UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

 

 

Commission file number: 001-32891

 

Hanesbrands Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

(336) 519-4400

(Registrant’s telephone number including area code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share and related

Preferred Stock Purchase Rights

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes þ     No o

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.  Yes o     No þ

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes þ     No o

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes o     No þ

 

As of June 29, 2007, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $2,181,556,448 (based on the closing price of the common stock of $27.03 per share on that date, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange and, for purposes of this computation only, the assumption that all of the registrant’s directors and executive officers are affiliates).

 

As of February 1, 2008, there were 95,232,478 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

Part III of this Form 10-K incorporates by reference to portions of the registrant’s proxy statement for its 2008 annual meeting of stockholders.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

Trademarks, Trade Names and Service Marks

 

We own or have rights to use the trademarks, service marks and trade names that we use in conjunction with the operation of our business. Some of the more important trademarks that we own or have rights to use that appear in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include the Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, Just My Size, barely there, Wonderbra, C9 by Champion, L’eggs, Outer Banks, Duofold and Stedman marks, which may be registered in the United States and other jurisdictions. We do not own any trademark, trade name or service mark of any other company appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts, and can generally be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “believe,” “will,” “expect,” “project,” “estimate,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “continue” or similar expressions. In particular, information appearing under “Business,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements inherently involve many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these statements. Where, in any forward-looking statement, we express an expectation or belief as to future results or events, such expectation or belief is based on the current plans and expectations of our management and expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the expectation or belief will result or be achieved or accomplished. The following include some but not all of the factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated:

 

 

There may be other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements. We can give no assurances that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if any of them does, what impact they will have on our results of operations and financial condition. You should carefully read the factors described in the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a description of certain risks that could, among other things, cause our actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements.

 

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, other than as required by law.

 

We file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can inspect, read and copy these reports, proxy statements and other information at the public reference facilities the SEC maintains at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549.

 

We make available free of charge at www.hanesbrands.com (in the “Investors” section) copies of materials we file with, or furnish to, the SEC. You can also obtain copies of these materials at prescribed rates by writing to the Public Reference Section of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can obtain information on the operation of the public reference facilities by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that makes available reports, proxy statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with it. By referring to our website, www.hanesbrands.com, we do not incorporate our website or its contents into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

 

General

 

We are a consumer goods company with a portfolio of leading apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, Just My Size, barely there and Wonderbra. We design, manufacture, source and sell a broad range of apparel essentials such as t-shirts, bras, panties, men’s underwear, kids’ underwear, socks, hosiery, casualwear and activewear.

 

Our products are sold through multiple distribution channels. During the year ended December 29, 2007, approximately 46% of our net sales were to mass merchants, 19% were to national chains and department stores, 8% were direct to consumers, 9% were in our International segment and 18% were to other retail channels such as embellishers, specialty retailers, warehouse clubs and sporting goods stores. In addition to designing and marketing apparel essentials, we have a long history of operating a global supply chain that incorporates a mix of self-manufacturing, third-party contractors and third-party sourcing.

 

The apparel essentials segment of the apparel industry is characterized by frequently replenished items, such as t-shirts, bras, panties, men’s underwear, kids’ underwear, socks and hosiery. Growth and sales in the apparel essentials industry are not primarily driven by fashion, in contrast to other areas of the broader apparel industry. Rather, we focus on the core attributes of comfort, fit and value, while remaining current with regard to consumer trends. The majority of our core styles continue from year to year, with variations only in color, fabric or design details. We continue to invest in our largest and strongest brands to achieve our long-term growth goals.

 

Our operations are managed and reported in five operating segments: Innerwear, Outerwear, Hosiery, International and Other. The following table summarizes our operating segments by category:

 

 

 

 

Our brands have a strong heritage in the apparel essentials industry. According to The NPD Group/Consumer Tracking Service, or “NPD,” our brands hold either the number one or number two U.S. market position by sales in most product categories in which we compete, on a rolling year-end basis as of December 31, 2007. According to a 2007 survey of consumer brand awareness by Women’s Wear Daily, Hanes is the most recognized apparel and accessory brand among women in the United States. According to

Millward Brown Market Research, Hanes is found in over 85% of the United States households that have purchased men’s or women’s casual clothing or underwear in the 12-month period ended December 31, 2007.

 

According to NPD, we are the largest seller of apparel essentials in the United States as measured by sales on a rolling year-end basis as of December 31, 2007. We sell our products primarily through large, high-volume retailers, including mass merchants, department stores and national chains. We have met the demands of our customers by developing vertically integrated operations and an extensive network of owned facilities and third-party manufacturers over a broad geographic footprint. We have strong, long-term relationships with our top customers, including relationships of more than ten years with each of our top ten customers. The size and operational scale of the high-volume retailers with which we do business require extensive category and product knowledge and specialized services regarding the quantity, quality and planning of orders. We align significant parts of our organization with corresponding parts of our customers, organizing into teams that sell to and service our customers across a range of functional areas, such as demand planning, replenishment and logistics. We also have customer-specific programs such as the C9 by Champion products marketed and sold through Target stores.

 

Our ability to react to changing customer needs and industry trends will continue to be key to our success. Our design, research and product development teams, in partnership with our marketing teams, drive our efforts to bring innovations to market. We intend to leverage our insights into consumer demand in the apparel essentials industry to develop new products within our existing lines and to modify our existing core products in ways that make them more appealing, addressing changing customer needs and industry trends. Examples of our recent innovations include:

 

 

We were spun off from Sara Lee on September 5, 2006. In connection with the spin off, Sara Lee contributed its branded apparel Americas and Asia business to us and distributed all of the outstanding shares of our common stock to its stockholders on a pro rata basis. As a result of the spin off, Sara Lee ceased to own any equity interest in our company. In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we describe the businesses contributed to us by Sara Lee in the spin off as if the contributed businesses were our business for all historical periods described. References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to our assets, liabilities, products, businesses or activities of our business for periods including or prior to the spin off are generally intended to refer to the historical assets, liabilities, products, businesses or activities of the contributed businesses as the businesses were conducted as part of Sara Lee and its subsidiaries prior to the spin off. Our fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to December 31 and previously ended on the Saturday closest to June 30. We refer to the fiscal year ended December 29, 2007 as the year ended December 29, 2007. A reference to a year ended on another date is to the fiscal year ended on that date.

 

We expect to continue the restructuring efforts that we have undertaken since the spin off from Sara Lee. For example, during the year ended December 29, 2007, in furtherance of our efforts to execute our consolidation and globalization strategy, we approved actions to close 17 manufacturing facilities and three distribution centers. The implementation of these efforts, which are designed to improve operating efficiencies and lower costs, has resulted and is likely to continue to result in significant costs and savings. As further plans are developed and approved by management and in some cases our board of directors, we expect to recognize additional restructuring costs to eliminate duplicative functions within the organization and transition a significant portion of our manufacturing capacity to lower-cost locations. As a result of these efforts, we

expect to incur approximately $250 million in restructuring and related charges over the three year period following the spin off from Sara Lee, approximately half of which is expected to be noncash. As of December 29, 2007, we have recognized approximately $116 million in restructuring and related charges related to these efforts.

 

Our Industry

 

The overall U.S. apparel market and the core categories critical to our future success will continue to be influenced by a number of broad-based trends:

 

 

In addition, we anticipate growth in the apparel essentials industry will be driven in part by product improvements and innovations. Improvements in product features, such as stretch in t-shirts or tagless garment labels, or in increased variety through new sizes or styles, are expected to enhance consumer appeal and category demand. Often the innovations and improvements in our industry are not trend-driven, but are designed to react to identifiable consumer needs and demands. As a consequence, the apparel essentials market is characterized by lower fashion risks compared to other apparel categories.

 

Our Brands

 

Our portfolio of leading brands is designed to address the needs and wants of various consumer segments across a broad range of apparel essentials products. Each of our brands has a particular consumer positioning that distinguishes it from its competitors and guides its advertising and product development. We discuss some of our most important brands in more detail below.

 

Hanes is the largest and most widely recognized brand in our portfolio. According to a 2007 survey of consumer brand awareness by Women’s Wear Daily, Hanes is the most recognized apparel and accessory brand among women in the United States. The Hanes brand covers all of our product categories, including men’s underwear, kids’ underwear, bras, panties, socks, t-shirts, fleece and sheer hosiery. Hanes stands for outstanding comfort, style and value. According to Millward Brown Market Research, Hanes is found in over 85% of the United States households that have purchased men’s or women’s casual clothing or underwear in the 12-month period ended December 31, 2007.

 

Champion is our second-largest brand.  Specializing in athletic and other performance apparel, the Champion brand is designed for everyday athletes. We believe that Champion’s combination of comfort, fit and style provides athletes with mobility, durability and up-to-date styles, all product qualities that are important in the sale of athletic products. We also distribute products under the C9 by Champion brand exclusively through Target stores.

 

Playtex, the third-largest brand within our portfolio, offers a line of bras, panties and shapewear, including products that offer solutions for hard to fit figures. Bali is the fourth-largest brand within our portfolio. Bali offers a range of bras, panties and shapewear sold in the department store channel. Our brand portfolio also includes the following well-known brands: L’eggs, Just My Size, barely there, Wonderbra, Outer Banks and Duofold. These brands serve to round out our product offerings, allowing us to give consumers a variety of options to meet their diverse needs.

Our Segments

 

Our operations are managed in five operating segments, each of which is a reportable segment for financial reporting purposes: Innerwear, Outerwear, Hosiery, International and Other. These segments are organized principally by product category and geographic location. For more information about our segments, see Note 20 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Innerwear

 

The Innerwear segment focuses on core apparel essentials, and consists of products such as women’s intimate apparel, men’s underwear, kids’ underwear, socks, thermals and sleepwear, marketed under well-known brands that are trusted by consumers. We are an intimate apparel category leader in the United States with our Hanes, Playtex, Bali, Just My Size, barely there and Wonderbra brands. We are also a leading manufacturer and marketer of men’s underwear and kids’ underwear under the Hanes and Champion brand names. We also produce underwear products under a licensing agreement with Polo Ralph Lauren. Our net sales for the year ended December 29, 2007 from our Innerwear segment were $2.6 billion, representing approximately 57% of total segment net sales.

 

Outerwear

 

We are a leader in the casualwear and activewear markets through our Hanes, Champion and Just My Size brands, where we offer products such as t-shirts and fleece. Our casualwear lines offer a range of quality, comfortable clothing for men, women and children marketed under the Hanes and Just My Size brands. The Just My Size brand offers casual apparel designed exclusively to meet the needs of plus-size women. In addition to activewear for men and women, Champion provides uniforms for athletic programs and includes an apparel program, C9 by Champion, at Target stores. We also license our Champion name for collegiate apparel and footwear. We also supply our t-shirts, sportshirts and fleece products primarily to wholesalers, who then resell to screen printers and embellishers through brands such as Hanes, Champion, and Outer Banks. These products are sold primarily under the Hanes, Hanes Beefy-T and Outer Banks brands. Our net sales for the year ended December 29, 2007 from our Outerwear segment were $1.2 billion, representing approximately 27% of total segment net sales.

 

Hosiery

 

We are the leading marketer of women’s sheer hosiery in the United States. We compete in the hosiery market by striving to offer superior values and executing integrated marketing activities, as well as focusing on the style of our hosiery products. We market hosiery products under our Hanes, L’eggs and Just My Size brands. Our net sales for the year ended December 29, 2007 from our Hosiery segment were $266 million, representing approximately 6% of total segment net sales. We expect the trend of declining hosiery sales to continue consistent with the overall decline in the industry (although the decline has slowed in recent years) and with shifts in consumer preferences.

 

International

 

International includes products that span across the Innerwear, Outerwear and Hosiery reportable segments and include products marketed under the Hanes, Champion, Wonderbra, Playtex, Rinbros, Bali and Stedman brands. Our net sales in this segment included sales in Latin America, Asia, Canada and Europe. Japan, Canada and Mexico are our largest international markets, and we also have sales offices in India and China. Our net sales for the year ended December 29, 2007 from our International segment were $422 million, representing approximately 9% of total segment net sales.

 

Other

 

Our net sales in this segment are comprised of sales of nonfinished products such as fabric and certain other materials in the United States and Latin America in order to maintain asset utilization at certain

manufacturing facilities. Our net sales for the year ended December 29, 2007 from our Other segment were $57 million, representing approximately 1% of total segment net sales.

 

Design, Research and Product Development

 

At the core of our design, research and product development capabilities is a team of more than 300 professionals. We have combined our design, research and development teams into an integrated group for all of our product categories. A facility located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is the center of our research, technical design and product development efforts. We also employ creative design and product development personnel in our design center in New York City. During the year ended December 29, 2007, the six months ended December 30, 2006 the year ended July 1, 2006 and the year ended July 2, 2005, we spent approximately $45 million, $23 million, $55 million and $51 million, respectively, on design, research and product development.

