The Canadian clothing manufacturer Gildan Activewear Inc., based in Montreal, to which the US brand American Apparel has belonged since 2017, generated sales of 636 million euros (703 million US dollars) in the first quarter of 2023. That represents a decrease of 65 million euros ($72 million), or nine percent, compared to the previous year. Quarter ended April 2, 2023.
Activewear was the worst-performing segment, where Gildan had sales of 532 million euros ($588 million) and a decline of 72 million euros ($80 million). This corresponds to a decrease of twelve percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
In contrast, the hosiery and lingerie business performed well, with sales totaling EUR 104 million (US$ 115 million), up 7 percent.
Operating income was 115.8 million euros ($128 million), or 18.2 percent of revenue, which includes a gain on the sale and leaseback of a distribution facility in the United States. Excluding this gain, adjusted operating income was 93 million euros ($103 million), or 14.6 percent of revenue, up from 143 million euros ($158 million), or 20.4 percent of revenue in the first year been quarter.
“We are pleased with our results as we met our revenue expectations for the quarter,” said Glenn J. Chamandy, Gildan’s President and CEO, referring to the difficult economic environment.
Gildan is an international apparel manufacturer with sales in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The product offering includes activewear, underwear and socks, which are sold to printable wholesalers and national customers, which include major screen printers or finishers, retailers and global lifestyle brands.
Gildan owns and operates vertically integrated, large scale manufacturing facilities located primarily in Central America, the Caribbean, the United States and Bangladesh.