Hanesbrands manufactures and sells of low-cost innerwear (t-shirts, bras, and underwear) and hosiery.^[1] The companies brands include: Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, L’eggs, Just My Size, barely there, Wonderbra, Stedman, Outer Banks, Zorba, Rinbros and Duofold.^[2] The company sells its products at wholesale prices to mass-market discount retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, as well as department stores. Hanes is heavily dependent on a few large customers. Wal-Mart (WMT), Target (TGT), and Kohl's (KSS) account for 27%,17%, and 7% respectively, of the company's sales.^[3]

Hanes is one of the largest players in the innerware industry and enjoys economies of scale that allow it to offer its products at prices below those its competitors. This advantage has become especially important in recent years, as department stores have begun to offer their own private label brands. Private label brands typically provide department stores with higher margins than third party brands. Hanes is the exception to this rule because it is able to offer its products at prices below what it costs department stores to manufacture/purchase their own private label merchandise. The company earned $3.9 billion in revenue and $51 million in net income in 2009.^[4]

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