 

Customers

 

In the year ended December 29, 2007, approximately 90% of our net sales were to customers in the United States and approximately 10% were to customers outside the United States. Domestically, almost 85% of our net sales were wholesale sales to retailers, 7% were wholesale sales to third-party embellishers and 8% were direct to consumers. We have well-established relationships with some of the largest apparel retailers in the world. Our largest customers are Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., or “Wal-Mart,” Target Corporation, or “Target” and Kohl’s Corporation, or “Kohl’s,” accounting for 27%, 14% and 6%, respectively, of our total sales in the year ended December 29, 2007. As is common in the apparel essentials industry, we generally do not have purchase agreements that obligate our customers, including Wal-Mart, to purchase our products. However, all of our key customer relationships have been in place for ten years or more. Wal-Mart and Target are our only customers with sales that exceed 10% of any individual segment’s sales. In our Innerwear segment, Wal-Mart accounted for 30% of sales and Target accounted for 11% of sales during the year ended December 29, 2007. In our Outerwear segment, Wal-Mart accounted for 24% of sales and Target accounted for 25% of sales during the year ended December 29, 2007.

 

Due to their size and operational scale, high-volume retailers such as Wal-Mart require extensive category and product knowledge and specialized services regarding the quantity, quality and timing of product orders. We have organized multifunctional customer management teams, which has allowed us to form strategic long-term relationships with these customers and efficiently focus resources on category, product and service expertise.

 

Smaller regional customers attracted to our leading brands and quality products also represent an important component of our distribution. Our organizational model provides for an efficient use of resources that delivers a high level of category and channel expertise and services to these customers.

 

Sales to the mass merchant channel accounted for approximately 46% of our net sales in the year ended December 29, 2007. We sell all of our product categories in this channel primarily under our Hanes, Just My Size, Playtex and C9 by Champion brands. Mass merchants feature high-volume, low-cost sales of basic apparel items along with a diverse variety of consumer goods products, such as grocery and drug products and other hard lines, and are characterized by large retailers, such as Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart, which accounted for approximately 27% of our net sales during the year ended December 29, 2007, is our largest mass merchant customer.

 

Sales to the national chains and department stores channel accounted for approximately 19% of our net sales during the year ended December 29, 2007. These retailers target a higher-income consumer than mass merchants, focus more of their sales on apparel items rather than other consumer goods such as grocery and drug products, and are characterized by large retailers such as Kohl’s, JC Penney Company, Inc. and Sears Holdings Corporation. We sell all of our product categories in this channel. Traditional department stores target higher-income consumers and carry more high-end, fashion conscious products than national chains or mass merchants and tend to operate in higher-income areas and commercial centers. Traditional department

stores are characterized by large retailers such as Macy’s and Dillard’s, Inc. We sell products in our intimate apparel, hosiery and underwear categories through these department stores.

 

Sales to the direct to consumer channel accounted for approximately 8% of our net sales in the year ended December 29, 2007. We sell our branded products directly to consumers through our approximately 216 outlet stores, as well as our catalogs and our web sites operating under the Hanes, OneHanesPlace, Outer Banks, Just My Size and Champion names. Our outlet stores are value-based, offering the consumer a savings of 25% to 40% off suggested retail prices, and sell first-quality, excess, post-season, obsolete and slightly imperfect products. Our catalogs and web sites address the growing direct to consumer channel that operates in today’s 24/7 retail environment, and we have an active database of approximately three million consumers receiving our catalogs and emails. Our web sites have experienced significant growth and we expect this trend to continue as more consumers embrace this retail shopping channel.

 

Sales in our International segment represented approximately 9% of our net sales during the year ended December 29, 2007, and included sales in Latin America, Asia, Canada and Europe. Japan, Canada and Mexico are our largest international markets, and we also have sales offices in India and China. We operate in several locations in Latin America including Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil and Central America. From an export business perspective, we use distributors to service customers in the Middle East and Asia, and have a limited presence in Latin America. The brands that are the primary focus of the export business include Hanes underwear and Bali, Playtex, Wonderbra and barely there intimate apparel. As discussed below, we are not permitted to sell Wonderbra and Playtex branded products in the member states of the EU, several other European countries, and South Africa.

 

Sales in other channels represented approximately 18% of our net sales during the year ended December 29, 2007. We sell t-shirts, golf and sport shirts and fleece sweatshirts to third-party embellishers primarily under our Hanes, Hanes Beefy-T and Outer Banks brands. Sales to third-party embellishers accounted for approximately 7% of our net sales during the year ended December 29, 2007. We also sell a significant range of our underwear, activewear and sock products under the Champion brand to wholesale clubs, such as Costco, and sporting goods stores, such as The Sports Authority, Inc. We sell primarily legwear and underwear products under the Hanes and L’eggs brands to food, drug and variety stores. We sell our branded apparel essentials products to the U.S. military for sale to servicemen and servicewomen.

 

Inventory

 

Effective inventory management is a key component of our future success. Because our customers do not purchase our products under long-term supply contracts, but rather on a purchase order basis, effective inventory management requires close coordination with the customer base. We employ various types of inventory management techniques that include collaborative forecasting and planning, vendor-managed inventory, key event management and various forms of replenishment management processes. We have demand management planners in our customer management group who work closely with customers to develop demand forecasts that are passed to the supply chain. We also have professionals within the customer management group who coordinate daily with our larger customers to help ensure that our customers’ planned inventory levels are in fact available at their individual retail outlets. Additionally, within our supply chain organization we have dedicated professionals that translate the demand forecast into our inventory strategy and specific production plans. These individuals work closely with our customer management team to balance inventory investment/exposure with customer service targets.

 

Seasonality and Other Factors

 

Our operating results are subject to some variability. Generally, our diverse range of product offerings helps mitigate the impact of seasonal changes in demand for certain items. Sales are typically higher in the last two quarters (July to December) of each fiscal year. Socks, hosiery and fleece products generally have higher sales during this period as a result of cooler weather, back-to-school shopping and holidays. Sales levels in a period are also impacted by customers’ decisions to increase or decrease their inventory levels in response to anticipated consumer demand. Our customers may cancel orders, change delivery schedules or change the

mix of products ordered with minimal notice to us. Our results of operations are also impacted by fluctuations and volatility in the price of cotton and the timing of actual spending for our media, advertising and promotion expenses. Media, advertising and promotion expenses may vary from period to period during a year depending on the timing of our advertising campaigns for retail selling seasons and product introductions. Our costs for cotton yarn and cotton-based textiles vary based upon the fluctuating cost of cotton, which is affected by weather, consumer demand, speculation on the commodities market, the relative valuations and fluctuations of the currencies of producer versus consumer countries and other factors that are generally unpredictable and beyond our control. While we do enter into short-term supply agreements and hedges in an attempt to protect our business from the volatility of the market price of cotton, our business can be affected by dramatic movements in cotton prices.

 

Marketing

 

Our strategy is to bring consumer-driven innovation to market in a compelling way. Our approach is to build targeted, effective multimedia advertising and marketing campaigns to increase awareness of our key brands. Driving growth platforms across categories is a major element of our strategy as it enables us to meet key consumer needs and leverage advertising dollars. We believe that the strength of our consumer insights, our distinctive brand propositions and our focus on integrated marketing give us a competitive advantage in the fragmented apparel marketplace.

 

In 2007, we launched a number of new advertising and marketing initiatives:

 

 

In October 2007, we announced a 10-year strategic alliance with The Walt Disney Company. Key features of the alliance include:

 

 

 

Distribution

 

We distribute our products for the U.S. market primarily from U.S.-based company-owned and company-operated distribution centers. As of December 29, 2007, we distributed products for the U.S. market from 26 distribution centers, 19 of which were company-owned or company-operated. International distribution operations use a combination of third-party logistics providers, as well as owned and operated distribution operations, to distribute goods to our various international markets. We are currently in the process of consolidating several of our distribution centers, and have reduced the number of distribution centers from the 48 that we maintained at the time of the spin off to 41, of which 26 are company-owned or company-operated. In this process, we approved actions to close three distribution centers during the year ended December 29, 2007.

 

Manufacturing and Sourcing

 

During the year ended December 29, 2007, approximately 79% of our finished goods sold in the United States were manufactured through a combination of facilities we own and operate and facilities owned and operated by third-party contractors who perform some of the steps in the manufacturing process for us, such as cutting and/or sewing. We sourced the remainder of our finished goods from third-party manufacturers who supply us with finished products based on our designs. We believe that our balanced approach to product supply, which relies on a combination of owned, contracted and sourced manufacturing located across different geographic regions, increases the efficiency of our operations, reduces product costs and offers customers a reliable source of supply.

 

Finished Goods That Are Manufactured by Hanesbrands

 

The manufacturing process for finished goods that we manufacture begins with raw materials we obtain from third parties. The principal raw materials in our product categories are cotton and synthetics. Our costs for cotton yarn and cotton-based textiles vary based upon the fluctuating and often volatile cost of cotton, which is affected by, among other factors, weather, consumer demand, speculation on the commodities market and the relative valuations and fluctuations of the currencies of producer versus consumer countries. We attempt to mitigate the effect of fluctuating raw material costs by entering into short-term supply agreements that set the price we will pay for cotton yarn and cotton-based textiles in future periods. We also enter into hedging contracts on cotton designed to protect us from severe market fluctuations in the wholesale prices of cotton. In addition to cotton yarn and cotton-based textiles, we use thread and trim for product identification, buttons, zippers, snaps and lace.

 

Fluctuations in crude oil or petroleum prices may also influence the prices of items used in our business, such as chemicals, dyestuffs, polyester yarn and foam. Alternate sources of these materials and services are readily available. After they are sourced, cotton and synthetic materials are spun into yarn, which is then knitted into cotton, synthetic and blended fabrics. We spin a significant portion of the yarn and knit a

significant portion of the fabrics we use in our owned and operated facilities. To a lesser extent, we purchase fabric from several domestic and international suppliers in conjunction with scheduled production. These fabrics are cut and sewn into finished products, either by us or by third-party contractors. Most of our cutting and sewing operations are located in Central America and the Caribbean Basin.

 

Rising fuel, energy and utility costs may have a significant impact on our manufacturing costs. These costs may fluctuate due to a number of factors outside our control, including government policy and regulation and weather conditions.

 

We continue to consolidate our manufacturing facilities, and currently operate 62 manufacturing facilities, down from 70 at the time of our spin off. In making decisions about the location of manufacturing operations and third-party sources of supply, we consider a number of factors, including local labor costs, quality of production, applicable quotas and duties, and freight costs. Over the past ten years, we have engaged in a substantial asset relocation strategy designed to eliminate or relocate portions of our U.S.-based manufacturing operations to lower-cost locations in Central America, the Caribbean Basin and Asia. For example, during the third quarter of 2007, we acquired the 1,300-employee textile manufacturing operations in San Juan Opico, El Salvador of Industrias Duraflex, S.A. de C.V., at which textiles are knit, dyed, finished and cut. These operations had been a supplier to us since the early 1990s. This acquisition provides a textile base in Central America from which to expand and leverage our large scale as well as supply our sewing network throughout Central America. Also, we announced plans in October 2007 to build a textile production plant in Nanjing, China, which will be the first company-owned textile production facility in Asia. The Nanjing textile facility will enable us to expand and leverage our production scale in Asia as we balance our supply chain across hemispheres. In December 2007, we acquired the 900-employee sheer hosiery facility in Las Lourdes, El Salvador of Inversiones Bonaventure, S.A. de C.V. For the past 12 years, these operations had been a primary contract sewing operation for Hanes and L’eggs hosiery products. The acquisition streamlines a critical part of our overall hosiery supply chain and is part of our strategy to operate larger, company-owned production facilities.

 

During the year ended December 29, 2007, in furtherance of our efforts to execute our consolidation and globalization strategy, we approved actions to close 17 manufacturing facilities and three distribution centers in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the United States, Brazil and Canada while moving production to lower-cost operations in Central America and Asia. In addition, we completed previously announced actions during 2007. We also have recognized accelerated depreciation with respect to owned or leased assets associated with 17 manufacturing facilities and five distribution centers which we anticipate closing in the next three to five years as part of our consolidation and globalization strategy. The implementation of these efforts, which are designed to improve operating efficiencies and lower costs, has resulted and is likely to continue to result in significant costs and savings. As further plans are developed and approved by management and in some cases our board of directors, we expect to recognize additional restructuring costs to eliminate duplicative functions within the organization and transition a significant portion of our manufacturing capacity to lower-cost locations. As a result of these efforts, we expect to incur approximately $250 million in restructuring and related charges over the three year period following the spin off from Sara Lee, approximately half of which is expected to be noncash. As of December 29, 2007, we have recognized approximately $116 million in restructuring and related charges related to these efforts. Of these charges, $43 million relates to employee termination and other benefits, $61 million relates to accelerated depreciation of buildings and equipment for facilities that have been or will be closed and $12 million relates to lease termination costs.

 

Finished Goods That Are Manufactured by Third Parties

 

In addition to our manufacturing capabilities, we also source finished goods designed by us from third-party manufacturers, also referred to as “turnkey products.” Many of these turnkey products are sourced from international suppliers by our strategic sourcing hubs in Hong Kong and other locations in Asia.

 

All contracted and sourced manufacturing must meet our high quality standards. Further, all contractors and third-party manufacturers must be preaudited and adhere to our strict supplier and business practices guidelines. These requirements provide strict standards covering hours of work, age of workers, health and

safety conditions and conformity with local laws. Each new supplier must be inspected and agree to comprehensive compliance terms prior to performance of any production on our behalf. We audit compliance with these standards and maintain strict compliance performance records. In addition to our audit procedures, we require certain of our suppliers to be Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production, or “WRAP,” certified. WRAP is a recognized apparel certification program that independently monitors and certifies compliance with certain specified manufacturing standards that are intended to ensure that a given factory produces sewn goods under lawful, humane, and ethical conditions. WRAP uses third-party, independent certification firms and requires factory-by-factory certification.

