HanesBrands (NYSE: HBI), a leading marketer of everyday innerwear and
activewear apparel under world-class brands in the Americas, Europe and
Asia, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Champion
Europe, which owned the trademark for the Champion brand in
Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“We now have a powerful global platform to drive Champion brand
growth on every continent using our Innovate-to-Elevate strategy and
low-cost, large-scale supply chain,” said Hanes Chief Operating Officer
and CEO-Elect Gerald W. Evans Jr. “Sauro Mambrini, the chief executive
officer of Champion Europe, and the accomplished European management
team will remain with HanesBrands to run the business, which will
complement our worldwide Champion commercial operations in the United
States/the Americas, Japan/Asia, and Australia.”
Hanes acquired the privately held Champion Europe, based in Italy, in an
all-cash transaction for the previously announced purchase price of 10
times actual calendar 2016 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization, subject to adjustment for cash, debt and working
capital. Hanes expects the final purchase price to be approximately €200
million. Champion Europe expects calendar 2016 net sales of more than
€190 million and operating profit of approximately €15 million.
The acquisition and expected performance for the balance of 2016 is
already reflected in the company’s updated financial guidance that was
announced May 31, 2016.
Champion Europe sells Champion athletic apparel wholesale to
retailers and directly to consumers via company-owned retail stores. The
company’s largest wholesale markets are Italy, Greece, Spain and
Scandinavia, while the company operates approximately 130 retail stores
in Italy and Greece.
“Champion is a great global brand that appeals to consumers
worldwide and has great expansion and growth opportunities,” Mambrini
said. “In Europe, we capitalize on the Champion heritage from the
United States combined with the natural affinity for Italian apparel
design.”
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include
all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts,
and can generally be identified by the use of words such as “may,”
“believe,” “will,” “expect,” “project,” “estimate,” “intend,”
“anticipate,” “plan,” “continue” or similar expressions. In particular,
among others, statements about the expected full-year 2016 performance
of Champion Europe S.p.A. are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements inherently involve many risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected in these statements. Where, in any forward-looking
statement, we express an expectation or belief as to future results or
events, such expectation or belief is based on the current plans and
expectations of our management, expressed in good faith. However, there
can be no assurance that the expectation or belief will result or will
be achieved or accomplished, and actual results may differ materially
from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. A number of
important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from
those contemplated by the forward-looking statements, including, but not
limited to our ability to achieve expected synergies and successfully
complete the integration of Champion Europe, the highly competitive and
evolving nature of the industry in which we compete; legal, regulatory,
political and economic risks associated with our operations in
international markets, including the risk of significant fluctuations in
foreign exchange rates; the loss or interruption of services of a member
of our senior management team; the accuracy of the estimates and
assumptions on which our financial statement projections are based; any
inadequacy, interruption, integration failure or security failure with
respect to our information technology; the impact of significant
fluctuations and volatility in various input costs, such as cotton and
oil-related materials, utilities, freight and wages; current economic
conditions, including consumer spending levels and the price elasticity
of our products; unanticipated business disruptions or the loss of one
or more suppliers in our global supply chain; and other risks identified
from time to time in our most recent Securities and Exchange Commission
reports, including our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports
on Form 10-Q, as well as in the investors section of our corporate
website at www.Hanes.com/investors.
We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however,
undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements,
which are based on current expectations. All forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to update
or revise forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events
or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events, other than as required by law.
HanesBrands
HanesBrands, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., is a socially responsible
leading marketer of everyday basic innerwear and activewear apparel in
the Americas, Europe and Asia under some of the world’s strongest
apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Playtex, DIM,
Bali, Maidenform, JMS/Just My Size, L’eggs, Wonderbra,
Nur Die/Nur Der, Lovable and Gear for Sports. The company
sells T-shirts, bras, panties, shapewear, underwear, socks, hosiery, and
activewear produced in the company’s low-cost global supply chain. A
member of the S&P 500 stock index, Hanes has approximately 65,300
employees in more than 40 countries and is ranked No. 448 on the Fortune
500 list of America’s largest companies by sales. Hanes takes pride in
its strong reputation for ethical business practices. The company is the
only apparel producer to ever be honored by the Great Place to Work
Institute for its workplace practices in Central America and the
Caribbean, and is ranked No. 167 on the Forbes magazine list of
America’s Best Employers. For seven consecutive years, Hanes has won the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star sustained
excellence/partner of the year award – the only apparel company to earn
sustained excellence honors. The company ranks No. 172 on Newsweek
magazine’s green list of 500 largest U.S. companies for environmental
achievement. More information about the company and its corporate social
responsibility initiatives, including environmental, social compliance
and community improvement achievements, may be found at www.Hanes.com/corporate.
