US brand to battle Bonds

MELBOURNE: Leading US underwear brand Hanes is going head to head with iconic Australian label Bonds through a national roll-out at Myer department stores.

Following a 10-year hiatus, men's brand Hanes - immortalised by T-shirt wearing celebrities from James Dean to Marlon Brando and Bruce Springsteen - has returned to Australian shores under the aegis of Melbourne distributor Simon de Winter. Simon de Winter general manager Andrea Symes confirmed the brand would be positioned next to Bonds in Myer stores nationally.

"However, of course we'll be starting slowly. We're certainly not planning to take on Bonds from the outset."
Following its exit from Australia in the early '90s, Hanes' US parent company Sara Lee had called back the brand's overseas licenses in order to create new distributor alliances, appointing Simon de Winter Hanes Australasian distributor 18 months ago. The brand had successfully launched in New Zealand, with a soft Australian launch through David Jones stores last year, Symes said.

"We started slowly with a very small range in DJs, but we are now marking the official launch through Myer stores, meaning a much broader distribution and a much bigger range."

Priced $9.95 for briefs and $19.95 for boxed briefs, the Hanes briefs range included the comfort Soft Waistband Brief, Comfort Stretch Brief, Comfort Stretch Boxer, Comfort Soft Waistband Boxer, Comfort Memory Cotton Brief and Cotton Knit Boxer.

Meanwhile with average prices of $19.95, the T-shirt range included the Cotton Memory Crew Neck T-shirt, the Comfort Memory Cotton V-Neck T-shirt, the Comfort Memory Cotton Singlet and the Beefy-T T-shirt. Hanes' Australian roll-out would be supported by coverage in titles such as the Fairfax group's Good Weekend magazine.

"The readers of the Sunday magazines are the people we want to target with this launch," Symes said.
Meanwhile youth retailer General Pants, which had directly imported the brand in the past and promoted it as a cult label - had already laid the groundwork of Hanes' popularity to a younger demographic.

By Belinda Smart