 

Trade Regulation

 

We are exposed to certain risks of doing business outside of the United States. We import goods from company-owned facilities in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Basin, and from suppliers in those areas and in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. These import transactions had been subject to constraints imposed by bilateral agreements that imposed quotas that limited the amount of certain categories of merchandise from certain countries that could be imported into the United States and the EU.

 

Pursuant to a 1995 Agreement on Textiles and Clothing under the World Trade Organization, or “WTO,” effective January 1, 2005, the United States and other WTO member countries were required, with few exceptions, to remove quotas on goods from WTO member countries. The complete removal of quotas would benefit us, as well as other apparel companies, by allowing us to source products without quantitative limitation from any country. Several countries, including the United States, have imposed safeguard quotas on China pursuant to the terms of China’s Accession Agreement to the WTO, and others may impose similar restrictions in the future. Our management evaluates the possible impact of these and similar actions on our ability to import products from China. We do not expect the imposition of these safeguards to have a material impact on us.

 

Our management monitors new developments and risks relating to duties, tariffs and quotas. Changes in these areas have the potential to harm or, in some cases, benefit our business. In response to the changing import environment resulting from the elimination of quotas, management has chosen to continue its balanced approach to manufacturing and sourcing. We attempt to limit our sourcing exposure through geographic diversification with a mix of company-owned and contracted production, as well as shifts of production among countries and contractors. We will continue to manage our supply chain from a global perspective and adjust as needed to changes in the global production environment.

 

We also monitor a number of international security risks. We are a member of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, or “C-TPAT,” a partnership between the government and private sector initiated after the events of September 11, 2001 to improve supply chain and border security. C-TPAT partners work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to protect their supply chains from concealment of terrorist weapons, including weapons of mass destruction. In exchange, U.S. Customs and Border Protection provides reduced inspections at the port of arrival and expedited processing at the border.

 

Competition

 

The apparel essentials market is highly competitive and rapidly evolving. Competition generally is based upon price, brand name recognition, product quality, selection, service and purchasing convenience. Our businesses face competition today from other large corporations and foreign manufacturers. These competitors include Berskhire Hathaway Inc. through its subsidiary Fruit of the Loom, Inc., Warnaco Group Inc., Maidenform Brands, Inc. and Gildan Activewear, Inc. in our Innerwear business segment and Gildan Activewear, Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc. through its subsidiaries Russell Corporation and Fruit of the Loom, Inc., Nike, Inc., adidas AG through its adidas and Reebok brands and Under Armour Inc. in our Outerwear business segment. We also compete with many small manufacturers across all of our business segments. Additionally, department stores and other retailers, including many of our customers, market and sell apparel essentials products under private labels that compete directly with our brands. We also face intense competition from specialty stores who sell private label apparel not manufactured by us such as Victoria’s Secret, Old Navy and The Gap.

Our competitive strengths include our strong brands with leading market positions, our high-volume, core essentials focus, our significant scale of operations and our strong customer relationships.

 

 

Intellectual Property

 

Overview

 

We market our products under hundreds of trademarks, service marks and trade names in the United States and other countries around the world, the most widely recognized being Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, Just My Size, barely there, Wonderbra, C9 by Champion, L’eggs, Outer Banks and Duofold. Some of our products are sold under trademarks that have been licensed from third parties, such as Polo Ralph Lauren men’s underwear, and we also hold licenses from various toy and media companies that give us the right to use certain of their proprietary characters, names and trademarks.

 

Some of our own trademarks are licensed to third parties for noncore product categories, such as Champion for athletic-oriented accessories. In the United States, the Playtex trademark is owned by Playtex Marketing Corporation, of which we own a 50% share and which grants to us a perpetual royalty-free license to the Playtex trademark on and in connection with the sale of apparel in the United States and Canada. The other 50% share of Playtex Marketing Corporation is owned by Playtex Products, Inc., an unrelated third-party, which has a perpetual royalty-free license to the Playtex trademark on and in connection with the sale of non-apparel products in the United States. Outside the United States and Canada, we own the Playtex trademark and perpetually license such trademark to Playtex Products, Inc. for non-apparel products. In addition, as described below, as part of Sara Lee’s sale in February 2006 of its European branded apparel business, an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., or “Sun Capital,” has an exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free license to manufacture, sell and distribute apparel products under the Wonderbra and Playtex trademarks in the member states of the EU, as well as several other European nations and South Africa. We also own a number of copyrights. Our trademarks and copyrights are important to our marketing efforts and have substantial value. We aggressively protect these trademarks and copyrights from infringement and dilution through appropriate measures, including court actions and administrative proceedings.

Although the laws vary by jurisdiction, trademarks generally remain valid as long as they are in use and/or their registrations are properly maintained. Most of the trademarks in our portfolio, including our core brands, are covered by trademark registrations in the countries of the world in which we do business, with registration periods ranging between seven and 20 years depending on the country. Trademark registrations can be renewed indefinitely as long as the trademarks are in use. We have an active program designed to ensure that our trademarks are registered, renewed, protected and maintained. We plan to continue to use all of our core trademarks and plan to renew the registrations for such trademarks for as long as we continue to use them. Most of our copyrights are unregistered, although we have a sizable portfolio of copyrighted lace designs that are the subject of a number of registrations at the U.S. Copyright Office.

 

We place high importance on product innovation and design, and a number of these innovations and designs are the subject of patents. However, we do not regard any segment of our business as being dependent upon any single patent or group of related patents. In addition, we own proprietary trade secrets, technology, and know how that we have not patented.

 

Shared Trademark Relationship with Sun Capital

 

In February 2006, Sara Lee sold its European branded apparel business to an affiliate of Sun Capital. In connection with the sale, Sun Capital received an exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free license to manufacture, sell and distribute apparel products under the Wonderbra and Playtex trademarks in the member states of the EU, as well as Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Morocco, Norway, Romania, Russia, Serbia-Montenegro, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, Andorra, Albania, Channel Islands, Lichtenstein, Monaco, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion and French Guyana, which we refer to as the “Covered Nations.” We are not permitted to sell Wonderbra and Playtex branded products in the Covered Nations, and Sun Capital is not permitted to sell Wonderbra and Playtex branded products outside of the Covered Nations without our consent. In connection with the sale, we also have received an exclusive, perpetual royalty-free license to sell DIM and UNNO branded products in Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United States, Canada and, for DIM products, Japan. We are not permitted to sell DIM or UNNO branded apparel products outside of these countries and Sun Capital is not permitted to sell DIM or UNNO branded apparel products inside these countries. In addition, the rights to certain European-originated brands previously part of Sara Lee’s branded apparel portfolio were transferred to Sun Capital and are not included in our brand portfolio.

 

Licensing Relationship with Tupperware Corporation

 

In December 2005, Sara Lee sold its direct selling business, which markets cosmetics, skin care products, toiletries and clothing in 18 countries, to Tupperware Corporation, or “Tupperware.” In connection with the sale, Dart Industries Inc., or “Dart,” an affiliate of Tupperware, received a three-year exclusive license agreement to use the C Logo, Champion U.S.A., Wonderbra, W by Wonderbra, The One and Only Wonderbra, Playtex, Just My Size and Hanes trademarks for the manufacture and sale, under the applicable brands, of certain men’s and women’s apparel in the Philippines, including underwear, socks, sportswear products, bras, panties and girdles, and for the exhaustion of similar product inventory in Malaysia. Dart also received a ten-year, royalty-free, exclusive license to use the Girls’ Attitudes trademark for the manufacture and sale of certain toiletries, cosmetics, intimate apparel, underwear, sports wear, watches, bags and towels in the Philippines. The rights and obligations under these agreements were assigned to us as part of the spin off.

 

In connection with the sale of Sara Lee’s direct selling business, Tupperware also signed two five-year distributorship agreements providing Tupperware with the right, which is exclusive for the first three years of the agreements, to distribute and sell, through door-to-door and similar channels, Playtex, Champion, Rinbros, Aire, Wonderbra, Hanes and Teens by Hanes apparel items in Mexico that we have discontinued and/or determined to be obsolete. The agreements also provide Tupperware with the exclusive right for five years to distribute and sell through such channels such apparel items sold by us in the ordinary course of business. The agreements also grant a limited right to use such trademarks solely in connection with the distribution and sale of those products in Mexico.

Under the terms of the agreements, we reserve the right to apply for, prosecute and maintain trademark registrations in Mexico for those products covered by the distributorship agreement. The rights and obligations under these agreements were assigned to us as part of the spin off.

 

Environmental Matters

 

We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations that govern our activities, operations and products that may have adverse environmental, health and safety effects, including laws and regulations relating to generating emissions, water discharges, waste, product and packaging content and workplace safety. Noncompliance with these laws and regulations may result in substantial monetary penalties and criminal sanctions. We are aware of hazardous substances or petroleum releases at a few of our facilities and are working with the relevant environmental authorities to investigate and address such releases. We also have been identified as a “potentially responsible party” at a few waste disposal sites undergoing investigation and cleanup under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (commonly known as Superfund) or state Superfund equivalent programs. Where we have determined that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can reasonably be estimated, we have accrued amounts in our balance sheet for losses related to these sites. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations and our remedial environmental obligations historically have not had a material impact on our operations, and we are not aware of any proposed regulations or remedial obligations that could trigger significant costs or capital expenditures in order to comply.

 

Government Regulation

 

We are subject to U.S. federal, state and local laws and regulations that could affect our business, including those promulgated under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Flammable Fabrics Act, the Textile Fiber Product Identification Act, the rules and regulations of the Consumer Products Safety Commission and various environmental laws and regulations. Our international businesses are subject to similar laws and regulations in the countries in which they operate. Our operations also are subject to various international trade agreements and regulations. See “— Trade Regulation.” While we believe that we are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable governmental regulations, current governmental regulations may change or become more stringent or unforeseen events may occur, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.

 

Employees

 

As of December 29, 2007, we had approximately 47,600 employees, approximately 11,500 of whom were located in the United States. Of the 11,500 employees located in the United States, approximately 2,200 were full or part-time employees in our stores within our direct to consumer channel. As of December 29, 2007, in the United States, approximately 30 employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements. A portion of our international employees were also covered by collective bargaining agreements. We believe our relationships with our employees are good.

 

This section describes circumstances or events that could have a negative effect on our financial results or operations or that could change, for the worse, existing trends in our businesses. The occurrence of one or more of the circumstances or events described below could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows or on the trading prices of our common stock. The risks and uncertainties described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties that currently are not known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial also may adversely affect our businesses and operations.

Risks Related to Our Business

 

We are in the process of relocating a significant portion of our manufacturing operations and this process involves significant costs and the risk of operational interruption.

 

In furtherance of our efforts to execute our consolidation and globalization strategy, we are relocating portions of our manufacturing operations to lower-cost locations such as Central America, the Caribbean Basin and Asia. The process of relocating significant portions of our manufacturing and production operations has resulted in and will continue to result in significant costs and savings. As further plans are developed and approved by management and in some cases our board of directors, we expect to recognize additional restructuring costs to eliminate duplicative functions within the organization and transition a significant portion of our manufacturing capacity to lower-cost locations. As a result of these efforts, we expect to incur approximately $250 million in restructuring and related charges over the three year period following the spin off from Sara Lee, approximately half of which is expected to be noncash. This process also may result in operational interruptions, which may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

 

Our supply chain relies on an extensive network of foreign operations and any disruption to or adverse impact on such operations may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

 

We have an extensive global supply chain in which a significant portion of our products are manufactured in or sourced from locations in Central America, the Caribbean Basin, Mexico and Asia. Potential events that may disrupt our foreign operations include:

 

 

Disruptions in our foreign supply chain could negatively impact our business by interrupting production in offshore facilities, increasing our cost of sales, disrupting merchandise deliveries, delaying receipt of the products into the United States or preventing us from sourcing our products at all. Depending on timing, these events could also result in lost sales, cancellation charges or excessive markdowns. All of the foregoing can have an adverse affect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

 

The integration of our information technology systems is complex, and delays or problems with this integration may cause serious disruption or harm to our business.

 

As we continue to consolidate our operations, we are in the process of integrating currently unrelated information technology systems across our company, which has resulted in operational inefficiencies and in some cases increased our costs. This process involves the replacement of eight independent systems environments running on different technology platforms so that our business functions are served by fewer platforms. We are subject to the risk that we will not be able to absorb the level of systems change, commit the necessary resources or focus the management attention necessary for the implementation to succeed. Many

key strategic initiatives of major business functions, such as our supply chain and our finance operations, depend on advanced capabilities enabled by the new systems and if we fail to properly execute or if we miss critical deadlines in the implementation of this initiative, we could experience serious disruption and harm to our business.

 

We operate in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving market, and our market share and results of operations could be adversely affected if we fail to compete effectively in the future.

