Gold Toe Brands
Encyclopedia
Gold Toe Brands, Inc., is the third largest United States-based producer of socks. It makes more than half of the men's dress socks sold in department stores in the United States and produces more than 140 million pairs of socks annually. Gold Toe socks are on the American Podiatric Medical Association
's approved list of brands for foot health.
, during the early twentieth century. During the Great Depression
it began manufacturing men's dress socks with a toe made from high quality Irish linen, which made the their product more resistant to holes and fraying than ordinary socks. A department store buyer informed company management that these durable socks were popular, but customers had difficulty distinguishing the product from its competitors. So the manufacturer added gold acetate thread to the toes of its socks in order to make it visually distinctive on store shelves. Katya Andresen and Kate (FRW) Roberts, authors of Robin Hood Marketing: Stealing Corporate Savvy to Sell Just Causes, call this branding decision "a stroke of genius" and credit it for the firm's dominant position in its niche market: "Go to a leading department store today, and you can see why. In a sea of black and blue men's dress socks, Gold Toe practically leaps off the display shelves." The manufacturer changed its name to Gold Toe Brands Inc. in 2002. In 2009, Gold Toe worked with Washington, D.C., based marketing and design company, Unison Agency
, to recreate their online retail platform.
GTB Holding Corp holds the trademark licensing rights to the Sanforization
process of pre-shrinking fabric, named for its inventor, Sanford L. Cluett, who developed the process for Cluett Peabody & Company
, which he joined in 1919.
Gold Toe merged with later competitor Moretz in 2006 to form GoldToeMoretz. Gildan Activewear
acquired the company in 2011.
, with executive headquarters in New York City
. Gold Toe Brands, Inc., has shifted much of its manufacturing to China, particularly Zhejiang
province. This attracted criticism from author Ted C. Fishman in China, Inc: How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World, who notes that although the Gold Toe Brands website boasts that its socks are made by skilled workers and inspected for quality, those workers "are likely to be migrant farm women toiling in the Zhejiang sock factories".
Although its primary market is men's dress socks, Gold Toe Brands has expanded to other segments of the sock market. In 1983 it added a line of women's socks, then in 1986 it began producing boys' socks, and in 1992 it started making women's tights. Unlike many other firms that sell to department store buyers, Gold Toe does not rely on retail discounts to increase its sales and prohibits retailers from discounting its products.
American Podiatric Medical Association
The American Podiatric Medical Association is a professional medical organization representing Doctors of Podiatric Medicine within the United States. The organization was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Approximately 80% of podiatrists in the US are members of the APMA...
's approved list of brands for foot health.
History
The firm began operations as Great American Knitting Mills in Bally, PennsylvaniaBally, Pennsylvania
Bally is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,062 at the 2000 census, but a 2005 census estimate put the population at 1,102 residents.-History:...
, during the early twentieth century. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
it began manufacturing men's dress socks with a toe made from high quality Irish linen, which made the their product more resistant to holes and fraying than ordinary socks. A department store buyer informed company management that these durable socks were popular, but customers had difficulty distinguishing the product from its competitors. So the manufacturer added gold acetate thread to the toes of its socks in order to make it visually distinctive on store shelves. Katya Andresen and Kate (FRW) Roberts, authors of Robin Hood Marketing: Stealing Corporate Savvy to Sell Just Causes, call this branding decision "a stroke of genius" and credit it for the firm's dominant position in its niche market: "Go to a leading department store today, and you can see why. In a sea of black and blue men's dress socks, Gold Toe practically leaps off the display shelves." The manufacturer changed its name to Gold Toe Brands Inc. in 2002. In 2009, Gold Toe worked with Washington, D.C., based marketing and design company, Unison Agency
Unison Agency
Unison Agency is a global brand communications agency with headquarters in Washington, D.C..- History :Unison was founded in 2003 by President Robert Fardi and Creative Director R. Julius Talvik. The agency’s main focus is cross-cultural international branding and communications, with a...
, to recreate their online retail platform.
GTB Holding Corp holds the trademark licensing rights to the Sanforization
Sanforization
Sanforization is a process of treatment used for cotton fabrics mainly and most textiles made from natural or chemical fibres, patented by Sanford Lockwood Cluett in 1930...
process of pre-shrinking fabric, named for its inventor, Sanford L. Cluett, who developed the process for Cluett Peabody & Company
Cluett Peabody & Company
Cluett Peabody & Company, Inc. once headquartered in Troy, New York was a longtime manufacturer of shirts, detachable shirt cuffs and collars, and related apparel. It is best known for its Arrow brand collars and shirts and the related Arrow Collar Man advertisements...
, which he joined in 1919.
Gold Toe merged with later competitor Moretz in 2006 to form GoldToeMoretz. Gildan Activewear
Gildan Activewear
Gildan Activewear Inc. Gildan is a clothing company which produces basic apparel and hosiery. The company's corporate head office is located in Montreal, Canada, and its manufacturing facilities are in Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, the USA and Bangladesh. It also outsources some...
acquired the company in 2011.
Operations
The company's operations headquarters is located in Burlington, North CarolinaBurlington, North Carolina
Burlington is a city in Alamance and Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Alamance County, in which most of the city is located. The population was 49,963 at the 2010...
, with executive headquarters in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Gold Toe Brands, Inc., has shifted much of its manufacturing to China, particularly Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
province. This attracted criticism from author Ted C. Fishman in China, Inc: How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World, who notes that although the Gold Toe Brands website boasts that its socks are made by skilled workers and inspected for quality, those workers "are likely to be migrant farm women toiling in the Zhejiang sock factories".
Although its primary market is men's dress socks, Gold Toe Brands has expanded to other segments of the sock market. In 1983 it added a line of women's socks, then in 1986 it began producing boys' socks, and in 1992 it started making women's tights. Unlike many other firms that sell to department store buyers, Gold Toe does not rely on retail discounts to increase its sales and prohibits retailers from discounting its products.