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Gant (company)

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Gant
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
FounderBernard Gantmacher
Headquarters
Stockholm
,
Sweden (global)
Number of locations
583 (2016)
Key people
Products
ParentMaus Frères
Websitewww.gant.com

Gant Inc., stylized as GANT, is a Swedish clothing retailer with American roots, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The company was founded in 1949 by Bernard Gantmacher and was originally based in New Haven, Connecticut.[2] Gant operates in 70 markets and its products are available at over 4000 retailers and exclusive stores all over the world.[3] "House of Gant" has three different collections: GANT, GANT Diamond G and GANT Rugger.[4]

History

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Bernard Gantmacher arrived in New York City in 1907, a Jewish immigrant of Russian origin from Myropil, Russian Empire. Gantmacher was employed at a garment factory sewing shirt collars and met his future wife, Rebecca Rose, a button and buttonhole specialist who worked for the same company. After Gantmacher's return from military service during World War I, the couple married and founded the Par-Ex Shirt Company with business partner Morris Shapiro. The company made shirts for brands including Brooks Brothers, J. Press and Manhattan.[5][6] In 1927, the company was relocated to New Haven, Connecticut.[7] In April 1949, the Gant label was launched.[8] Following their father's death in 1955, Bernard's sons took over the company's operations.[7]

GANT dress shirts were known for their back-collar button, locker loop and box pleat.[8][7] In the 1960s, Gant made the Yale co-op shirt exclusively for the store on the Yale University campus.[9] Shirts from Gant and rival Sero were de rigueur for high-school and college-age males who could afford their premium price during the decade. In 1968, the Gant brothers sold the company to Consolidated Foods but remained with the company.[7][10] In 1971, the company launched its first sportswear line and in 1974 launched its Rugger brand.[10][11] In 1979, Gant became a subsidiary of apparel manufacturer The Palm Beach Company and ceased operations in New Haven.[5]

In the early 1980s, Gant entered the international market when Pyramid Sportswear of Sweden was given the right to design and market Gant outside the US. Initially, Pyramid only offered the Gant label in Sweden but quickly expanded internationally. In February 1995 the first Gant store opened in Europe in Amsterdam; it is currently the oldest operating Gant store in the world. In 1995, Phillips-Van Heusen acquired the Gant brand in the U.S. from bankrupt sportswear manufacturer, Crystal Brands, Inc.[12][13] In 1997, Gant opened its first store in the United States.[14] Phillips-Van Heusen sold its Gant operations in 1999 to Pyramid Sportswear of Sweden for $71 million.[15]

In the spring of 2006, Gant became a public company and was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange's O-List;[16] it was delisted 20 March 2008[17] upon being acquired by the Swiss retail group Maus Frères.[18][19] In November 2010, Gant returned to New Haven, where it opened a retail store.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Hut, Esther (December 2019). "Gant appoints Patrik Söderström as new CEO". Fashion United. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Born in 1949". Gant. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Gant Stores". Sportswear International. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  4. ^ Gropler, Melanie (September 2015). "Gant CEO: "We are born and known as shirtmakers"". Sportswear International. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Baruzzi, Cara (16 October 2010). "Gant Returns to New Haven; Downtown Retail Store to Open This Fall". New Haven Register. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  6. ^ "The Start of a Long Journey". Gant. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d Roberts, Sam (18 March 2016). "Elliot Gant, Marketer of the Button-Down Shirt, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  8. ^ a b Kamen, Paddy (14 November 2012). "Gant: The Hip and Historical Brand". Envision Magazine. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  9. ^ Crawford, Sarah (25 November 2014). "The Gant Yale Co-Op Shirt". The Man Has Style. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  10. ^ a b Gropler, Melanie (18 March 2016). "Co-Founder of Gant Elliot Gant Has Died". Sportswear International. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  11. ^ Anyanwu, Obi (17 March 2016). "Gant Co-Founder Elliot Gant Passes Away at 89". FashionMag. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Crystal Brands, Inc. History". Funding Universe. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  13. ^ "Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation History". Funding Universe. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  14. ^ Foderaro, Lisa (19 November 1997). "Metro Business; For American Chain, Its First U.S. Store". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Pyramid Partners Collar Grant: Phillips-Van Heusen Corp..." The Chicago Tribune. 24 February 1999. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  16. ^ "OMX: Gant Ready for Listing on the Nordic Exchange in Stockholm". Finanz Nachrichten. 28 March 2006. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  17. ^ "Delisting of Gant". MarketWired. 25 February 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  18. ^ Shields, Amy (1 February 2008). "Maus Frères acquires Gant". Retail Week. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  19. ^ Ibison, David (30 January 2008). "Maus Frères Acquires Gant". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
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