 

The apparel essentials market is highly competitive and evolving rapidly. Competition is generally based upon price, brand name recognition, product quality, selection, service and purchasing convenience. Our businesses face competition today from other large corporations and foreign manufacturers. These competitors include Berskhire Hathaway Inc. through its subsidiary Fruit of the Loom, Inc., Warnaco Group Inc., Maidenform Brands, Inc. and Gildan Activewear, Inc. in our Innerwear business segment and Gildan Activewear, Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc. through its subsidiaries Russell Corporation and Fruit of the Loom, Inc., Nike, Inc., adidas AG through its adidas and Reebok brands and Under Armour Inc. in our Outerwear business segment. We also compete with many small companies across all of our business segments. Additionally, department stores and other retailers, including many of our customers, market and sell apparel essentials products under private labels that compete directly with our brands. These customers may buy goods that are manufactured by others, which represents a lost business opportunity for us, or they may sell private label products manufactured by us, which have significantly lower gross margins than our branded products. We also face intense competition from specialty stores that sell private label apparel not manufactured by us, such as Victoria’s Secret, Old Navy and The Gap. Increased competition may result in a loss of or a reduction in shelf space and promotional support and reduced prices, in each case decreasing our cash flows, operating margins and profitability. Our ability to remain competitive in the areas of price, quality, brand recognition, research and product development, manufacturing and distribution will, in large part, determine our future success. If we fail to compete successfully, our market share, results of operations and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.

 

If we fail to manage our inventory effectively, we may be required to establish additional inventory reserves or we may not carry enough inventory to meet customer demands, causing us to suffer lower margins or losses.

 

We are faced with the constant challenge of balancing our inventory with our ability to meet marketplace needs. Inventory reserves can result from the complexity of our supply chain, a long manufacturing process and the seasonal nature of certain products. As a result, we are subject to high levels of obsolescence and excess stock. Based on discussions with our customers and internally generated projections, we produce, purchase and/or store raw material and finished goods inventory to meet our expected demand for delivery. However, we sell a large number of our products to a small number of customers, and these customers generally are not required by contract to purchase our goods. If, after producing and storing inventory in anticipation of deliveries, demand is lower than expected, we may have to hold inventory for extended periods or sell excess inventory at reduced prices, in some cases below our cost. There are inherent uncertainties related to the recoverability of inventory, and it is possible that market factors and other conditions underlying the valuation of inventory may change in the future and result in further reserve requirements. Excess inventory charges can reduce gross margins or result in operating losses, lowered plant and equipment utilization and lowered fixed operating cost absorption, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

 

Conversely, we also are exposed to lost business opportunities if we underestimate market demand and produce too little inventory for any particular period. Because sales of our products are generally not made under contract, if we do not carry enough inventory to satisfy our customers’ demands for our products within an acceptable time frame, they may seek to fulfill their demands from one or several of our competitors and may reduce the amount of business they do with us. Any such action could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Sales of and demand for our products may decrease if we fail to keep pace with evolving consumer preferences and trends, which could have an adverse effect on net sales and profitability.

 

Our success depends on our ability to anticipate and respond effectively to evolving consumer preferences and trends and to translate these preferences and trends into marketable product offerings. If we are unable to successfully anticipate, identify or react to changing styles or trends or misjudge the market for our products, our sales may be lower than expected and we may be faced with a significant amount of unsold finished goods inventory. In response, we may be forced to increase our marketing promotions, provide markdown allowances to our customers or liquidate excess merchandise, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our net sales and profitability. Our brand image may also suffer if customers believe that we are no longer able to offer innovative products, respond to consumer preferences or maintain the quality of our products.

 

We rely on a relatively small number of customers for a significant portion of our sales, and the loss of or material reduction in sales to any of our top customers would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

 

During the year ended December 29, 2007, our top ten customers accounted for 62% of our net sales and our top customer, Wal-Mart, accounted for 27% of our net sales. We expect that these customers will continue to represent a significant portion of our net sales in the future. In addition, our top customers are the largest market participants in our primary distribution channels across all of our product lines. Any loss of or material reduction in sales to any of our top ten customers, especially Wal-Mart, would be difficult to recapture, and would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

 

We generally do not sell our products under contracts, and, as a result, our customers are generally not contractually obligated to purchase our products, which causes some uncertainty as to future sales and inventory levels.

 

We generally do not enter into purchase agreements that obligate our customers to purchase our products, and as a result, most of our sales are made on a purchase order basis. For example, we have no agreements with Wal-Mart that obligate Wal-Mart to purchase our products. If any of our customers experiences a significant downturn in its business, or fails to remain committed to our products or brands, the customer is generally under no contractual obligation to purchase our products and, consequently, may reduce or discontinue purchases from us. In the past, such actions have resulted in a decrease in sales and an increase in our inventory and have had an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. If such actions occur again in the future, our business, results of operations and financial condition will likely be similarly affected.

 

Continued growth of our existing customers could result in increased pricing pressure, reduced floor space for our products and other changes that could be harmful to our business.

 

The retailers to which we sell our products have grown larger, partly due to retailer consolidation, and, as such, now are able to exercise greater negotiating power when purchasing our products. Additionally, as our customers grow larger, they increasingly may require us to provide them with some of our products on an exclusive basis, which could cause an increase in the number of stock keeping units, or “SKUs,” we must carry and, consequently, increase our inventory levels and working capital requirements. Moreover, as our customers grow larger they may increasingly seek markdown allowances, incentives and other forms of economic support which reduce our gross margins and affect our profitability. Our financial performance is negatively affected by these pricing pressures when we are forced to reduce our prices without being able to correspondingly reduce our production costs.

Our customers generally purchase our products on credit, and as a result, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows may be adversely affected if our customers experience financial difficulties.

 

During the past several years, various retailers, including some of our largest customers, have experienced significant difficulties, including restructurings, bankruptcies and liquidations. This could adversely affect us because our customers generally pay us after goods are delivered. Adverse changes in our customers’ financial position could cause us to limit or discontinue business with that customer, require us to assume more credit risk relating to that customer’s future purchases or limit our ability to collect accounts receivable relating to previous purchases by that customer, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

 

International trade regulations may increase our costs or limit the amount of products that we can import from suppliers in a particular country, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

 

Because a significant amount of our manufacturing and production operations are in or our products are sourced from, overseas locations, we are subject to international trade regulations. The international trade regulations to which we are subject or may become subject include tariffs, safeguards or quotas. These regulations could limit the countries from which we produce or source our products or significantly increase the cost of operating in or obtaining materials originating from certain countries. Restrictions imposed by international trade regulations can have a particular impact on our business when, after we have moved our operations to a particular location, new unfavorable regulations are enacted in that area or favorable regulations currently in effect are changed. The countries in which our products are manufactured or into which they are imported may from time to time impose additional new regulations, or modify existing regulations, including:

 

 

Adverse international trade regulations, including those listed above, would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

 

Significant fluctuations and volatility in the price of cotton and other raw materials we purchase may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

 

Cotton is the primary raw material used in the manufacture of many of our products. Our costs for cotton yarn and cotton-based textiles vary based upon the fluctuating and often volatile cost of cotton, which is affected by weather, consumer demand, speculation on the commodities market, the relative valuations and fluctuations of the currencies of producer versus consumer countries and other factors that are generally unpredictable and beyond our control. In addition, fluctuations in crude oil or petroleum prices may also influence the prices of related items used in our business, such as chemicals, dyestuffs, polyester yarn and

foam. Rising fuel, energy and utility costs may have a significant impact on our manufacturing costs. These costs may fluctuate due to a number of factors outside our control, including government policy and regulation and weather conditions.

 

We are not always successful in our efforts to protect our business from the volatility of the market price of cotton through short-term supply agreements and hedges, and our business can be adversely affected by dramatic movements in cotton prices. For example, we estimate that, excluding the impact of futures contracts, a change of $0.01 per pound in cotton prices would affect our annual raw material costs by $3.3 million, at current levels of production. The ultimate effect of this change on our earnings cannot be quantified, as the effect of movements in cotton prices on industry selling prices are uncertain, but any dramatic increase in the price of cotton would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

 

The loss of one or more of our suppliers of finished goods or raw materials may interrupt our supplies and materially harm our business.

 

We purchase all of the raw materials used in our products and 21% of the apparel designed by us from a limited number of third-party suppliers and manufacturers. Our ability to meet our customers’ needs depends on our ability to maintain an uninterrupted supply of raw materials and finished products from our third-party suppliers and manufacturers. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected if any of our principal third-party suppliers or manufacturers experience production problems, lack of capacity or transportation disruptions. The magnitude of this risk depends upon the timing of the changes, the materials or products that the third-party manufacturers provide and the volume of production.

 

Our dependence on third parties for raw materials and finished products subjects us to the risk of supplier failure and customer dissatisfaction with the quality of our products. Quality failures by our third-party manufacturers or changes in their financial or business condition that affect their production could disrupt our ability to supply quality products to our customers and thereby materially harm our business.

 

Due to the extensive nature of our foreign operations, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could negatively impact our results of operations.

 

We sell a majority of our products in transactions denominated in U.S. dollars; however, we purchase many of our products, pay a portion of our wages and make other payments in our supply chain in foreign currencies. As a result, if the U.S. dollar were to weaken against any of these currencies, our cost of sales could increase substantially. Outside the United States, we may pay for materials or finished products in U.S. dollars, and in some cases a strengthening of the U.S. dollar could effectively increase our costs where we use foreign currency to purchase the U.S. dollars we need to make such payments. We use foreign exchange forward and option contracts to hedge material exposure to adverse changes in foreign exchange rates. We are also exposed to gains and losses resulting from the effect that fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates have on the reported results in our Consolidated Financial Statements due to the translation of operating results and financial position of our foreign subsidiaries. In addition, currency fluctuations can impact the price of cotton, the primary raw material we use in our business.

 

We had approximately 47,600 employees worldwide as of December 29, 2007, and our business operations and financial performance could be adversely affected by changes in our relationship with our employees or changes to U.S. or foreign employment regulations.

 

We had approximately 47,600 employees worldwide as of December 29, 2007. This means we have a significant exposure to changes in domestic and foreign laws governing our relationships with our employees, including wage and hour laws and regulations, fair labor standards, minimum wage requirements, overtime pay, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, citizenship requirements and payroll taxes, which likely would have a direct impact on our operating costs. Approximately 36,100 of those employees were outside of the United States. A significant increase in minimum wage or overtime rates in countries where we have employees could have a significant impact on our operating costs and may require that we relocate those

operations or take other steps to mitigate such increases, all of which may cause us to incur additional costs, expend resources responding to such increases and lower our margins.

 

In addition, some of our employees are members of labor organizations or are covered by collective bargaining agreements. If there were a significant increase in the number of our employees who are members of labor organizations or become parties to collective bargaining agreements, we would become vulnerable to a strike, work stoppage or other labor action by these employees that could have an adverse effect on our business.

 

We may suffer negative publicity if we or our third-party manufacturers violate labor laws or engage in practices that are viewed as unethical or illegal, which could cause a loss of business.

 

We cannot fully control the business and labor practices of our third-party manufacturers, the majority of whom are located in Central America, the Caribbean Basin and Asia. If one of our own manufacturing operations or one of our third-party manufacturers violates or is accused of violating local or international labor laws or other applicable regulations, or engages in labor or other practices that would be viewed in any market in which our products are sold as unethical, we could suffer negative publicity, which could tarnish our brands’ image or result in a loss of sales. In addition, if such negative publicity affected one of our customers, it could result in a loss of business for us.

 

The success of our business is tied to the strength and reputation of our brands, including brands that we license to other parties. If other parties take actions that weaken, harm the reputation of or cause confusion with our brands, our business, and consequently our sales, results of operations and cash flows, may be adversely affected.

 

We license some of our important trademarks to third parties. For example, we license Champion to third parties for athletic-oriented accessories. Although we make concerted efforts to protect our brands through quality control mechanisms and contractual obligations imposed on our licensees, there is a risk that some licensees may not be in full compliance with those mechanisms and obligations. In that event, or if a licensee engages in behavior with respect to the licensed marks that would cause us reputational harm, we could experience a significant downturn in that brand’s business, adversely affecting our sales and results of operations. Similarly, any misuse of the Wonderbra or Playtex brands by Sun Capital could result in negative publicity and a loss of sales for our products under these brands, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

 

We design, manufacture, source and sell products under trademarks that are licensed from third parties. If any licensor takes actions related to their trademarks that would cause their brands or our company reputational harm, our business may be adversely affected.

 

We design, manufacture, source and sell a number of our products under trademarks that are licensed from third parties such as our Polo Ralph Lauren men’s underwear. Because we do not control the brands licensed to us, our licensors could make changes to their brands or business models that could result in a significant downturn in a brand’s business, adversely affecting our sales and results of operations. If any licensor engages in behavior with respect to the licensed marks that would cause us reputational harm, or if any of the brands licensed to us violates the trademark rights of another or are deemed to be invalid or unenforceable, we could experience a significant downturn in that brand’s business, adversely affecting our sales and results of operations, and we may be required to expend significant amounts on public relations, advertising and, possibly, legal fees.

 

We are prohibited from selling our Wonderbra and Playtex intimate apparel products in the EU, as well as certain other countries in Europe and South Africa, and therefore are unable to take advantage of business opportunities that may arise in such countries.

 

In February 2006, Sara Lee sold its European branded apparel business to Sun Capital. In connection with the sale, Sun Capital received an exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free license to manufacture, sell and

distribute apparel products under the Wonderbra and Playtex trademarks in the member states of the EU, as well as Russia, South Africa, Switzerland and certain other nations in Europe. Due to the exclusive license, we are not permitted to sell Wonderbra and Playtex branded products in these nations and Sun Capital is not permitted to sell Wonderbra and Playtex branded products outside of these nations. Consequently, we will not be able to take advantage of business opportunities that may arise relating to the sale of Wonderbra and Playtex products in these nations. For more information on these sales restrictions see “Business — Intellectual Property.”

