RN Numbers and suit makers

[Torchwatch]

The growing trend in garment manufacture in the last few years is for brands to outsource manufacture.
A brand with a factory with spare capacity might manufacture for another brand, though usually the companies doing brand contacts are unknown and in the third world.
Jantzen used to be big, taking on work for Nike would keep them going until Nike subcontracted overseas.

Also manufacturing brands have been bought out by bigger multinational brands, eg Umbro in the UK was bought by Nike in the US and continue making football (soccer) kit.

In 1980, Jantzen was purchased by Blue Bell, and Blue Bell was acquired by Vanity Fair Corporation in 1986. This acquisition was a disaster for Jantzen and led to its demise. In 1995, the company dropped the production of menswear to concentrate on women's apparel, returning to its roots in swimsuits. In 2002, the Jantzen trademark was purchased by Perry Ellis International, Inc.[1] This included the licenses of Nike and Jag Swimwear.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jantzen

[PSDave]

This makes for interesting reading and its fun to find out that the Prada you just paid $250 for was actually made by a mass marketing suit maker. Whatever the case is, it doesn't help with the rash of counterfeits coming out of China and other Asian countries. If would be just part of the copy.

[Torchwatch]

Good stitching requires good, well maintained machines and skilled experienced machinists given the time to do a good job. If a garment is well designed, made from good fabrics and well stitched, it doesn't matter what the brand label is.

If you buy just on brand labels and price without checking quality you are liable to end up with fakes.

The best fake goods are made by the companies contracted to manufacture for the brands, they overrun production orders and sell the excess on the black market.

The grey market consists of branded goods destined for 3rd world countries, diverted to Europe and America. The brand owners don't want us to get them as they take a significantly lower profit.

[Byron]

Quite so - it is some years now since the last Speedo was made in Oz for
example and ownership of Speedo International is now with the Pentland Group of the UK (the Warnaco group having rights to Speedo USA).

Interesting old pic here from the 1956 Melbourne Olympics showing the Aussie team's 100m freestyle swim champion. His suit should bear the Speedo logo but it looks suspiciously like Jantzen to me, rather than the boomerang symbol. Any opinions ?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ricks_1956.jpg