Manufacturing Company was renamed the Russell Athletic Division.

They created parts for Naval vessels during World War I, and earned an Army-Navy “E” for excellence during World War II. In 1962, the company was purchased by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Company and the Massillon plant closed its doors, laying off 800 employees (10% of the city’s workforce).

In 1963 he was selected to do the plastering on Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, then being built for the Atlanta Braves baseball team.

In 1966 a new sewing plant was established in Montgomery, Alabama (the first Russell plant to be built outside of Alexander City). Four years later, the Athletic Division had expanded so much that a separate plant became necessary.

H.J. Russell & Company continued to work regularly on prestigious construction projects in and around Atlanta, including the Ashby Street MARTA station in 1972 and the Delta Air Lines headquarters.

In 1973 when Black Enterprise magazine published its first ranking of the top 100 companies, H.J. Russell & Company was 22 on the list, with annual sales of $6 million and about 500 employees.

Since 1976 sales revenues had increased by 13 percent annually.

The company's screen printing facilities were enlarged, and it acquired a yarn manufacturing plant in northeast Georgia in 1977.

Almost 20 years later, in 1980, the organization had changed significantly; Russell was then voted the second black president of the Chamber of Commerce.

By 1981 Russell was well-recognized for his success.

The Atlanta University School of Business inducted him into their Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame in 1982.

The Knit Apparel Division produced the Jerzees brand of activewear, which had been introduced in 1983, and included T-shirts, fleece, knit shorts, and tank tops, which were sold to specialized retailers and large merchandisers such as Wal-Mart.

The Georgia State University's College of Business Administration inducted him into the Business Hall of Fame in 1985.

In 1986 he was the Atlanta Business League's Chief Executive Office of the Year.

The H.J. Russell division responsible for residential property development saw impressive growth as well, and in 1987 H.J. Russell & Company renovated and enlarged its own corporate offices to more than 42,000 square feet.

In 1989 the Russell Corporation test and evaluation mill was constructed at a cost of $6 million.

By 1990 the company owned and operated 13 sewing plants outside of Alexander City and employed 15,000 workers.

1992 NuBlend is introduced in Russell's Jerzees line of sportswear.

In April 1993 Gwaltney retired as chairman of Russell, ending a 41-year career at the company.

Russell also acquired the trademarks and licenses of Chalk Line, Inc. in 1994, a year in which the company's revenues exceeded $1 billion for the first time.

The firm underwent a major reorganization at the beginning of its 1995 fiscal year.

In 1996 Russell announced that he would step aside as company CEO, and that the position would be taken over by R.K. Sehgal, who would also be named vice-chairman of the firm.

Sehgal officially took over his new positions in April 1997.

He and Russell reportedly failed to agree on a vision for the firm, and by the end of 1998 Russell had returned to the CEO's office.

Results for the first half of 1999 also showed a net loss--of $12.9 million--but the restructuring had resulted in a decrease in selling, general, and administration costs of 13 percent.

In 2000, Russell Corporation acquired the apparel operations of Haas Outdoors, Inc., which later became the Mossy Oak Apparel Company.

The company completed its restructuring process in 2001.

Russell celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2002.

In 2003 H.J. Russell retired as CEO a second time.

Russell continued its acquisition spree in 2004 by purchasing American Athletic Inc. (AAI), Huffy Corp.'s sports division, and Brooks Sports.

In 2005, Russell landed a five-year licensing contract with Itochu Fashion System Co. to market the Spalding brand in Japan and also secured a deal to manufacture and market athletic apparel and footwear in China.

In 2006, the company closed its Huffy manufacturing facilities and moved production overseas.