 

Our indebtedness subjects us to various restrictions and could decrease our profitability and otherwise adversely affect our business.

 

As described in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources,” our indebtedness includes the $2.1 billion senior secured credit facility that we entered into on September 5, 2006 (the “Senior Secured Credit Facility”), the $450 million senior secured second lien credit facility that we entered into on September 5, 2006 (the “Second Lien Credit Facility” and, together with the Senior Secured Credit Facility, the “Credit Facilities”), our $500 million Floating Rate Senior Notes due 2014 (the “Floating Rate Senior Notes”) and the $250 million accounts receivable securitization facility that we entered into on November 27, 2007 (the “Receivables Facility”). The Senior Secured Credit Facility, Second Lien Credit Facility and the indenture governing the Floating Rate Senior Notes contain restrictions that affect, and in some cases significantly limit or prohibit, among other things, our ability to borrow funds, pay dividends or make other distributions, make investments, engage in transactions with affiliates, or create liens on our assets. In addition, the Credit Facilities and the Receivables Facility require us to maintain financial ratios. If we fail to comply with the covenant restrictions contained in these agreements, that failure could result in a default that accelerates the maturity of the indebtedness under such facilities.

 

Our leverage also could put us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that are less leveraged. These competitors could have greater financial flexibility to pursue strategic acquisitions, secure additional financing for their operations by incurring additional debt, expend capital to expand their manufacturing and production operations to lower-cost areas and apply pricing pressure on us. In addition, because many of our customers rely on us to fulfill a substantial portion of their apparel essentials demand, any concern these customers may have regarding our financial condition may cause them to reduce the amount of products they purchase from us. Our leverage could also impede our ability to withstand downturns in our industry or the economy in general.

 

Our indebtedness restricts our ability to obtain additional capital in the future.

 

If we need to incur additional debt or issue equity in order to fund working capital and capital expenditures or to make acquisitions and other investments, debt or equity financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we are not able to obtain sufficient financing, we may be unable to maintain or expand our business. If we raise funds through the issuance of debt or equity, any debt securities or preferred stock issued will have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our common stock in the event of a liquidation, and the terms of the debt securities may impose restrictions on our operations. If we raise funds through the issuance of equity, the issuance would dilute the ownership interest of our stockholders.

 

The restrictions contained in the Credit Facilities and in the indenture governing the Floating Rate Senior Notes restrict our ability to obtain additional capital in the future to fund capital expenditures or acquisitions, meet our debt payment obligations and capital commitments, fund any operating losses or future development of our business affiliates, obtain lower borrowing costs that are available from secured lenders or engage in advantageous transactions that monetize our assets, or conduct other necessary or prudent corporate activities.

If we fail to meet our payment or other obligations, the lenders could foreclose on, and acquire control of, substantially all of our assets.

 

In connection with our incurrence of indebtedness under the Credit Facilities, the lenders under those facilities have received a pledge of substantially all of our existing and future direct and indirect subsidiaries, with certain customary or agreed-upon exceptions for foreign subsidiaries and certain other subsidiaries. Additionally, these lenders generally have a lien on substantially all of our assets and the assets of our subsidiaries, with certain exceptions. The financial institutions that are party to the Receivables Facility have a lien on certain of our domestic accounts receivables. As a result of these pledges and liens, if we fail to meet our payment or other obligations under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, the Second Lien Credit Facility or the Receivables Facility, the lenders under those facilities will be entitled to foreclose on substantially all of our assets and, at their option, liquidate these assets.

 

To service our debt obligations, we may need to increase the portion of the income of our foreign subsidiaries that is expected to be remitted to the United States, which could increase our income tax expense.

 

We pay U.S. federal income taxes on that portion of the income of our foreign subsidiaries that is expected to be remitted to the United States and be taxable. The amount of the income of our foreign subsidiaries we remit to the United States may significantly impact our U.S. federal income tax rate. In order to service our debt obligations, we may need to increase the portion of the income of our foreign subsidiaries that we expect to remit to the United States, which may significantly increase our income tax expense. Consequently, our tax rate has been, and we believe in future periods is likely to continue to be, higher, on average, than our historical income tax rates in periods prior to our spin off from Sara Lee.

 

Risks Related to Our Status as a Newly Independent Company

 

We have a limited operating history as an independent company upon which our performance can be evaluated and, accordingly, our prospects must be considered in light of the risks that any newly independent company encounters.

 

Prior to the consummation of the spin off, we operated as part of Sara Lee. Accordingly, we have limited experience operating as an independent company and performing various corporate functions, including human resources, tax administration, legal (including compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and with the periodic reporting obligations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the “Exchange Act”), treasury administration, investor relations, internal audit, insurance, information technology and telecommunications services, as well as the accounting for many items such as equity compensation, income taxes, derivatives, intangible assets and pensions. Our prospects must be considered in light of the risks, expenses and difficulties encountered by companies in the early stages of independent business operations, particularly companies such as ours in highly competitive markets with complex supply chain operations.

 

Our historical financial information is not necessarily indicative of our results as a separate company and therefore may not be reliable as an indicator of our future financial results.

 

Our historical financial statements for periods prior to the spin off were created from Sara Lee’s financial statements using our historical results of operations and historical bases of assets and liabilities as part of Sara Lee. Accordingly, historical financial information for periods prior to the spin off is not necessarily indicative of what our financial position, results of operations and cash flows would have been if we had been a separate, stand-alone entity during those periods.

 

Our historical financial information for periods prior to the spin off is not necessarily indicative of what our results of operations, financial position and cash flows will be in the future and, for periods prior to the spin off, does not reflect many significant changes in our capital structure, funding and operations resulting from the spin off. While our results of operations for periods prior to the spin off include all costs of Sara Lee’s branded apparel business, these costs and expenses do not include all of the costs that would have been or will be incurred by us as an independent company. In addition, we have not made adjustments to our

historical financial information to reflect changes, many of which are significant, that occurred in our cost structure, financing and operations as a result of the spin off, including the substantial debt we incurred and pension liabilities we assumed in connection with the spin off. These changes include potentially increased costs associated with reduced economies of scale and purchasing power.

 

Our effective income tax rate as reflected in our historical financial information for periods prior to the spin off has not been and may not be indicative of our future effective income tax rate. Among other things, the rate may be materially impacted by:

 

 

If the IRS determines that our spin off from Sara Lee does not qualify as a “tax-free” distribution or a “tax-free” reorganization, we may be subject to substantial liability.

 

Sara Lee has received a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, or the “IRS,” to the effect that, among other things, the spin off qualifies as a tax-free distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Section 355 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the “Internal Revenue Code,” and as part of a tax-free reorganization under Section 368(a)(1)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code, and the transfer to us of assets and the assumption by us of liabilities in connection with the spin off will not result in the recognition of any gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes to Sara Lee.

 

Although the private letter ruling relating to the qualification of the spin off under Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code generally is binding on the IRS, the continuing validity of the ruling is subject to the accuracy of factual representations and assumptions made in connection with obtaining such private letter ruling. Also, as part of the IRS’s general policy with respect to rulings on spin off transactions under Section 355 of the Internal Revenue Code, the private letter ruling obtained by Sara Lee is based upon representations by Sara Lee that certain conditions which are necessary to obtain tax-free treatment under Section 355 and Section 368(a)(1)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code have been satisfied, rather than a determination by the IRS that these conditions have been satisfied. Any inaccuracy in these representations could invalidate the ruling.

 

If the spin off does not qualify for tax-free treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes, then, in general, Sara Lee would be subject to tax as if it has sold the common stock of our company in a taxable sale for its fair market value. Sara Lee’s stockholders would be subject to tax as if they had received a taxable distribution equal to the fair market value of our common stock that was distributed to them, taxed as a dividend (without reduction for any portion of a Sara Lee’s stockholder’s basis in its shares of Sara Lee common stock) for U.S. federal income tax purposes and possibly for purposes of state and local tax law, to the extent of a Sara Lee’s stockholder’s pro rata share of Sara Lee’s current and accumulated earnings and profits (including any arising from the taxable gain to Sara Lee with respect to the spin off). It is expected that the amount of any such taxes to Sara Lee’s stockholders and to Sara Lee would be substantial.

 

Pursuant to a tax sharing agreement we entered into with Sara Lee in connection with the spin off, we agreed to indemnify Sara Lee and its affiliates for any liability for taxes of Sara Lee resulting from: (1) any action or failure to act by us or any of our affiliates following the completion of the spin off that would be inconsistent with or prohibit the spin off from qualifying as a tax-free transaction to Sara Lee and to Sara Lee’s stockholders under Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code, or (2) any action or failure to act by us or any of our affiliates following the completion of the spin off that would be inconsistent with or cause to be untrue any material, information, covenant or representation made in connection with the private letter ruling obtained by Sara Lee from the IRS relating to, among other things, the qualification of the

spin off as a tax-free transaction described under Sections 355 and 368(a)(1)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code. Our indemnification obligations to Sara Lee and its affiliates are not limited in amount or subject to any cap. We expect that the amount of any such taxes to Sara Lee would be substantial.

 

We agreed with Sara Lee to certain restrictions in order to comply with U.S. federal income tax requirements for a tax-free spin off and we may not be able to engage in acquisitions and other strategic transactions that may otherwise be in our best interests.

 

Current U.S. federal tax law that applies to spin offs generally creates a presumption that the spin off would be taxable to Sara Lee but not to its stockholders if we engage in, or enter into an agreement to engage in, a plan or series of related transactions that would result in the acquisition of a 50% or greater interest (by vote or by value) in our stock ownership during the four-year period beginning on the date that begins two years before the spin off, unless it is established that the transaction is not pursuant to a plan related to the spin off. U.S. Treasury Regulations generally provide that whether an acquisition of our stock and a spin off are part of a plan is determined based on all of the facts and circumstances, including specific factors listed in the regulations. In addition, the regulations provide certain “safe harbors” for acquisitions of our stock that are not considered to be part of a plan related to the spin off. There are other restrictions imposed on us under current U.S. federal tax law for spin offs and with which we will need to comply in order to preserve the favorable tax treatment of the distribution, such as continuing to own and manage our apparel business and limitations on sales or redemptions of our common stock for cash or other property following the distribution.

 

In our tax sharing agreement with Sara Lee, we agreed that, among other things, we will not take any actions that would result in any tax being imposed on Sara Lee as a result of the spin off. Further, for the two-year period following the spin off, we agreed, among other things, not to: (1) sell or otherwise issue equity securities or repurchase any of our stock except in certain circumstances permitted by the IRS guidelines; (2) voluntarily dissolve or liquidate or engage in any merger (except certain cash acquisition mergers), consolidation, or other reorganizations except for certain mergers of our wholly-owned subsidiaries to the extent not inconsistent with the tax-free status of the spin off; (3) sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of more than 50% of our assets, excluding any sales conducted in the ordinary course of business; or (4) cease, transfer or dispose of all or any portion of our socks business.

 

We are, however, permitted to take certain actions otherwise prohibited by the tax sharing agreement if we provide Sara Lee with an unqualified opinion of tax counsel or private letter ruling from the IRS, acceptable to Sara Lee, to the effect that these actions will not affect the tax-free nature of the spin off. These restrictions could substantially limit our strategic and operational flexibility, including our ability to finance our operations by issuing equity securities, make acquisitions using equity securities, repurchase our equity securities, raise money by selling assets or enter into business combination transactions.

 

The terms of our spin off from Sara Lee, anti-takeover provisions of our charter and bylaws, as well as Maryland law and our stockholder rights agreement, may reduce the likelihood of any potential change of control or unsolicited acquisition proposal that you might consider favorable.

 

The terms of our spin off from Sara Lee could delay or prevent a change of control that our stockholders may favor. An acquisition or issuance of our common stock could trigger the application of Section 355(e) of the Internal Revenue Code. Under the tax sharing agreement that we entered into with Sara Lee, we are required to indemnify Sara Lee for the resulting tax in connection with such an acquisition or issuance and this indemnity obligation might discourage, delay or prevent a change of control that our stockholders may consider favorable. Our charter and bylaws and Maryland law contain provisions that could make it harder for a third-party to acquire us without the consent of our board of directors. Our charter permits our board of directors, without stockholder approval, to amend the charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have the authority to issue. In addition, our board of directors may classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common stock or preferred stock and may set the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers and other terms of the classified or reclassified shares. Our board of directors could establish a series of preferred stock that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium

price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders. Our board of directors also is permitted, without stockholder approval, to implement a classified board structure at any time.

 

Our bylaws, which only can be amended by our board of directors, provide that nominations of persons for election to our board of directors and the proposal of business to be considered at a stockholders meeting may be made only in the notice of the meeting, by our board of directors or by a stockholder who is entitled to vote at the meeting and has complied with the advance notice procedures of our bylaws. Also, under Maryland law, business combinations between us and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder, including mergers, consolidations, share exchanges or, in circumstances specified in the statute, asset transfers or issuances or reclassifications of equity securities, are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. An interested stockholder includes any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of our shares or any affiliate or associate of ours who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the voting power of our stock. A person is not an interested stockholder under the statute if our board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which he otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. However, in approving a transaction, our board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by our board. After the five-year prohibition, any business combination between us and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by our board of directors and approved by two supermajority votes or our common stockholders must receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their shares. The statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are exempted by our board of directors prior to the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder.

