Bonds (clothing)
 | |
| Public | |
| Industry | Clothing |
| Founded | 1915 by George Alan Bond |
| Headquarters | Wentworthville, New South Wales, Australia |
Key people | Kate Hann (General Manager) |
| Products |
Underwear Sleepwear Light casual apparel |
| Website | www.bonds.com.au |
Bonds Industries Pty Ltd is an Australian manufacturer and importer of men's, women's and children's underwear and clothing, and a subsidiary of Pacific Brands Holdings Pty Ltd. It is a popular mid-range brand within Australia and the United Kingdom. Its trademark Chesty Bond is recognised by many Australians as a popular national icon. Bonds will first available outside Australian and UK market in the end of 2013 at Jakarta, Indonesia.
History
Bonds was established in 1915 by Mr George Allan Bond, an American who came to Australia in the early twentieth century. He started importing women's hosiery and gloves. In 1917 he began manufacturing hosiery in Redfern, Sydney. From 1918 he moved to Camperdown and began also making underwear. In 1932, Bond built Australia’s first cotton spinning mill at Wentworthville in western Sydney. This particular section of Wentworthville was soon renamed Pendle Hill in honour of Mr. Bond's Scottish family origins. For this purpose and facilitating easy access to Bond's Spinning Mills for employees, a railway station was created. In fact a whole new suburb was created.[1]
The company went into liquidation in 1929 and a public company, Bonds Industries Limited, was established. In 1970 the company merged with Coats Paton Pty Ltd. In 1987 the company was taken over by Pacific Dunlop. In 2001 the company was sold to form a separate entity, ‘Pacific Brands Holdings Pty Ltd’. At that time also the spinning mill was closed. In 2004 Pacific Brands Limited was listed as a public company on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and New Zealand Stock Market (NZX).[1]
In 2006, Bonds manufactured 40% of its goods in Australia at three sites in New South Wales: Cessnock, Unanderra and Wentworthville. The factories produced nearly 17 million garments a year and employed 295 full-time staff.[2] The company also has relationships with a number of independent manufacturers in China.
Pacific Brands cut 1850 jobs and ceased manufacturing in Australia by September 2010 to reduce manufacturing costs.[3] After public outrage and media coverage of the sacked staff a group of former employees banded together to form Tuffys & Tuffetts underwear buying much of bonds old equipment and rehiring sacked staff.[4]
Products
The best known of Bonds brands is the Chesty Bond singlet, marketed alongside the iconic character of the same name. Apart from singlets, Bonds also markets a variety of underwear and sleepwear garments including boxers, briefs and trunk styles of underwear for men, along with light tees and Polo shirts. The product line for women is more extensive, offering sports and maternity wear alongside casual clothing, and a variety of undergarments including bras and hipsters. There is also a range of apparel for children and infants, including singlets, underwear and sleepwear. Pat Rafter appears in numerous Bonds television ads, and represents some products. In 2015, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea also signed on to be the 100th birthday ambassador of the company becoming the face of the BONDS100 campaign.[5]
References
- 1 2 "Bonds UK - About us". Bonds UK. Archived from the original on 2006-10-24. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
- ↑ "About us: Bonds Today". Bonds. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
- ↑ "Pacific Brands Exit Australia". Sydney Morning Herald. 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
- ↑ "Bonds Staff resurrect Australian manufacturing". Daily Telegraph. 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
- ↑ "Iggy Azalea to Celebrate Her Role as Bonds100 Birthday Girl in Australia". news.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2015.