
Garland Shirt Company has been closed for months, with the number of orders ‘far too low’ to support day-to-day operations.
Garland Apparel Group: Low orders led to closure; next tenant sought
GARLAND — Garland Apparel Group is working to find the next occupant for the town’s long-standing Garland Shirt Company after a lack of orders to meet basic costs necessitate furloughs — and ultimately the closure — of the factory.
“The factory was placed on furlough in November. It was our intention to return to work, however, orders needed to keep the factory open and functional, did not materialize,” Kenneth Ragland, managing partner for Garland Apparel Group, told The Independent. “The factory required a minimum number of orders to meet basic costs and wages. The aggregate total of orders we had were simply far too low to support day-to day operations.”
During the period of November through today, company leaders have been working with several parties “who have a desire to acquire the factory,” Ragland noted.
“One transaction is now close to completion. I cannot opine on the buyer nor their plans, but I know they are North Carolina based and they have need for factory capacity, which Garland can provide,” Ragland stated.
From its origins nearly 70 years ago, the factory has specialized in bespoke shirting, including the exclusive production of Brooks Brothers’ iconic twill button-down oxford — with garments crafted through the experience of local, unionized tailors and craftspeople. Shirts worn by U.S. Presidents were made within those walls in Garland.
In 2020, the Garland Shirt Company shuttered, leaving a void in the town and hundreds of residents without work, dimming a longstanding manufacturing behemoth after Brooks Brothers filed for bankruptcy. Brooks Brothers cited pandemic and financial issues that led to the closure of the plant first opened in 1954 by Brooks Brothers, a stunning blow for Garland.
The next year, Garland Apparel Group stepped in and acquired the former site of Brooks Brothers. The doors to the factory were officially reopened in October 2021.
Garland Apparel Group revived the sleeping giant, bringing back many former employees, and, as of its one-year anniversary in October 2022, had a staff of 109, “with more openings to come in the next year,” company officials stated at the time. Upon the one-year celebration, Garland Apparel Group officials called the resurrection of the factory “an outstanding example of the grit and determination of Southeastern North Carolina workers.”
At the outset, Garland Apparel Group was the recipient of a $250,000 Building Reuse Grant grant, awarded to projects at buildings that are a “fundamental building block for economic development.” The Garland factory was identified as such an attractive location.
Ragland said that while that re-use grant was approved for $250,000, the entire grant was never received.
“Due to countless roadblocks in the process, roadblocks never shared with us by the state or county, we were never afforded full access to these funds,” said Ragland, who noted that the company received about $180,000 of that amount, “which was per state rules forgiven, as Garland Apparel met the requirements of the re-use grant over the two-year period of August 2021 through August 2023.”
“The funds received were used to upgrade the building and make necessary repairs so the factory could function,” said Ragland. “We are grateful for the support given the company and feel we did exactly as was expected, in terms of meeting the requirements of the grant.”
Despite bringing back a majority of the workforce, and enjoying success for a couple years, the factory was fighting an uphill battle in the long run.
“The factory suffered from Brooks Brothers owning it too long, from Brooks not investing in basic upkeep or in better systems, and ultimately, the lack of interest in Made in the USA,” Ragland stated bluntly. “Lots of people talk about Made in the USA as being so necessary, but when the rubber meets the road, most Americans want cheap goods which does not make it easy for U.S. firms to survive.”
Editor Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137 ext. 2587.