 

In addition, we have adopted a stockholder rights agreement which provides that in the event of an acquisition of or tender offer for 15% of our outstanding common stock, our stockholders shall be granted rights to purchase our common stock at a certain price. The stockholder rights agreement could make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire our common stock without the approval of our board of directors.

 

These and other provisions of Maryland law or our charter and bylaws could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be considered favorably by our stockholders.

 

 

Not applicable.

 

 

The chart below lists our executive officers and is followed by biographic information about them. No family relationship exists between any of our directors or executive officers.

 

Richard A. Noll has served as our Chief Executive Officer since April 2006 and a director since our formation in September 2005. From December 2002 until the completion of the spin off in September 2006, he also served as a Senior Vice President of Sara Lee. From July 2005 to April 2006, Mr. Noll served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Sara Lee Branded Apparel. Mr. Noll served as Chief Executive Officer of the Sara Lee Bakery Group from July 2003 to July 2005 and as the Chief Operating Officer of the Sara Lee Bakery Group from July 2002 to July 2003. From July 2001 to July 2002, Mr. Noll was Chief Executive Officer of Sara Lee Legwear, Sara Lee Direct and Sara Lee Mexico. Mr. Noll joined Sara Lee in 1992 and held a number of management positions with increasing responsibilities while employed by Sara Lee.

 

William J. Nictakis has served as our President, Chief Commercial Officer since November 2007. From June 2003 until November 2007, Mr. Nictakis served as President of the Sara Lee Bakery Group. From May 1999 through June 2003, Mr. Nictakis was Vice President, Sales, of Frito-Lay, Inc., a subsidiary of PepsiCo, Inc. that manufactures, markets, sells and distributes branded snacks.

 

E. Lee Wyatt Jr. has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer since the completion of the spin off in September 2006. From September 2005 until the completion of the spin off, Mr. Wyatt served as a Vice President of Sara Lee and as Chief Financial Officer of Sara Lee Branded Apparel. Prior to joining Sara Lee, Mr. Wyatt was Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Sonic Automotive, Inc. from April 2003 to September 2005, and Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer of Sealy Corporation from September 1998 to February 2003.

 

Gerald W. Evans Jr. has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer since the completion of the spin off in September 2006. From July 2005 until the completion of the spin off, Mr. Evans served as a Vice President of Sara Lee and as Chief Supply Chain Officer of Sara Lee Branded Apparel. Prior to July 2005, Mr. Evans served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sara Lee Sportswear and Underwear from March 2003 until June 2005 and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sara Lee Sportswear from March 1999 to February 2003.

 

Kevin D. Hall has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer since June 2006. From June 2005 until June 2006, Mr. Hall served on the advisory board of, and was a consultant to, Affinova, Inc., a marketing research and strategy firm. From August 2001 until June 2005, Mr. Hall served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Fidelity Investments Tax-Exempt Retirement Services Company, a provider of 401(k), 403(b) and other defined contribution retirement plans and services. From June 1985 to August 2001, Mr. Hall served in various marketing positions with The Procter & Gamble Company, most recently as general manager of the Vidal Sassoon business worldwide.

 

Joia M. Johnson has served as our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since January 2007. From May 2000 until January 2007, Ms. Johnson served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of RARE Hospitality International, Inc., or “RARE Hospitality,” an owner, operator and franchisor of national chain restaurants. From July 1999 until May 2000, she served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of RARE Hospitality, and served as its Vice President and General Counsel from May 1999 until July 1999. From January 1989 until May 1999, Ms. Johnson served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of H.J. Russell & Company, a real estate development, construction and property management firm. For six years during her employment with H.J. Russell & Company, Ms. Johnson served as Corporate Counsel for Concessions International, Inc., an airport food and beverage concessionaire and affiliate of H.J. Russell & Company.

 

Joan P. McReynolds has served our Executive Vice President, Chief Customer Officer since the completion of the spin off in September 2006. From August 2004 until the completion of the spin off, Ms. McReynolds served as Chief Customer Officer of Sara Lee Branded Apparel. From May 2003 to July 2004, Ms. McReynolds served as Chief Customer Officer for the food, drug and mass channels of customer management for Sara Lee Branded Apparel. Prior to that, Ms. McReynolds served as Vice President of sales for Sara Lee Hosiery from January 1997 to April 2003.

Kevin W. Oliver has served as our Executive Vice President, Human Resources since the completion of the spin off in September 2006. From January 2006 until the completion of the spin off, Mr. Oliver served as a Vice President of Sara Lee and as Senior Vice President, Human Resources of Sara Lee Branded Apparel. From February 2005 to December 2005, Mr. Oliver served as Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Sara Lee Food and Beverage and from August 2001 to January 2005 as Vice President, Human Resources for the Sara Lee Bakery Group.

 

W. Howard Upchurch, Jr. has been our Executive Vice President, General Manager of Domestic Innerwear, since January 2008. From July 2006 to January 2008, Mr. Upchurch was our Senior Vice President, General Manager of Domestic Female Innerwear. Mr. Upchurch was President of Sara Lee Intimate Apparel from August 2004 until June 2006. From October 2003 until July 2004, Mr. Upchurch was Chief Customer Officer of Sara Lee Branded Apparel. From July 2002 until September 2003, Mr. Upchurch was President of Sara Lee Hosiery. Mr. Upchurch has served in various positions with Hanesbrands since 1987.

 

 

We own and lease properties supporting our administrative, manufacturing, distribution and direct outlet activities. We own our approximately 470,000 square-foot headquarters located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which houses our various sales, marketing and corporate business functions. Research and development as well as certain product-design functions also are located in Winston-Salem, while other design functions are located in New York City.

 

As of December 29, 2007, we owned and leased properties in 22 countries, including 62 manufacturing facilities and 26 distribution centers, as well as office facilities. The leases for these properties expire between December 30, 2007 and 2016, with the exception of some seasonal warehouses that we lease on a month-by-month basis. For more information about our capital lease obligations, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Future Contractual Obligations and Commitments.”

 

As of December 29, 2007, we also operated 216 direct outlet stores in 41 states, most of which are leased under five-year, renewable lease agreements. We believe that our facilities, as well as equipment, are in good condition and meet our current business needs.

 

The following table summarizes our properties by country as of December 29, 2007:

 

 

 

 

The following table summarizes the properties primarily used by our segments as of December 29, 2007:

 

 

 

 

 

Although we are subject to various claims and legal actions that occur from time to time in the ordinary course of our business, we are not party to any pending legal proceedings that we believe could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

 

 

No matters were submitted to a vote of stockholders during the quarter ended December 29, 2007.

 

 

Market for our Common Stock

 

Our common stock currently is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, or the “NYSE,” under the symbol “HBI.” A “when-issued” trading market for our common stock on the NYSE began on August 16, 2006, and “regular way” trading of our common stock began on September 6, 2006. Prior to August 16, 2006, there was no public market for our common stock. Each share of our common stock has attached to it one preferred stock purchase right. These rights initially will be transferable with and only with the transfer of the underlying share of common stock. We have not made any unregistered sales of our equity securities.

 

The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices for our common stock for the indicated periods:

 

The market price of our common stock has fluctuated since the spin off and is likely to fluctuate in the future. Changes in the market price of our common stock may result from, among other things:

 

 

Holders of Record

 

On February 1, 2008, there were 45,377 holders of record of our common stock. Because many of the shares of our common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to determine the total number of stockholders represented by these record holders, but we believe that there were more than 113,300 beneficial owners of our common stock as of February 1, 2008.

 

Dividends

 

We currently do not pay regular dividends on our outstanding stock. The declaration of any future dividends and, if declared, the amount of any such dividends, will be subject to our actual future earnings, capital requirements, regulatory restrictions, debt covenants, other contractual restrictions and to the discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may take into account such matters as general business conditions, our financial condition and results of operations, our capital requirements, our prospects and such other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant.

 

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

 

There were no purchases by Hanesbrands during the quarter ended December 29, 2007 of equity securities that are registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act.

Performance Graph

 

The following graph compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock with the comparable cumulative return of the S&P MidCap 400 Index and the S&P 1500 Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods Index. The graph assumes that $100 was invested in our common stock and each index on August 11, 2006, the effective date of the registration of our common stock under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, although a “when-issued” trading market for our common stock did not begin until August 16, 2006, and “regular way” trading did not begin until September 6, 2006. The stock price performance on the following graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

 

COMPARISON OF CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN

 

 

Compliance with Certain New York Stock Exchange Requirements

 

As required by the rules of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard A. Noll, our Chief Executive Officer must certify to the New York Stock Exchange each year that he is not aware of any violation by Hanesbrands of New York Stock Exchange corporate governance listing standards as of the date of his certification, qualifying the certification to the extent necessary. Mr. Noll’s certification for the six months ended December 30, 2006 was submitted to the New York Stock Exchange and did not contain any qualifications. We are filing, as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the certifications required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

Equity Compensation Plan Information

 

The following table provides information about our equity compensation plans as of December 29, 2007.

 

 

The following table presents our selected historical financial data. The statement of income data for the year ended December 29, 2007, the six-month period ended December 30, 2006, the year ended July 1, 2006, and the year ended July 2, 2005 and the balance sheet data as of December 29, 2007 and December 30, 2006 have been derived from our audited Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The statement of income data for the years ended July 3, 2004 and June 28, 2003 and the balance sheet data as of July 1, 2006, July 2, 2005, July 3, 2004 and June 28, 2003 has been derived from our consolidated financial statements not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

In October 2006, our Board of Directors approved a change in our fiscal year end from the Saturday closest to June 30 to the Saturday closest to December 31. As a result of this change, our consolidated financial statements include presentation of the transition period beginning on July 2, 2006 and ending on December 30, 2006.

 

Our historical financial data for periods prior to our spin off from Sara Lee on September 5, 2006 is not necessarily indicative of our future performance or what our financial position and results of operations would have been if we had operated as a separate, stand-alone entity during all of the periods shown. The data should be read in conjunction with our historical financial statements and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations, or MD&A, contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Please see “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our historical financial statements and related notes thereto and the other disclosures contained elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. On October 26, 2006, our Board of Directors approved a change in our fiscal year end from the Saturday closest to June 30 to the Saturday closest to December 31. We refer to the resulting transition period from July 2, 2006 to December 30, 2006 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K as the six months ended December 30, 2006. The results of operations for the periods reflected herein are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for future periods, and our actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including but not limited to those listed under “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

MD&A is a supplement to our Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and is provided to enhance your understanding of our results of operations and financial condition. Our MD&A is organized as follows:

 

 

 

Overview

 

Our Company

 

We are a consumer goods company with a portfolio of leading apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, Just My Size, barely there and Wonderbra. We design, manufacture, source and sell a broad range of apparel essentials such as t-shirts, bras, panties, men’s underwear, kids’ underwear, socks, hosiery, casualwear and activewear. According to NPD, our brands hold either the number one or number two U.S. market position by sales in most product categories in which we compete, on a rolling year-end basis as of December 31, 2007.

 

Our Segments

 

Our operations are managed in five operating segments, each of which is a reportable segment for financial reporting purposes: Innerwear, Outerwear, Hosiery, International and Other. These segments are organized principally by product category and geographic location. Management of each segment is responsible for the assets and operations of these businesses.

 

 

 

Our operating results are subject to some variability. Generally, our diverse range of product offerings helps mitigate the impact of seasonal changes in demand for certain items. Sales are typically higher in the last two quarters (July to December) of each fiscal year. Socks, hosiery and fleece products generally have higher sales during this period as a result of cooler weather, back-to-school shopping and holidays. Sales levels in a period are also impacted by customers’ decisions to increase or decrease their inventory levels in response to anticipated consumer demand. Our customers may cancel orders, change delivery schedules or change the mix of products ordered with minimal notice to us. Our results of operations are also impacted by fluctuations and volatility in the price of cotton and the timing of actual spending for our media, advertising and promotion expenses. Media, advertising and promotion expenses may vary from period to period during a fiscal year depending on the timing of our advertising campaigns for retail selling seasons and product introductions. Our costs for cotton yarn and cotton-based textiles vary based upon the fluctuating cost of cotton, which is affected by weather, consumer demand, speculation on the commodities market, the relative valuations and fluctuations of the currencies of producer versus consumer countries and other factors that are generally unpredictable and beyond our control. While we do enter into short-term supply agreements and hedges in an attempt to protect our business from the volatility of the market price of cotton, our business can be affected by dramatic movements in cotton prices, although cotton represents only 6% of our cost of sales. Cotton prices, which were approximately 50 cents per pound in 2006, returned to the ten year historical average of approximately 56 cents per pound in 2007. Taking into consideration the agreements that we currently have in effect and cotton costs currently included in inventory, we expect our cost of cotton to average 62 cents per pound through August 2008, with the first quarter being lower and the third quarter being higher.

 

Business and Industry Trends

 

Our businesses are highly competitive and evolving rapidly. Competition generally is based upon price, brand name recognition, product quality, selection, service and purchasing convenience. While the majority of our core styles continue from year to year, with variations only in color, fabric or design details, other products such as intimate apparel and sheer hosiery have a heavier emphasis on style and innovation. Our businesses face competition today from other large corporations and foreign manufacturers, as well as department stores, specialty stores and other retailers that market and sell apparel essentials products under private labels that compete directly with our brands.

