View source for Gant (company)

{{Short description|Swedish clothing brand}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox company
| name                = Gant
| logo                = Gant logo.svg
| logo_size           = 250x250px
| type                = Private
| industry            = Retail
| founder             = Bernard Gantmacher
| hq_location_city    = [[Stockholm]]
| hq_location_country = [[Sweden]] (global)
| num_locations       = 583
| num_locations_year  = 2016
| key_people          = {{unbulleted list|Patrik Söderström ([[Chief Executive Officer|CEO]])<ref name="swi1">{{cite web |url=https://fashionunited.uk/news/people/gant-appoints-patrik-soederstroem-as-new-ceo/2019120246450|title=Gant appoints Patrik Söderström as new CEO |publisher=Fashion United |first=Esther |last=Hut|date=December 2019 |accessdate=March 2, 2020}}</ref>}}
| products            = {{unbulleted list|[[Fashion accessory|Accessories]] | [[Apparel|Clothing]] | [[Footwear]] | [[Household goods|Housewares]] | [[Glasses]] | [[Watches]]}}
| parent              = [[Maus Frères]]
| website             = {{URL|https://www.gant.com}}
}}
'''Gant Inc.''', stylized as '''GANT''', is a Swedish clothing retailer with American roots, headquartered in [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]]. The company was founded in 1949 by Bernard Gantmacher and was originally based in [[New Haven]], [[Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gant.com/heritage/the-heritage/the-heritage-original-shirtmaker |title=Born in 1949 |publisher=Gant |access-date=12 June 2016}}</ref> Gant operates in 70 markets and its products are available at over 4000 retailers and exclusive stores all over the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sportswear-international.com/news/stories/Gant-CEO-We-are-born-and-known-as-shirtmakers-9953|publisher=Sportswear International |title=Gant Stores |access-date=3 March 2020}}</ref> "House of Gant" has three different collections: GANT, GANT Diamond G and GANT Rugger.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sportswear-international.com/news/stories/Gant-CEO-We-are-born-and-known-as-shirtmakers-9953|title=Gant CEO: "We are born and known as shirtmakers"|publisher=Sportswear International |first=Melanie |last=Gropler|date=September 2015 |accessdate=March 2, 2020}}</ref>
== History ==
Bernard Gantmacher arrived in [[New York City]] in 1907, a [[Jewish]] immigrant of Russian origin from [[Myropil (urban-type settlement)|Myropil, Russian Empire]]. Gantmacher was employed at a garment factory sewing shirt collars and met his future wife, Rebecca Rose, a button and buttonhole specialist who worked for the same company. After Gantmacher's return from military service during World War I, the couple married and founded the Par-Ex Shirt Company with business partner Morris Shapiro. The company made shirts for brands including [[Brooks Brothers]], [[J. Press]] and Manhattan.<ref name="nhreg">{{Cite news |url=http://www.nhregister.com/article/NH/20101016/NEWS/310169939 |title=Gant Returns to New Haven; Downtown Retail Store to Open This Fall |newspaper=New Haven Register |first=Cara |last=Baruzzi |date=16 October 2010 |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gant.com/heritage/the-heritage/heritage-the-start-of-a-long-journey |title=The Start of a Long Journey |publisher=Gant |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref> In 1927, the company was relocated to New Haven, Connecticut.<ref name="nyt">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/19/business/elliot-gant-marketer-of-the-button-down-shirt-dies-at-89.html|title=Elliot Gant, Marketer of the Button-Down Shirt, Dies at 89|last=Roberts|first=Sam|date=18 March 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=12 June 2016}}</ref> In April 1949, the Gant label was launched.<ref name="envision">{{Cite web |url=http://www.envisionmagazine.ca/gant-the-hip-and-historical-brand/ |title=Gant: The Hip and Historical Brand |work=Envision Magazine |first=Paddy |last=Kamen |date=14 November 2012 |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref> Following their father's death in 1955, Bernard's sons took over the company's operations.<ref name="nyt" />
