Burlington (textile brand)

Burlington company logo

Burlington is an international textile brand that is particularly known in Germany and Europe for its socks and stockings in the Scottish Argyle pattern . The license of the Burlington brand for Europe and other markets has belonged to the German Falke Group since 2008 . The current owner of the rights to the Burlington brand is the American textile manufacturer International Textile Group (ITG).

history

Burlington sock with 'clip' and the inscription "BURLINGTON JEANS SOCKS" (mid 1990s)

Example of a typical Argyle pattern, the name of which is derived from the Scottish region of Argyll .

Burlington Industries and Arlington Socks

1968 to 1923 began Burlington (North Carolina) textile manufacturer, founded, American Burlington Industries owned carpet factory in Baden-Württemberg Schopfheim with the production of socks. In 1975 the company used the Argyle pattern for the first time to manufacture the socks, which were successfully accepted by the German and European markets. In 1982, Greensboro- based Burlington Industries sold the hosiery division. The Schopfheim-based manufacturer then renamed itself Arlington Socks GmbH & Co. KG and received worldwide license rights to the Burlington brand, with the exception of the US market. In the USA, the license for socks was granted to the textile manufacturer Kayser-Roth (part of the Italian Golden Lady Group since 1999), which still holds it today. Even in parts of the youth culture of the 1980s, such as poppers or Paninari socks in plaid were extremely popular. The trademark and at the same time the seal of quality of Burlington socks was a small round metal rivet , the so-called "clip", which is still used today and is attached at ankle height , which adorns the company logo in a diamond design . At the end of the 1980s, however, the demand for checked socks declined and Arlington expanded its portfolio to include men's outerwear with the typical pattern.

Kunert

In 1990 the Immenstadt-based stocking manufacturer Kunert Arlington Socks bought and took over the naming rights to Burlington from the American parent company. Kunert expanded the range with men's clothing, shirts and underwear and opened Burlington stores and shops-in-shops across Europe . The plant in Schopfheim was closed by Kunert in 2003, and production in a plant in Morocco was henceforth controlled from Immenstadt. In the same year the American Burlington Industries filed for bankruptcy and was broken up. The rights to the Burlington brand were taken over by the American International Textile Group (ITG), a textile manufacturer also based in Greensboro. Kunert retained the license and hired British designer Anthony Cuthbertson, who had previously worked for Daks London and Max Mara and worked for Burlington in a London office, to realign and rejuvenate the Burlington brand at the end of 2006 . Under him, a sportswear collection for women and men was launched, which was divided into White Label (traditional main line) and Black Label (more expensive, more fashionable premium line for a young audience). Burlington turned into a (supposedly) British lifestyle brand. In 2007, Kunert achieved sales of EUR 34.8 million with the Burlington brand. Cuthbertson left Burlington in April 2008 to work for René Lezard as creative director.

Falcon

In April 2008 Schmallenberger Falke KGaA acquired the trademark rights to Burlington for EMEA , Australia and South America from ITG. For the USA and Asia, the rights remained with ITG. Kunert fought unsuccessfully against the loss of the license. The Kunert license expired in 2007 and was originally extended by ITG until 2015 until Kunert wanted to renegotiate the terms due to restructuring measures . The trademark license for Burlington was then surprisingly sold by ITG to the Kunert competitor Falke. In 2009 the Briton James Buckley was hired as head of design for the Burlington and Falke brands. Subsequently, under the Burlington brand, Falke offered hosiery (knee socks, socks, tights , leggings ) for women and hosiery (socks, knee socks), knitwear ( sweaters , tank tops , cardigans ), polo shirts and t-shirts for men . Complete White Label and Black Label sportswear collections for women and men should follow in autumn 2010 . In the summer of 2011, however , the more progressive Black Label line was integrated into the main collection and thus effectively discontinued. The argyle pattern, which appears on around 70% of the hosiery on offer, was also a central theme for outerwear. Burlington designer at Falke is Udo Schürmann. In December 2014, Falke announced that after the 2015 summer collection there would be no more Burlington outerwear until further notice. Since then, the Burlington range at Falke has been limited to knee socks and socks for women and men.

International Textile Group

ITG, a subsidiary of the New York investment company WL Ross & Co. LLC , has served various segments with the Burlington brand under the umbrella term Burlington Worldwide since the takeover of the insolvent Burlington Industries in 2003 . The license for Falke covers the hosiery and clothing market in EMEA, Australia and South America in the end-consumer sector under the name Burlington Brand Apparel . The American textile manufacturer Kayser-Roth holds the license for hosiery in North America under the name Burlington Brand Socks , which have nothing in common with the stockings produced by Falke. For the Chinese market with Burlington House Home Products (Burlington Home and needs dt.) Bedding , curtains and home accessories offered. Burlington Worldwide has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Mexico , Central America , China and Vietnam . For the business customer area , Burlington Finishing is a finishing workshop for synthetic fibers located at the original Burlington location . With Burlington Solutions a complete solution for textile manufacturers and retailers offered. Burlington Uniforms manufactures uniforms , workwear and protective clothing for the public sector and private companies. In 2006 Burlington Labs was launched as a textile research laboratory . Burlington Collections is the company's corporate apparel division. In addition to Burlington Worldwide, ITG also owns other textile manufacturing companies.

Web links

• Burlington on the Falcon Group's website
• Burlington website operated by ITG

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Textile industry: Once upon a time in Schopfheim  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) (June 4, 2009)
2. ↑ brandeins: The battle for diamonds ( Memento from December 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (February 2001)
3. ↑ NZZ Folio : Disassembled - tubular sock (November 2006)
4. ↑ Textile Industry: Anthony Cuthbertson designs Burlington (January 9, 2007)
5. ↑ Textile Industry: Where Burlington actually comes from and what the Falke Group's new strategy for the brand looks like  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) (June 4, 2009)
6. ↑ ITG: ITG's Burlington WorldWide and FALKE KGaA announce agreement concerning Burlington® brand name ( Memento of October 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (April 8, 2008; PDF; 22 kB)
7. ↑ Falke: James Buckley is managing director , textilwirtschaft.de, February 10, 2009.
8. ↑ itg.com: Burlington Brands ( Memento of October 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (last accessed: June 16, 2010)
9. ↑ burlington.com: Overview of the Burlington business areas ( Memento of the original from June 21, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (last accessed: June 16, 2010)