NATIONAL: Global apparel giant Hanes is preparing to re-enter the Australian fashion market with an arsenal of European ‘fashion-fitted’ product.
Australian distributor Epicentre, which had targeted the promotional goods category since acquiring the domestic license for Hanes early last year, has doubled warehousing facilities to tackle resellers such as designers and retailers with private fashion labels.
Brand manager David Rakowski said 16 different styles of apparel in a variety of weights and colours had been selected specifically for the Australian market, with men’s, women’s and childrenswear options spanning x-small to 5XL. T-shirts, polos, hoodies, sweatshirts and tank tops were at the core of its offering.
Men’s and junior t-shirts were seamless with side-seam press marks, while the women’s range had a side seam design for a more tailored fit.
“The entire range has been sourced out of the European catalogue so the fabrics and fit are very fashion-forward and made of 100 per cent deluxe ring-spun cotton,” Rakowski said. “Clients want a better fit, a softer fabric and an extremely competitive price.”
Epicentre had been targeting Hanes products at Australian promotional and events companies since August last year. Rakowski said it needed to ensure it could “service this well first” before making a venture into the private fashion sector.
“Our warehouse has since doubled and we’ve had further containers arriving non-stop, so we’re now in a position to launch into new markets and handle the increased volume.”
He declined to reveal Australian wholesale prices due to competitor concerns but claimed the range was on par with Gildan and lower than trade and consumer supplier American Apparel.
Epicentre employed over 70 staff and managed the Legend, Legend Life and Great Southern Clothing Company brands. Hanes was one of the world’s largest apparel brands with $4.2 billion in sales over 2008.
Assia Benmedjdoub