Russell Corporation
 |
|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Sports equipment |
| Founded | 1973 as "Russell Corporation" in Alexander City, Alabama |
| Headquarters | Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
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Key people
|
Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. |
| Products | Clothing, Athletic shoes, Sports equipment, Accessories |
| Revenue | US$1.438 billion |
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Number of employees
|
10,000 |
| Parent |
Fruit of the Loom (Berkshire Hathaway) |
| Subsidiaries | Russell Athletic, Brooks, Spalding |
| Website | www |
Russell Brands, LLC, headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is an American manufacturer of sports equipment, which markets its products under many brands and subsidiaries, including Russell Athletic (its flagship brand), Spalding and Brooks. Formerly a publicly traded company, Russell Brands has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 2006.
The original "Russell Manufacturing Company", founded by Benjamin Russell in Alexander City, Alabama, in 1902, became "Russell Corporation" in 1973, under the presidency of Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr., who had taken over in 1968.
By 1990, the company owned and operated 13 sewing plants outside Alexander City and employed 15,000 workers. Since 1976, sales revenues had increased by 13 percent annually. With the acquisition of two subsidiaries, Quality Mills in North Carolina and Cloathbond Ltd. in Scotland, in 1988 and 1989 respectively, the company had become a global contender in the sportswear industry.
Under president and CEO John C. Adams, Russell Corporation had become the top manufacturer of athletic uniforms in the US. In 1992, the company was awarded a five-year contract to be the exclusive producer and marketer of athletic uniforms for most MLB teams. The contract also stipulated that the company held the exclusive right to manufacture and market replicas of major league uniforms, T-shirts and shorts. This put the company in an advantageous position in relation to its main rival, Champion, Inc., the supplier of uniforms to the NBA teams. In 1992 alone, Russell's international sales increased by 40 percent over 1991.
Although sales and net income reached record levels in 1996, in part because of the impact of the Summer Olympics which were held in Atlanta that year, Russell's fortunes turned down in 1997 when both sales and net income fell. The decline was caused by intensifying competition as industry-wide over-capacity and price-cutting by rivals forced Russell to lower its own prices, all of which hurt the company's results. Particularly troubled was the Licensed Products Division, which Russell dissolved in 1997, dividing its operations among the other divisions. In 1997, Russell also ended its licensing deals with the professional football, basketball and hockey leagues.
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Wikipedia