MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - June 18, 2013) - Gildan Activewear Inc. (TSX:GIL)(NYSE:GIL) has announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of New Buffalo Shirt Factory Inc. (New Buffalo) and its operating affiliate in Honduras, for approximately U.S. $7 million. The closing of the transaction is expected to take place imminently.
New Buffalo is a leader in screenprinting and apparel decoration, which, in conjunction with Anvil and certain other apparel manufacturers, provides high-quality screenprinting and decoration of apparel for global lifestyle and athletic brands. The rationale for the acquisition of New Buffalo is to complement the further development of Anvil's business with the major consumer brands which it supplies, and this customer base is expected to fully utilize the capacity of the New Buffalo facilities.
Although the main focus of Gildan's growth strategy is the continued development of its company-owned brands sold through printwear distributors and retailers, the Company believes it also has a growth opportunity to build on Anvil's business as a supply chain partner to global consumer brands. Such customers are increasingly seeking to consolidate their sourcing with large-scale manufacturers which are strategically located in the Western Hemisphere, which can be trusted to ensure their brand reputation for product quality and which are committed to the highest standards of corporate social responsibility in their vertical manufacturing operations.
The key management of New Buffalo, including founding entrepreneur Jon Weiss, will continue to operate the business under Gildan ownership.
About Gildan
Gildan is a leading supplier of quality branded basic family apparel, including T-shirts, fleece, sport shirts, socks and underwear. The Company sells its products under a diversified portfolio of Company-owned brands, including the Gildan®, Gold Toe® and Anvil® brands and brand extensions, as well as under license agreements for the Under Armour® and New Balance® brands. The Company distributes its products in printwear markets in the U.S. and Canada, where Gildan® is the industry-leading brand, and the Company is increasing its penetration in international printwear markets. The Company is also one of the largest suppliers of branded athletic, casual and dress socks for a broad spectrum of retailers in the U.S., and is developing Gildan® as a consumer brand for underwear and activewear.
Gildan owns and operates vertically-integrated, large-scale manufacturing facilities which are primarily located in Central America and the Caribbean Basin to efficiently service the replenishment needs of its customers in the printwear and retail markets. Gildan has over 33,000 employees worldwide and is committed to industry-leading labour and environmental practices in all of its facilities. More information about the Company and its corporate citizenship practices and initiatives can be found at its corporate websites www.gildan.com and www.genuinegildan.com , respectively.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities legislation and regulations, and are subject to important risks, uncertainties and assumptions. This forward-looking information includes, amongst others, information with respect to our objectives and the strategies to achieve these objectives, as well as information with respect to our beliefs, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of conditional or forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "project", "assume", "anticipate", "plan", "foresee", "believe" or "continue" or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. We refer you to the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the risks described under the "Financial risk management", "Critical accounting estimates and judgments" and "Risks and uncertainties" sections of the 2012 Annual MD&A for a discussion of the various factors that may affect the Company's future results.
Forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and the results or events predicted in such forward-looking information may differ materially from actual results or events. Material factors, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from a conclusion, forecast or projection in such forward-looking information, include, but are not limited to:
- our ability to implement our growth strategies and plans, including achieving market share gains, obtaining and successfully introducing new sales programs, implementing cost reduction initiatives and completing and successfully integrating acquisitions;
- the intensity of competitive activity and our ability to compete effectively;
- adverse changes in general economic and financial conditions globally or in one or more of the markets we serve;
- our reliance on a small number of significant customers;
- the fact that our customers do not commit contractually to minimum quantity purchases;
- our ability to anticipate changes in consumer preferences and trends;
- our ability to manage production and inventory levels effectively in relation to changes in customer demand;
- fluctuations and volatility in the price of raw materials used to manufacture our products, such as cotton and polyester fibres;
- our dependence on a small number of key suppliers and our ability to maintain an uninterrupted supply of raw materials and finished goods;
- the impact of climate, political, social and economic risks in the countries in which we operate or from which we source production;
- disruption to manufacturing and distribution activities due to such factors as operational issues, disruptions in transportation logistic functions, labour disruptions, political or social instability, bad weather, natural disasters, pandemics and other unforeseen adverse events;
- changes to international trade legislation that the Company is currently relying on in conducting its manufacturing operations or the application of safeguards thereunder;
- factors or circumstances that could increase our effective income tax rate, including the outcome of any tax audits or changes to applicable tax laws or treaties;
- compliance with applicable environmental, tax, trade, employment, health and safety, anti-corruption, privacy and other laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate;
- our significant reliance on computerized information systems for our business operations, including our JD Edwards Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which is currently being upgraded to the latest system release, Enterprise One;
- changes in our relationship with our employees or changes to domestic and foreign employment laws and regulations;
- negative publicity as a result of violation of local labour laws or international labour standards, or unethical labour or other business practices by the Company or one of its third-party contractors;
- our dependence on key management and our ability to attract and/or retain key personnel;
- changes to and failure to comply with consumer product safety laws and regulations;
- adverse changes in third party licensing arrangements and licensed brands;
- our ability to protect our intellectual property rights;
- changes in accounting policies and estimates;
- exposure to risks arising from financial instruments, including credit risk, liquidity risk, foreign currency risk and interest rate risk, as well as risks arising from commodity prices; and
- the adverse impact of any current or future legal and regulatory actions.
These factors may cause the Company's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any estimates or projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements do not take into account the effect that transactions or non-recurring or other special items announced or occurring after the statements are made, may have on the Company's business. For example, they do not include the effect of business dispositions, acquisitions, other business transactions, asset write-downs, asset impairment losses or other charges announced or occurring after forward-looking statements are made. The financial impact of such transactions and non-recurring and other special items can be complex and necessarily depends on the facts particular to each of them.
There can be no assurance that the expectations represented by our forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. The purpose of the forward-looking statements is to provide the reader with a description of management's expectations regarding the Company's future financial performance and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Furthermore, unless otherwise stated, the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by applicable legislation or regulation. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