 

Our distribution channels include direct to consumer sales at our outlet stores, national chains and department stores and warehouse clubs, mass-merchandise outlets and international sales. For the year ended December 29, 2007, approximately 46% of our net sales were to mass merchants, 19% were to national chains and department stores, 8% were direct to consumers, 9% were in our International segment and 18% were to other retail channels such as embellishers, specialty retailers, warehouse clubs and sporting goods stores.

 

The retailers to which we sell our products have grown larger, partly due to retailer consolidation, and, as such, the number of retailers to which we sell our products has declined. For the year ended December 29, 2007, for example, our top ten customers accounted for 62% of our net sales and our top customer, Wal-Mart, accounted for over $1.2 billion of our sales. Our largest customers in the year ended December 29, 2007 were Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl’s, which accounted for 27%, 14% and 6% of total sales, respectively. The growth in retailers can create pricing pressures as our customers grow larger and seek to have greater concessions in

their purchase of our products, while they can be increasingly demanding that we provide them with some of our products on an exclusive basis. To counteract these effects, it has become increasingly important to increase operational efficiency and lower costs. As discussed below, for example, we are moving more of our supply chain to lower cost locations to lower the costs of our operational structure.

 

Anticipating changes in and managing our operations in response to consumer preferences remains an important element of our business. In recent years, we have experienced changes in our net sales, revenues and cash flows in accordance with changes in consumer preferences and trends. For example, we expect the trend of declining hosiery sales to continue consistent with the overall decline in the industry (although the decline has slowed in recent years) and with shifts in consumer preferences. The Hosiery segment only comprised 6% of our net sales in the year ended December 29, 2007 however, and as a result, the decline in the Hosiery segment has not had a significant impact on our net sales, revenues or cash flows. Generally, we manage the Hosiery segment for cash, placing an emphasis on reducing our cost structure and managing cash efficiently.

 

Our Key Business Strategies

 

Our core strategies are to build our largest, strongest brands in core categories by driving innovation in key items, to continually reduce our costs by consolidating our organization and globalizing our supply chain and to use our strong, consistent cash flows to fund business growth, supply-chain reorganization and debt reduction and to repurchase shares to offset dilution. Specifically, we intend to focus on the following strategic initiatives:

 

 

 

Supply Chain Consolidation and Globalization

 

Over the past several years, we have undertaken a variety of restructuring efforts designed to improve operating efficiencies and lower costs. We have closed plant locations, reduced our workforce, and relocated some of our manufacturing capacity to lower cost locations in Central America and Asia. For example, during the year ended December 29, 2007, in furtherance of our efforts to execute our consolidation and globalization strategy, we approved actions to close 17 manufacturing facilities and three distribution centers affecting 6,213 employees in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the United States, Brazil and Canada. In addition, 428 management and administrative positions are being eliminated, with the majority of these positions based in the United States. We also have recognized accelerated depreciation with respect to owned or leased assets associated with 17 manufacturing facilities and five distribution centers which we anticipate closing in the next three to five years as part of our consolidation and globalization strategy. While we believe that these efforts have had and will continue to have a beneficial impact on our operational efficiency and cost structure, we have incurred significant costs to implement these initiatives. In particular, we have recorded charges for severance and other employment-related obligations relating to workforce reductions, as well as payments in connection with lease and other contract terminations. These amounts are included in the “Cost of sales,” “Restructuring” and “Selling, general and administrative expenses” lines of our statements of income.

 

We acquired our second offshore textile plant, the 1,300-employee textile manufacturing operations of Industrias Duraflex, S.A. de C.V., in San Juan Opico, El Salvador. This acquisition provides a textile base in Central America from which to expand and leverage our large scale as well as supply our sewing network throughout Central America. Also, we announced plans to build a textile production plant in Nanjing, China, which will be our first company-owned textile production facility in Asia. The Nanjing textile facility will enable us to expand and leverage our production scale in Asia as we balance our supply chain across hemispheres. In December 2007, we acquired the 900-employee sheer hosiery facility in Las Lourdes, El Salvador of Inversiones Bonaventure, S.A. de C.V. For the past 12 years, these operations had been a primary contract sewing operation

for Hanes and L’eggs hosiery products. The acquisition streamlines a critical part of our overall hosiery supply chain and is part of our strategy to operate larger, company-owned production facilities.

 

As a result of the restructuring actions taken since our spin off from Sara Lee on September 5, 2006, our cost structure was reduced and efficiencies improved, generating savings of $21 million during the year ended December 29, 2007. Of the seven manufacturing facilities and distribution centers approved for closure in 2006, two were closed in 2006 and five were closed in 2007. Of the 20 manufacturing facilities and distribution centers approved for closure in 2007, 10 were closed in 2007 and 10 are expected to close in 2008. For more information about our restructuring actions, see Note 5, titled “Restructuring” to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

As further plans are developed and approved by management and in some cases our board of directors, we expect to recognize additional restructuring costs to eliminate duplicative functions within the organization and transition a significant portion of our manufacturing capacity to lower-cost locations. As a result of these efforts, we expect to incur approximately $250 million in restructuring and related charges over the three year period following the spin off from Sara Lee, of which approximately half is expected to be noncash. As of December 29, 2007, we have recognized approximately $116 million in restructuring and related charges related to these efforts. Of these charges, $43 million relates to employee termination and other benefits, $61 million relates to accelerated depreciation of buildings and equipment for facilities that have been or will be closed and $12 million relates to lease termination costs.

 

Components of Net Sales and Expense

 

Net sales

 

We generate net sales by selling apparel essentials such as t-shirts, bras, panties, men’s underwear, kids’ underwear, socks, hosiery, casualwear and activewear. Our net sales are recognized net of discounts, coupons, rebates, volume-based incentives and cooperative advertising costs. We recognize revenue when (i) there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement (ii) the sales price is fixed or determinable, (iii) title and the risks of ownership have been transferred to the customer and (iv) collection of the receivable is reasonably assured, which occurs primarily upon shipment. Net sales include an estimate for returns and allowances based upon historical return experience. We also offer a variety of sales incentives to resellers and consumers that are recorded as reductions to net sales.

 

Cost of sales

 

Our cost of sales includes the cost of manufacturing finished goods, which consists of labor, raw materials such as cotton and petroleum-based products and overhead costs such as depreciation on owned facilities and equipment. Our cost of sales also includes finished goods sourced from third-party manufacturers that supply us with products based on our designs as well as charges for slow moving or obsolete inventories. Rebates, discounts and other cash consideration received from a vendor related to inventory purchases are reflected in cost of sales when the related inventory item is sold. Our costs of sales do not include shipping costs, comprised of payments to third party shippers, or handling costs, comprised of warehousing costs in our distribution facilities, and thus our gross margins may not be comparable to those of other entities that include such costs in cost of sales.

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses

 

Our selling, general and administrative expenses include selling, advertising, costs of shipping, handling and distribution to our customers, research and development, rent on leased facilities, depreciation on owned facilities and equipment and other general and administrative expenses. Also included for periods presented prior to the spin off on September 5, 2006 are allocations of corporate expenses that consist of expenses for business insurance, medical insurance, employee benefit plan amounts and, because we were part of Sara Lee those periods, allocations from Sara Lee for certain centralized administration costs for treasury, real estate, accounting, auditing, tax, risk management, human resources and benefits administration. These allocations of centralized administration costs were determined on bases that we and Sara Lee considered to be reasonable

and take into consideration and include relevant operating profit, fixed assets, sales and payroll. Selling, general and administrative expenses also include management payroll, benefits, travel, information systems, accounting, insurance and legal expenses.

 

Restructuring

 

We have from time to time closed facilities and reduced headcount, including in connection with previously announced restructuring and business transformation plans. We refer to these activities as restructuring actions. When we decide to close facilities or reduce headcount, we take estimated charges for such restructuring, including charges for exited non-cancelable leases and other contractual obligations, as well as severance and benefits. If the actual charge is different from the original estimate, an adjustment is recognized in the period such change in estimate is identified.

 

Other expenses

 

Our other expenses include charges such as losses on early extinguishment of debt and certain other non-operating items.

 

Interest expense, net

 

As part of the spin off from Sara Lee on September 5, 2006, we incurred $2.6 billion of debt in the form of the Senior Secured Credit Facility, the Second Lien Credit Facility and a bridge loan facility (the “Bridge Loan Facility”), $2.4 billion of which we paid to Sara Lee. In December 2006, we issued $500 million of floating rate senior notes and the proceeds were used to repay all amounts outstanding under the Bridge Loan Facility. On November 27, 2007, we entered into the Receivables Facility which provides for up to $250 million in funding accounted for as a secured borrowing, all of which we borrowed and used to repay a portion of the Senior Secured Credit Facility. As a result, our interest expense in the current and future periods will be substantially higher than in periods prior to our spin off from Sara Lee. As part of our historical relationship with Sara Lee, we engaged in intercompany borrowings. We are no longer able to borrow from Sara Lee.

 

Our interest expense is net of interest income. Interest income is the return we earned on our cash and cash equivalents and, historically, on money we loaned to Sara Lee as part of its corporate cash management practices. Our cash and cash equivalents are invested in highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.

 

Income tax expense (benefit)

 

Our effective income tax rate fluctuates from period to period and can be materially impacted by, among other things:

 

 

Inflation and Changing Prices

 

We believe that changes in net sales and in net income that have resulted from inflation or deflation have not been material during the periods presented. There is no assurance, however, that inflation or deflation will not materially affect us in the future. Cotton is the primary raw material we use to manufacture many of our

products and is subject to fluctuations in prices. Further discussion of the market sensitivity of cotton is included in “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.”

 

Highlights from the Year Ended December 29, 2007

 

part of our overall hosiery supply chain and is part of our strategy to operate larger, company-owned production facilities.

 

Consolidated Results of Operations — Year Ended December 29, 2007 Compared with Twelve Months Ended December 30, 2006

 

The information presented below for the year ended December 29, 2007 was derived from our consolidated financial statements. The unaudited information presented for the twelve months ended December 30, 2006 (which twelve month period we refer to as “2006” in this “Consolidated Results of Operation — Year Ended December 29, 2007 Compared with Twelve Months Ended December 30, 2006” section and the section entitled “Operating Results by Business Segment — Year Ended December 29, 2007 Compared with Twelve Months Ended December 30, 2006”) is presented due to the change in our fiscal year end and was derived by combining the six months ended July 1, 2006 and the six months ended December 30, 2006.

 

 

Net Sales

 

 

Consolidated net sales were higher by $71 million or 1.6% in 2007 compared to 2006. Our Outerwear, International and Other segment net sales were higher by $68 million (5.9%), $22 million (5.4%) and $12 million (27.4%), respectively, and were offset by lower segment net sales in Innerwear of $18 million (0.7%) and Hosiery of $12 million (4.3%).

 

The overall higher net sales were primarily due to double digit growth in sales volume in Champion brand sales, growth in Hanes brand casualwear, socks, sleepwear, intimate apparel and men’s underwear sales and Bali brand intimate apparel sales. Our Champion brand sales have increased by double-digits in each of the last three years. The higher net sales were offset primarily by lower sales of promotional t-shirts sold primarily through our embellishment channel, lower Playtex brand intimate apparel sales, lower Hanes brand kids’ underwear sales and lower licensed men’s underwear sales in the department store channel.

 

Our strategy of investing in our largest and strongest brands is generating growth. In 2007, we launched a number of new advertising and marketing initiatives for our top brands, including our Hanes ComfortSoft campaigns, Bali Passion for Comfort, Playtex “Girl Talk” and most recently our Champion “How you Play”

advertising campaign which is the first campaign for the brand since 2003. We also announced a 10-year strategic alliance with The Walt Disney Company that includes basic apparel exclusivity for the Hanes and Champion brands, product co-branding, attraction sponsorships and other brand visibility and signage at Disney properties. The alliance included the naming rights for the stadium at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex, now known as Champion Stadium.

 

Net sales in the Hosiery segment were lower primarily due to lower sales of the L’eggs brand to mass retailers and food and drug stores. We expect the trend of declining hosiery sales to continue consistent with the overall decline in the industry (although the decline has slowed in recent years) and with shifts in consumer preferences. The higher net sales from our Other segment primarily resulted from an immaterial change in the way we recognized sales to third party suppliers in 2006. The full year change was reflected in 2006 with a $5 million impact on net sales and minimal impact on net income.

 

The changes in foreign currency exchange rates had a favorable impact on net sales of $15 million in 2007 compared to 2006.

 

Gross Profit

 

 

As a percent of net sales, our gross profit percentage was 32.2% in 2007 compared to 32.8% in 2006. The lower gross profit percentage was primarily due to higher cotton costs of $21 million, higher excess and obsolete inventory costs of $21 million, $16 million of higher accelerated depreciation, $16 million of unfavorable product sales mix and $13 million of higher start-up and shut down costs associated with the consolidation and globalization of our supply chain. In addition, gross profit was negatively impacted by higher incentives of $14 million of which $16 million resulted from a change in the classification of certain sales incentives in 2007 which were previously classified as media, advertising and promotion expenses in 2006. This change in classification was made in accordance with EITF 01-9, Accounting for Consideration Given by a Vendor to a Customer (Including a Reseller of the Vendor’s Products), because the estimated fair value of the identifiable benefit was no longer obtained beginning in 2007.

