In another sad menswear development during the COVID19 pandemic, Brooks Brothers announced it will be closing its Garland, North Carolina, shirt factory. The closure will result in nearly 150 jobs being eliminated.
In January, I had heard that Brooks Brothers was going to cease producing garments for third parties at all of its factories—including tailoring at Southwick and shirting at the Garland factory—which it was doing supposedly in order to make the company more attractive for sale. Perhaps they considered selling the factories off individually, separately from Brooks Brothers itself.
Whatever the original intent, it appears the drop-off in sales resulting from COVID-19 has forced an even more dramatic turn of events, with the permanent closure set to take place July 20. My probably unrealistic hope is somebody else will buy the factory to carry the torch (and maintain that pool of skilled labor).
Very sad for these families and for yet another loss to an industry we enjoy.