Hanes men’s t-shirts remain one of the best-selling t-shirt brands in the US, shipping millions of units each year. The reason for their popularity is quite simple – Hanes men’s t-shirts are incredibly comfortable and affordable clothing.
In fact, Hanes’ entire clothing collection is known for offering the perfect balance between comfort and affordability. The brand also provides a clothing collection for everyone, including men, women, and kids, making it easy to find products for any age or size.
So how exactly did Hanes become synonymous with comfort clothing? Let’s take a closer look to observe how a small textile company from North Carolina became one of the foremost comfort clothing brands in the US:
From Men’s Hosiery to a Best Selling Brand
The beginning of Hanes is somewhat unique for a large clothing brand.
The company came into being in the 1900s, with John Wesley Hanes forming Shamrock Mills Co. This company initially manufactured men’s hosiery.
Shortly after, in 1901, his brother Pleasant H. Hanes formed the P.H Hanes Knitting Company, a textile manufacturer creating men’s two-piece underwear.
After seeing men’s hosiery fall out of popularity, Shamrock Mills Co. pivoted to a female hosiery business, renaming itself to Hanes Hosiery Mill Co. in 1910. During this time, P.H Hanes Knitting Company expanded its product range, introducing garments such as sleepwear, men’s briefs, and shorts.
After running side-by-side for 65 years, both companies would merge to form the Hanes Corporation in 1965. Hanes would become a best-selling brand in the United States soon after launching the women’s hosiery brand L’eggs in 1972.
1975 – The Launch of the Iconic Beefy-T ®
Throughout the 1970s, Hanes was producing some of the best selling underwear in the country. Their white underwear was known for its exceptional comfort, with Hanes noticing that the exact fabrics had the potential to be an excellent choice for other clothing garments, namely t-shirts.
By 1975 Hanes would launch one of their most iconic products – the Beefy-T.
This t-shirt range, which remains a top seller today, helped establish Hanes as one of the foremost brands in comfort clothing. The plain white t-shirt was popular amongst screen printers, offering the perfect blank canvas for the growing market of printed t-shirts.
The Beefy-T helped change the game, offering a thick yet spacious t-shirt that is incredibly comfortable while being durable. Made from 100% ring spun cotton, the Beefy-T remains mostly unchanged from its original design, expanding its range of colours and sizes over the years.
Even today, the Beefy-T remains one of the top-selling products from Hanes, highlighting just how big of an impact the brand had on comfortable t-shirt clothing.
Michael Jordan Changes the Game for Hanes
Hanes remained a hugely popular brand for women’s hosiery and underwear throughout the 1970s and 1980s, while its range of t-shirts helped it establish as a rising brand in comfort clothing.
The clothing company would become a household name in 1989 after signing one of the rising stars in the NBA – Michael Jordan.
It would mark the beginning of a 30+ year relationship between Hanes and Jordan, with the basketball legend front various ad campaigns throughout the 1990s and 2000s. While focusing on underwear, Jordan would also advertise many of Hanes’ ever-expanding range of clothing products, including men’s t-shirts.
Because Michael Jordan partnered with Hanes just as he was rising to superstardom, the brand certainly benefited from having such a famous athlete featured in their ad campaigns. Sales of their comfortable clothing products would skyrocket, especially the Hanes men’s t-shirt range.
Hanes Sponsors the 1996 Olympics and sells millions of t-shirts.
The 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta was probably the most significant time when Hanes transformed the comfort clothing industry.
The company capitalised on the growing demand for low-cost, comfortable clothing during the 1990s, paying $100 million for the official licencing rights of the Olympic clothing apparel.
It included a special collection of official Olympic Beefy-T t-shirts featuring various designs that commemorated the lead up to the historic opening ceremony in 1996.
As this Olympic game was exceptionally popular in the USA, Hanes decision to licence official apparel was a masterstroke. The brand would sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of its official Olympic clothing, with Beefy-T shirts being the top seller.
Hanes Goes Tagless in the 2000s
By the year 2000, Hanes remained a household name for comfortable clothing, with the Beefy-T remaining one of their best-selling products. The company even celebrated a huge milestone this year – selling their one billionth Beefy-T!
While the company was already a massive name in comfort clothing, with their range of t-shirts now expanding into various styles, Hanes decided to change the game once again.
In 2004, Hanes officially launched their ‘go tagless’ campaign. It saw all Hanes’ t-shirts go tagless, with the clothing tag around the neck being removed. As a result, the irritating itchy labels that frustrate so many customers are finally a thing of the past.
It is one of the most recent examples of how Hanes changed comfort clothing! Many top brands have since followed their example, with most cheap t-shirts typically featuring no-tags.
A Huge Range of Styles and Products to Choose From
Today, customers are spoiled for choice when it comes to Hanes clothing products. The company sells all kinds of clothing products, all of which are exceptionally comfortable and reasonably priced.
From t-shirts and sweatshirts to underwear and sleepwear, you’ll find products in countless shapes, styles, and colours, all for a great price.
T-shirts remain one of the best-selling products for Hanes, led by classics like the Beefy-T and newer products like the Nano-T. Known for their exceptional pricing, you can easily make huge savings by burying Hanes t-shirts in bulk, with various wholesalers offering excellent discounts.
Whether you want a Hanes t-shirts men’s crewneck or V-neck, long-sleeve or short-sleeved, plain or printed, there are plenty of options available. If you’re going to save a few bucks, consider buying your Hanes men’s t-shirt in bulk!
Author Bio
Shawn joy is a community manager and a professional blogger for 2 years. He is also a fitness freak. He loves to write his thoughts into his blogs.
