Nautica is an American apparel brand of

Authentic Brands Group Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) is an American brand management company headquartered in New York City. Its holdings include various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands, for which it partners with other companies to license and merchand ...

featuring primarily men's, women's, children's apparel and accessories, as well as home, watches, and fragrance. Nautica was founded in 1983 by clothing designer David Chu and a partner. It was purchased for cash and stock in 1984 by State-O-Maine, a New York–based apparel company. State-O-Maine changed its name to Nautica in 1994. VF Corporation purchased Nautica in 2003. Nautica took its name from the Latin word ''nauticus''—which comes from the Greek word ''ναυτικός''—for naval and in

Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 8 ...

''nautica'' means

seamanship Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topics an ...

. In March 2018,

announced that they would acquire Nautica from

VF Corporation VF Corporation (formerly Vanity Fair Mills until 1969) is an American global apparel and footwear company founded in 1899 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The company's 13 brands are organized into three categories: Outdoor, Active and Wor ...

. The sale was completed on April 30, 2018. Since being acquired by ABG, the brand has been repositioned downmarket as an upper mid-range brand, being priced above PVH's

Izod The Izod Corporation (officially stylized as IZOD) is an American midrange clothing company that produces dressy-casual clothing, sportswear for men, and footwear and accessories. It is a division of Authentic Brands Group, and is currently m ...

and

Ralph Lauren Corporation Ralph Lauren Corporation is an American publicly traded fashion company that was founded in 1967 by American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. The company is headquartered in New York City, producing products ranging from the mid-range to the luxur ...

Chaps Chaps ( or ) are sturdy coverings for the legs consisting of leggings and a belt. They are buckled on over trousers with the chaps' integrated belt, but unlike trousers, they have no seat (the term "assless chaps" is a Tautology (language), taut ...

brands, but well below PVH's

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...

and Ralph Lauren Corporation's

Polo Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren Corporation is an American publicly traded fashion company that was founded in 1967 by American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. The company is headquartered in New York City, producing products ranging from the mid-range to the luxu ...

brands. In 2020, ABG acquired, after bankruptcy and liquidation, the

Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers, founded in Manhattan, New York, in 1818, is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in America. Originally a family business, Brooks Brothers produces clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishings. B ...

brand name only, another brand specialising in the

preppy Preppy (also spelled preppie) or prep (all abbreviations of the word ''preparatory'') is a subculture in the United States associated with the alumni of old private Northeastern college preparatory schools. The terms are used to denote a pe ...

fashion category. In the ABG portfolio,

name will continue to be marketed as an upscale traditional preppy brand, while Nautica will be marketed as a more affordable upper mid-price, modern

athleisure Athleisure is a hybrid style of athletic clothing typically worn as everyday wear. Athleisure outfits can include yoga pants, tights, sneakers, leggings and shorts that look like athletic wear, characterized as "fashionable, dressed-up sweats a ...

brand. In 2021, it was announced that ABG would acquire the

brand from PVH, which offers several similar clothing styles to Nautica. Currently, Nautica slots above lower priced

and below upper priced

in price.

References

External links

*
Official UK & Europe website
1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2003 mergers and acquisitions 2010s fashion 2018 mergers and acquisitions Clothing companies established in 1983 Clothing companies of the United States Eyewear brands of the United States Manufacturing companies based in New York City Sailing equipment manufacturers Sportswear brands Swimwear manufacturers Underwear brands Watch manufacturing companies of the United States Authentic Brands Group {{Retail-company-stub