Gildan Activewear to enter women's intimates market

Canadian T-shirt maker Gildan Activewear Inc. has just announced the

acquisition of pantyhose manufacturer Doris Inc. This move has been seen by many as an strategic step to get into the women's intimates market.

Montreal-based Gildan said earlier this week it is keen to acquire Doris, North America’s third-largest marketer of branded ladies intimates, in a will to pay 110 million dollars cash offer. It could pay an additional 10 million dollars if certain sales revenue growth targets are achieved, explained the tender in a note issued Thursday.

Doris is the market leader in Canada, with brands including Secret and Silks, where the company generates 70 percent of its revenue. Additionally, the company will get into brassieres as well in the future as advanced by Gildan's chief executive.

“Number one, [this] is going to give us access to the Canadian retail market,” Gildan chief executive Glenn Chamandy said in an interview. “We’re now basically going to be able to sell our T-shirts and our sweatshirts and our socks and our underwear, which is really Gildan’s core competency, into the Canadian market. We’re going to use their sales team and their infrastructure to be able to support those sales into Canada.”

On the back of the news, Gildan shares gained 3 percent to close at Canadian dollars 62.08 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.