GANT dress shirts were known for their back-collar button, locker loop and [[box pleat]].<ref name="envision" /><ref name="nyt" /> In the 1960s, Gant made the Yale co-op shirt exclusively for the store on the [[Yale University]] campus.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://themanhasstyle.com/2014/11/26/the-gant-yale-co-op-shirt/ |title=The Gant Yale Co-Op Shirt |publisher=The Man Has Style |first=Sarah |last=Crawford |date=25 November 2014 |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref> Shirts from Gant and rival Sero were ''de rigueur'' for high-school and college-age males who could afford their premium price during the decade. In 1968, the Gant brothers sold the company to Consolidated Foods but remained with the company.<ref name="nyt" /><ref name="egg">{{Cite web |url=http://www.sportswear-international.com/news/pages/protected/Co-founder-of-Gant-Elliot-Gant-has-died_10455.html |title=Co-Founder of Gant Elliot Gant Has Died |publisher=Sportswear International |first=Melanie |last=Gropler |date=18 March 2016 |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref> In 1971, the company launched its first [[sportswear (fashion)|sportswear]] line and in 1974 launched its Rugger brand.<ref name="egg" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://us.fashionmag.com/news/Gant-Co-Founder-Elliot-Gant-passes-away-at-89,671223.html#.VzSPh_krLIU |title=Gant Co-Founder Elliot Gant Passes Away at 89 |publisher=FashionMag |first=Obi |last=Anyanwu |date=17 March 2016 |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref> In 1979, Gant became a subsidiary of apparel manufacturer The Palm Beach Company and ceased operations in New Haven.<ref name="nhreg" />
In the early 1980s, Gant entered the international market when Pyramid Sportswear of [[Sweden]] was given the right to design and market Gant outside the US. Initially, Pyramid only offered the Gant label in Sweden but quickly expanded internationally. In February  1995 the first Gant store opened in Europe in [[Amsterdam]]; it is currently the oldest operating Gant store in the world. In 1995, [[Phillips-Van Heusen]] acquired the Gant brand in the U.S. from bankrupt sportswear manufacturer, Crystal Brands, Inc.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/crystal-brands-inc-history/ |title=Crystal Brands, Inc. History |publisher=Funding Universe |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/phillips-van-heusen-corporation-history/ |title=Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation History |publisher=Funding Universe |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref> In 1997, Gant opened its first store in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/19/nyregion/metro-business-for-american-chain-its-first-us-store.html |title=Metro Business; For American Chain, Its First U.S. Store |work=The New York Times |first=Lisa |last=Foderaro |date=19 November 1997 |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref> Phillips-Van Heusen sold its Gant operations in 1999 to Pyramid Sportswear of Sweden for $71 million.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/02/24/pyramid-partners-collar-gant-phillips-van-heusen-corp/ |title=Pyramid Partners Collar Grant: Phillips-Van Heusen Corp... |work=The Chicago Tribune |date=24 February 1999 |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref>
In the spring of 2006, Gant became a [[public company]] and was listed on the [[Stockholm Stock Exchange]]'s O-List;<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2006-03/artikel-6198394.asp |title=OMX: Gant Ready for Listing on the Nordic Exchange in Stockholm |publisher=Finanz Nachrichten |date=28 March 2006 |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref>  it was [[delisting (stock)|delisted]] 20 March 2008<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/delisting-of-gant-825028.htm |title=Delisting of Gant |publisher=MarketWired |date=25 February 2008 |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref> upon being acquired by the Swiss retail group [[Maus Frères]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.retail-week.com/maus-fr232res-acquires-gant/574281.fullarticle |title=Maus Frères acquires Gant |work=Retail Week |first=Amy |last=Shields |date=1 February 2008 |access-date=17 June 2016 |archive-date=21 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821111225/https://www.retail-week.com/maus-fr232res-acquires-gant/574281.fullarticle |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/33608f34-cf73-11dc-854a-0000779fd2ac.html |title=Maus Frères Acquires Gant |work=Financial Times |first=David |last=Ibison |date=30 January 2008 |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref> In November 2010, Gant returned to New Haven, where it opened a retail store.<ref name="nhreg" />
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.gant.co.uk Gant United Kingdom]
* [https://www.gant.se Gant Sweden]
* [https://www.gant.com Gant USA]
* [https://nl.gant.com Gant Netherlands]
* [https://fr.gant.com Gant France]
* [https://fi.gant.com Gant Finland]
* [https://dk.gant.com Gant Denmark]
* [https://www.gant.ae Gant United Arab Emirates]
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Clothing brands]]
[[Category:1949 establishments in Connecticut]]
[[Category:1999 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:Clothing brands of the United States]]
[[Category:Clothing retailers of the United States]]
[[Category:Clothing companies established in 1949]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 1949]]
[[Category:Companies based in Stockholm]]
[[Category:Clothing brands of Stockholm]]
[[Category:Clothing retailers of Sweden]]