OshKosh B'gosh

OshKosh B'gosh is an American children's apparel company founded in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1895. It is a subsidiary of Carter's.

OshKosh B'gosh
TypeSubsidiary
Founded1895
Headquarters
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Number of locations
459 (November 2019)[1]
ProductsClothing
ParentCarter's, Inc.
(2005–present)
Websitewww.oshkosh.com
Corporate headquarters

OshKosh B'Gosh was originally founded in 1895 as Grove Manufacturing Company, a small-town manufacturer of adult work clothing. The most notable product was the "hickory striped" overalls for railroad workers and agriculture workers.[2] The name was used for the products after general manager William Pollack heard the "Oshkosh B'Gosh" tagline in a vaudeville routine in New York; the company adopted the name in 1937.[3]

It has become best known for its children's clothing, especially bibbed overalls. The original children's overalls, dating from the early 20th century, were intended to let parents dress their children like their fathers. According to the company, sales of the product increased after Miles Kimball, an Oshkosh-based mail order catalog, featured a pair of the overalls in its national catalog in 1960. As a result, OshKosh began to sell their products through department stores and expanded their children's line.

Children's clothing made up 15 percent of the company's sales in 1979; by 1993 that number was 95 percent.

An example of Oshkosh shortalls in the train engineer's style

In 1997, after 102 years in the hometown, the Wisconsin plant was closed.[4] Oshkosh B'Gosh clothes are no longer made in Oshkosh. Downsizing of domestic operations and massive outsourcing and manufacturing at Mexican and Honduran subsidiaries saw the domestic manufacturing share drop below 10% by the year 2000.[5]

The company was sold to Carter's, another clothing manufacturer, in 2005 for $312 million,[6] though it still operates under the original name.

Today the company sells accessories, jeans, pants, shirts, sweaters, t-shirts, tank tops, and its trademark overalls. The company produces clothing for babies, infants, toddlers, kids (4-7), and youth (5-14); however, it no longer manufactures clothing in adult sizes due to poor sales. The company also has over 300 stores in the United States of America.

The company now has its headquarters in Suite 1800 at Phipps Tower in Atlanta's Buckhead district.[7]

References
  1. "www.oshkosh.com". Carter's Inc.
  2. "History of OshKosh B'Gosh, Inc. – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  3. "OshKosh B'Gosh Sewing Machine". Wisconsin Historical Society. 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  4. Pollak, Lisa. "Overall, they're not made here anymore Oshkosh: Displaced workers say "Made in America" is a memory at OshKosh B'Gosh as the clothier's wares are increasingly made overseas". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  5. "OshKosh B'Gosh Inc". answers.com.
  6. "Carter's to buy OshKosh B'Gosh for $312 million". milwaukee.bizjournals.com. 10 May 2005.
  7. "2014 Annual Report." Carter's, Inc. "Phipps Tower 3438 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1800 Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)"
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