Cabot Hosiery Mills is a textile manufacturer located in
Northfield, Vermont
Northfield is a New England town, town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The town lies in a valley within the Green Mountains and has been home to Norwich University since 1866. It contains the Northfield (CDP), Vermont, village of No ...
, that makes
sock
A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...
s under the "Darn Tough" label.
The company was founded in 1978 by Marc Cabot, who had worked in the textile industry in New York State until he purchased and rebuilt a vacant mill in Northfield.
His son Ric Cabot joined the company in 1989.
Through the 1990s, Cabot Hosiery primarily manufactured socks for retail chains such as
Gap, which relabeled the product for sale under store brand names.
As retailers began looking to foreign manufacturers able to offer a lower price, Cabot Hosiery's sales declined from $7 million to $5 million annually,
leading the company to lay off about 40 workers.
By the early 2000s, the company owed several million dollars to its lenders, had defaulted on loans, and was late on tax bills.
In 2004, Ric Cabot devised the strategy of selling socks designed for durability under an in-house name, leading to the launch of the "Darn Tough" brand that year after both Cabots invested additional personal equity into the business.
The socks were initially distributed locally, but high demand, particularly among outdoor enthusiasts, led the company to reach distribution deals with national retailers, including
REI
Rei or REI may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Rei, a story arc of the anime ''Higurashi When They Cry''
*Rei, a shapeshifting godlike dragon in the Australian webcomic series ''Vainglorious''
*Rei I, II and III, episodes of ''Neon Genesis Eva ...
and
L.L. Bean
L.L.Bean is an American privately-held retail company that was founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean. The company, headquartered in the place in which it was founded, in Freeport, Maine, specializes in clothing and outdoor recreation equipment. ...
.
The company also sold socks to the US military, which is required by law to purchase supplies from domestic producers, with sales to the armed forces making up as much as a third of all revenue.
Driven by the "Darn Tough" brand, Cabot Hosiery's sales rose through the 2000s, and by 2012 the mill employed about 130 people.
During the first half of the 2010s, sales continued to rise by about 60% annually, and in 2015, with Ric Cabot by then having taken over the role of president and CEO from his father, the company announced a expansion of its factory.
As of 2016, annual sales for Cabot Hosiery were just under $50 million, and the company employed about 200 people, with plans to hire more as expansion continued.
See also
*
List of sock manufacturers
This is a list of sock manufacturers.
* Belvedere Hosiery
* Blacksocks
* Bombas
* Bonds
* Corgi Socks
* Darn Tough Vermont
* Fox River Mills
* Gold Toe Brands
* Hanesbrands
* Happy Socks
* Holeproof Hosiery
* Humphrey Law
* Jockey Inte ...
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 44, 9, 33, N, 72, 39, 0, W, type:landmark_scale:1000, display=title
Manufacturing companies based in Vermont
Clothing companies established in 1978
Textile companies of the United States
1978 establishments in Vermont
American companies established in 1978
Clothing companies of the United States