 

Cotton prices, which were approximately 50 cents per pound in 2006, returned to the ten year historical average of approximately 56 cents per pound in 2007. The higher excess and obsolete inventory costs in 2007 compared to 2006 are primarily attributable to $9 million of costs associated with the rationalization of our sock product category offerings and $5 million related to exiting a licensing arrangement for a kids’ underwear program. The remaining $7 million of higher excess and obsolete costs aggregates all other product categories as part of our continuous evaluation of both inventory levels and simplification of our product category offerings. The higher accelerated depreciation in 2007 was a result of facilities closed or that will be closed in connection with our consolidation and globalization strategy.

 

These higher costs were offset primarily by savings from our cost reduction initiatives and prior restructuring actions of $30 million, lower allocations of overhead costs of $24 million, $19 million of improved plant performance, $13 million of higher sales volume, lower duty costs of $9 million, primarily due to the receipt of $8 million in duty refunds relating to duties paid several years ago, and $4 million of lower spending in numerous other areas.

 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $53 million lower in 2007 compared to 2006. Our expenses were lower primarily due to lower spin off and related charges of $45 million, $12 million of savings from prior restructuring actions, $10 million of lower distribution expenses and $7 million in amortization of gain on curtailment of postretirement benefits. Our media, advertising and promotion (“MAP”) expenses were lower by $41 million, primarily with respect to non-media related MAP expenses. The lower non-media related MAP expenses are primarily attributable to $25 million of cost reduction initiatives and better deployment of these resources and $16 million due to a change in the classification of certain sales incentives in 2007 which were classified as MAP expenses in 2006. MAP expenses may vary from period to period during a fiscal year depending on the timing of our advertising campaigns for retail selling seasons and product introductions. In addition, pension expense was reduced by $3 million in 2007 as a result of the final separation of our pension assets and liabilities from those of Sara Lee.

 

Our cost reduction efforts during the year have allowed us to offset $7 million of higher stand alone expenses associated with being an independent company and make investments in our strategic initiatives resulting in $16 million of higher media related MAP expenses and $13 million in higher technology consulting expenses in 2007. In addition, our allocations of overhead costs were $24 million lower during 2007 compared to 2006. Accelerated depreciation was $3 million higher in 2007 as a result of facilities closed or that will be closed in connection with our consolidation and globalization strategy.

 

Gain on Curtailment of Postretirement Benefits

 

 

In December 2006, we notified retirees and employees of the phase out of premium subsidies for early retiree medical coverage and move to an access-only plan for early retirees by the end of 2007. We also eliminated the medical plan for retirees ages 65 and older as a result of coverage available under the expansion of Medicare with Part D drug coverage and eliminated future postretirement life benefits. The gain on curtailment in 2006 represented the unrecognized amounts associated with prior plan amendments that were being amortized into income over the remaining service period of the participants prior to the December 2006 amendments. In 2007, we recognized $7 million in postretirement benefit income which was recorded in “Selling, general and administrative expenses,” primarily representing the amortization of negative prior service costs, which was partially offset by service costs, interest costs on the accumulated benefit obligation and actuarial gains and losses accumulated in the plan. In December 2007, we terminated the existing plan and recognized a final gain on curtailment of plan benefits of $32 million. Concurrently with the termination of the existing plan, we established a new access only plan that is fully paid by the participants.

 

Restructuring

 

 

During 2007, we approved actions to close 17 manufacturing facilities and three distribution centers affecting 6,213 employees in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the United States, Brazil and Canada, while moving production to lower-cost operations in Central America and Asia. In addition, 428 management and administrative positions were eliminated, with the majority of these positions based in the United States. These actions resulted in a charge of $32 million, representing costs associated with the planned termination of 6,641 employees, primarily attributable to employee and other termination benefits recognized in accordance with benefit plans previously communicated to the affected employee group. In addition, we recognized a

charge of $10 million for estimated lease termination costs and $2 million primarily related to impairment charges associated with facility closures approved in prior periods, for facilities that were exited during 2007.

 

Of the seven manufacturing facilities and distribution centers that were approved for closure in 2006, two were closed in 2006 and five were closed in 2007. Of the 20 manufacturing facilities and distribution centers that were approved for closure in 2007, 10 were closed in 2007 and 10 are expected to close in 2008.

 

In connection with our consolidation and globalization strategy, non-cash charges of $37 million and $3 million, respectively, of accelerated depreciation of buildings and equipment for facilities that have been closed or will be closed is reflected in “Cost of sales” and “Selling, general and administrative expenses.”

 

These actions, which are a continuation of our consolidation and globalization strategy, are expected to result in benefits of moving production to lower-cost manufacturing facilities, leveraging our large scale in high-volume products and consolidating production capacity.

 

Operating Profit

 

 

Operating profit was higher in 2007 by $22 million compared to 2006 primarily as a result of lower selling, general and administrative expenses of $53 million and higher gain on curtailment of postretirement benefits of $4 million partially offset by higher restructuring charges of $32 million and lower gross profit of $2 million. Our ability to control costs and execute on our consolidation and globalization strategy during 2007 has allowed us to offset $29 million of higher investments in our strategic initiatives and $7 million of higher standalone expenses associated with being an independent company.

 

Other Expenses

 

 

We recognized losses on early extinguishment of debt related to unamortized debt issuance costs on the Senior Secured Credit Facility for prepayments of $428 million of principal in 2007 including a prepayment of $250 million that was made in connection with funding from the Receivables Facility we entered into in November 2007.

 

Interest Expense, net

 

 

Interest expense, net was higher in 2007 by $120 million compared to 2006 primarily as a result of the indebtedness incurred in connection with the spin off from Sara Lee on September 5, 2006, consisting of $2.6 billion pursuant to the Senior Secured Credit Facility, the Second Lien Credit Facility and the Bridge Loan Facility. In December 2006, we issued $500 million of Floating Fate Senior Notes and the net proceeds were used to repay the Bridge Loan Facility.

 

In February 2007, we entered into a first amendment to the Senior Secured Credit Facility with our lenders, which primarily lowered the applicable borrowing margin with respect to the Term B loan facility from 2.25% to 1.75% on LIBOR based loans and from 1.25% to 0.75% on Base Rate loans. In November 2007, we entered into the Receivables Facility with conduits that issue commercial paper in the short-term

market and are not affiliated with us, which provides for up to $250 million in funding accounted for as a secured borrowing and is secured by certain domestic trade receivables. The borrowing rate is generally the conduits’ cost to issue commercial paper, plus certain dealer fees, which equated to 5.93% from November 27, 2007 through December 29, 2007. Our weighted average interest rate on our outstanding debt in 2007 was 7.74%.

 

Income Tax Expense

 

 

Our effective income tax rate was 31.5% in 2007 compared to 25.5% in 2006. The higher effective tax rate is attributable primarily to our new independent structure and higher remitted earnings from foreign subsidiaries in 2007.

 

Our effective tax rate is heavily influenced by the amount of permanent capital investment we make offshore to fund our supply chain consolidation and globalization strategy rather than remitting those earnings back to the United States.

 

As we continue to fund our supply chain consolidation and globalization strategy in future years, we may elect to permanently invest earnings from foreign subsidiaries which would result in a lower overall effective tax rate.

 

Net Income

 

 

Net income for 2007 was lower than 2006 primarily due to higher interest expense and a higher effective income tax rate as a result of our independent structure partially offset by higher operating profit and lower other expenses.

Operating Results by Business Segment — Year Ended December 29, 2007 Compared with Twelve Months Ended December 30, 2006

 

 

Innerwear

 

 

Overall net sales in the Innerwear segment were slightly lower by $18 million or 0.7% in 2007 compared to 2006. We experienced lower sales volume of Playtex brand intimate apparel sales of $23 million, lower Hanes brand kids’ underwear sales of $21 million, lower licensed men’s underwear sales in the department store channel of $10 million and $3 million lower Just My Size brand sales. The lower net sales were partially offset by higher Hanes brand socks, sleepwear, intimate apparel sales and men’s underwear of $11 million, $8 million, $5 million and $4 million, respectively, and higher Bali brand sales of $12 million.

Net sales for the Hanes brand were higher in most key categories, except for kid’s underwear. Hanes men’s underwear benefited from an increased focus on core products and better overall performance at retail during the year-end holiday season. Total sock sales, which now exceed $340 million annually, were higher by 4%, primarily due to new programs at our top two customers. Our Bali brand sales were higher primarily as a result of our Passion for Comfort media campaign launched in 2007. Playtex brand sales were lower in 2007 due to soft department store retail sales and a reduction in retail inventory primarily in the first three quarters of 2007.

 

As a percent of segment net sales, gross profit percentage in the Innerwear segment was 36.8% in 2007 compared to 37.4% in 2006. The gross profit percentage was lower due to unfavorable product sales mix of $19 million, higher excess and obsolete inventory costs of $13 million, unfavorable product sales pricing of $12 million, $9 million in higher cotton costs and unfavorable plant performance of $4 million. The higher excess and obsolete inventory costs in 2007 compared to 2006 are primarily attributable to $9 million of costs associated with the rationalization of our sock product category offerings and $5 million related to exiting a licensing arrangement for a kids’ underwear program. In addition, gross profit was negatively impacted by higher incentives of $15 million primarily due to a change in the classification of certain sales incentives in 2007 which were classified as media, advertising and promotion expenses in 2006. These higher expenses were partially offset by lower allocations of overhead costs of $15 million, lower duty costs of $14 million primarily due to the receipt of $7 million in duty refunds relating to duties paid several years ago, $10 million of higher sales volume and $10 million in savings from our cost reduction initiatives and prior restructuring actions.

 

The lower Innerwear segment operating profit in 2007 compared to 2006 is primarily attributable to lower gross profit and a higher allocation of selling, general and administrative expenses of $22 million. These higher expenses were partially offset by lower MAP expenses of $11 million, primarily due to a change in the classification of certain sales incentives in 2007 which were classified as MAP expenses in 2006. Our consolidated selling, general and administrative expenses before segment allocations were lower in 2007 compared to 2006 primarily due to lower spin off and related charges, savings from prior restructuring actions, lower distribution expenses, amortization of gain on curtailment of postretirement benefits, lower MAP expenses and lower pension expense offset by higher stand alone expenses, lower allocations of overhead costs, higher accelerated depreciation and higher technology consulting expenses.

 

Outerwear

 

 

Net sales in the Outerwear segment were higher by $68 million in 2007 compared to 2006 primarily as a result of higher Champion brand activewear and Hanes brand retail casualwear net sales. Overall activewear and retail casualwear net sales were higher by $60 million and $50 million, respectively, in 2007 compared to 2006. The higher net sales were partially offset by lower net sales in our casualwear business as a result of lower sales of promotional t-shirts sold primarily through our embellishment channel of $42 million, most of which occurred in the first half of 2007. Champion, our second largest brand, benefited from higher penetration in the sporting goods channel, and, together with C9 by Champion, in the mid-tier department store channel. In 2007, we expanded the depth and breadth of distribution in sporting goods with our Champion Double Dry performance products. Champion sales have increased by double-digits in each of the past three years.

 

As a percent of segment net sales, gross profit percentage in the Outerwear segment was 21.6% in 2007 compared to 19.4% in 2006. The improvement in gross profit is primarily attributable to improved plant performance of $18 million, savings from our cost reduction initiatives and prior restructuring actions of $16 million, higher sales volume of $13 million, lower allocations of overhead costs of $9 million and

favorable product sales pricing of $8 million offset primarily by higher cotton costs of $11 million, higher excess and obsolete inventory costs of $8 million, higher duty costs of $4 million and higher sales incentives of $4 million.

 

The higher Outerwear segment operating profit in 2007 compared to 2006 is primarily attributable to a higher gross profit and lower MAP expenses of $3 million which was offset by a higher allocation of selling, general and administrative expenses of $28 million. Our consolidated selling, general and administrative expenses before segment allocations were lower in 2007 compared to 2006 primarily due to lower spin off and related charges, savings from prior restructuring actions, lower distribution expenses, amortization of gain on curtailment of postretirement benefits, lower MAP expenses and lower pension expense offset by higher stand alone expenses, lower allocations of overhead costs, higher accelerated depreciation and higher technology consulting expenses.

 

Hosiery

 

 

Net sales in the Hosiery segment were lower by $12 million in 2007 compared to 2006 primarily due to lower sales of the L’eggs brand to mass retailers and food and drug stores. We expect the trend of declining hosiery sales to continue consistent with the overall decline in the industry (although the decline has slowed in recent years) and with shifts in consumer preferences.

 

As a percent of segment net sales, gross profit percentage was 47.2% in 2007 compared to 41.3% in 2006 primarily due to improved plant performance of $10 million, lower sales incentives of $3 million and $5 million in savings from our cost reduction initiatives and prior restructuring actions which was partially offset by $10 million of lower sales volume.

 

Hosiery segment operating profit was higher in 2007 compared to 2006 primarily due to a higher gross profit, $6 million in lower MAP expenses and $12 million in lower allocated selling, general and administrative expenses.

 

Our consolidated selling, general and administrative expenses before segment allocations were lower in 2007 compared to 2006 primarily due to lower spin off and related charges, savings from prior restructuring actions, lower distribution expenses, amortization of gain on curtailment of postretirement benefits, lower MAP expenses and lower pension expense offset by higher stand alone expenses, lower allocations of overhead costs, higher accelerated depreciation and higher technology consulting expenses.

 

International