| Fruit Of The Loom |
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Fruit of the Loom is a company which manufactures Clothing , particularly Underwear . Fruit of the Loom is somewhat unique with the unconditional guarantee on all the products it sells. The familiar logo with the apple, grapes, currants and leaves is ranked one of the most recognizeable trademarks world wide. The company is a vertically integrated manufacturer. The brand has significant market share for basic apparel. Until the late 1990s , much of the manufacturing was done in the United States . The company's world headquarters are based in Bowling Green, Kentucky . One manufacturing facility still remains in Jamestown, Kentucky and several other facilities are located across the Southeastern United States , from Louisiana to the Carolinas . Other facilities exist in Canada , El Salvador , Honduras , Europe and North Africa . The company also controls another long-known underwear brand, B.V.D. (Bradley, Voorhees, and Day). Other brands also manufactured and sold by the company are Funpals, Screen Stars and Underoos . Brands once owned or marketed by Fruit of the Loom include Gitano , Munsingwear , Pro Player, and Salem Sportswear. Source: Fruit Guys Picture Downloaded from Pierre's Costumes Web Site http://www.costumers.com/mascots/fruitoftheloom.jpg HISTORY The Fruit of the Loom brand dates back to 1851 in Rhode Island when Robert Knight, a textile mill owner, visited his friend, Rufus Skeel. Mr. Skeel owned a small shop in Providence, Rhode Island that sold cloth from Mr. Knight's mill. Mr. Skeel's daughter painted images of fruit and applied them to the bolts of cloth. The ones with the fruit emblems proved most popular. Mr. Knight thought the labels would be the perfect symbol for his trade name, Fruit of the Loom. In 1871, just one year after the first trademark laws were passed by Congress, Mr. Knight received patent number 418 for the brand, Fruit of the Loom Much of its athletic outerwear was sold under the "Pro Player" label, a now defunct division. The company was part of Northwest Industries, Inc until NWI was purchased by William F. Farley in 1985 and renamed Farley Industries, Inc. Prior to the mid 1990s , most manufacturing was done in the US. William F. Farley, the comapny's former Chairman , Chief Executive Officer , and Chief Operating Officer was forced out prior to Bankruptcy in late 1999 , after having piloted the company into massive debt and unproductive business ventures. The company was bought from bankruptcy by Berkshire Hathaway Corporation, controlled by legendary investor Warren Buffett , who wanted the valuable brand. He agreed in January 2002 to purchase the company for approximately $835 million in cash. The deal was concluded on April 29 , 2002 . TRIVIA
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