Fruit of the Loom is an American company which manufactures clothing, particularly underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is currently a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

Company profile[link]

Fruit of the Loom headquarters building in Bowling Green, Kentucky

Fruit of the Loom's main business focus is on branded products for consumers ranging from children to senior citizens. The company is one of the largest manufacturers and marketers of men's and boys' underwear, women's and girls' underwear, printable T-shirts and fleece for the activewear industry, casualwear, women's jeanswear and childrenswear.

The company sells its products to all major discount chains and mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs and screenprinters. The company also sells to many department, specialty, drug and variety stores, national chains, supermarkets and sports specialty stores.

Fruit of the Loom offers an unconditional guarantee on all the products it sells. The brand has significant market share for basic apparel. The familiar logo with the apple, leaves, green grapes, currants, and purple grapes is a widely recognizable trademark. The company is a vertically integrated manufacturer.

The company also controls another long-known underwear brand, B.V.D. (Bradley, Voorhees, and Day). Other brands also manufactured and sold by the company are Funpals/FunGals, Screen Stars and Underoos. Brands once owned or marketed by Fruit of the Loom include Gitano, Munsingwear, Salem Sportswear, and Pro Player, which once had the naming rights to what is now Sun Life Stadium (originally Joe Robbie Stadium) in Miami, Florida from 1996 to 2005, despite bankruptcy by the parent company in 1999.

Hanes and Jockey are the main competitors to Fruit of the Loom. The Fruit Of the Loom logo consists of an apple, leaves, green grapes, currants, and purple grapes. In TV commercials for the brand, actors play the roles of only four of the logo's parts: the apple, green grapes, purple grapes, and leaves. The role of "Apple" is played by Rad Daly, and the "Leaf" was at one time played by Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham, and has been played by Gene Steichen since the Fruit Guys were re-introduced to the public in 2001. "Green Grapes" is played by Richard Steven Horvitz. "Purple Grapes" is played by Wayne Wilderson.

History[link]

The Fruit of the Loom brand dates back to 1851 in Rhode Island when Robert Knight, a textile mill owner, visited his friend, Rufus Skeel. Mr. Skeel owned a small shop in Providence, Rhode Island that sold cloth from Mr. Knight's mill. Mr. Skeel's daughter painted images of apples and applied them to the bolts of cloth. The ones with the apple emblems proved most popular. Mr. Knight thought the labels would be the perfect symbol for his trade name, Fruit of the Loom — a name that bears resemblance to the phrase "fruit of the womb", an expression meaning "children", which can be traced back to use in the Bible (Psalm 127:3).

In 1871, just one year after the first trademark laws were passed by Congress, Mr. Knight received trademark number 418 for the brand, Fruit of the Loom.

Much of its athletic outerwear was sold under the "Pro Player" label, a now defunct division.

The company was part of Northwest Industries, Inc., until NWI was purchased by William F. Farley in 1985 and renamed Farley Industries, Inc. Farley served as President, CEO, and majority shareholder for 15 years. Fruit of the Loom's sales revenue rose from approximately $500 million at the time of NWI's purchase to roughly $2.5 billion nearly 15 years later. Debt financing, once seen as brilliant, proved difficult to manage even as sales revenue quintupled.

Fruit of the Loom filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1999 shortly after posting a net loss of $576.2 million. Its 66 million shares of outstanding common stock dropped in value from about $44 per share in early 1997 to just more than $1 by the spring of 2000. Reasons for the bankruptcy are varied. A large debt load which was assumed in the 1980s, a common practice at the time, did not help. William F. Farley, the company's former chairman, chief executive officer, and chief operating officer was forced out prior to bankruptcy in late 1999, after having piloted the company into massive debt and unproductive business ventures, including structuring the company into an off-shore entity in the Cayman Islands to avoid taxes.

The company was bought from bankruptcy by Berkshire Hathaway Corporation, controlled by legendary investor Warren Buffett, who wanted the valuable brand. He agreed in January 2002 to purchase the company for approximately $835 million in cash. The deal was concluded on April 29, 2002. A condition of the purchase required that former Chief Operating Officer and the then interim CEO, John Holland, remain available to be the CEO for the company.^[1]

The company purchased Russell Corporation, effectively taking the former competitor private in a deal that was completed August 1, 2006.

The company announced the purchase of VF Corporation's intimate apparel company named Vanity Fair Intimates for $350 million in cash on January 23, 2007.^[2]

Students protest outside Fruit of the Loom office in Telford, England over worker rights violations at the company's Honduras factories

References[link]

Notes

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2009)

Sources

• Related Textile History - Lippitt Mill Retrieved August 27, 2005.
• History of Chicago Retrieved September 13, 2005.
• Farley looks for Congressional help November 1, 1999.
• Berkshire Hathaway Announcement of Fruit of the Loom Acquisition April 30, 2002.
• Buffett's Berkshire to buy Russell April 17, 2006.

	Kentucky portal
	Companies portal
	Fashion portal

External links[link]

• Fruit of the Loom underwear
• The Fruit of the Loom Guys Creator

v t e Berkshire Hathaway Corporate directors Warren Buffett (Chairman and CEO) · Charlie Munger · Howard Graham Buffett · Susan Decker · Bill Gates · David Gottesman · Charlotte Guyman · Donald Keough · Thomas S. Murphy · Ronald Olson · Walter Scott, Jr. Insurance Applied Underwriters · Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies · Berkshire Hathaway Assurance · Boat America · Central States Indemnity · Gateway Underwriters Agency · GEICO · Gen Re · Kansas Bankers Surety Company · Medical Protective · National Indemnity Company · United States Liability Insurance Group  · Wesco Financial Materials and Construction Acme Brick · Benjamin Moore & Co. · Clayton Homes · International Metalworking Companies · Johns Manville · Lubrizol · Marmon · MiTek · Mouser Electronics · Precision Steel Warehouse · Shaw Industries · TTI Furniture CORT Business Services · Jordan's Furniture · Larson-Juhl · Nebraska Furniture Mart · RC Willey Home Furnishings · Star Furniture Apparel Fruit of the Loom (Russell) · Garanimals · Fechheimer Brothers · H.H. Brown Shoe Group · Justin Brands Transportation Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation · NetJets · NetJets Europe · FlightSafety International · Forest River · Marquis Jet · McLane · XTRA Lease Food CTB International · Dairy Queen · Orange Julius · Karmelkorn · The Pampered Chef · See's Candies Media The Buffalo News · Business Wire · Omaha World-Herald (Council Bluffs Nonpareil · Grand Island Independent · Kearney Hub · North Platte Telegraph · Star-Herald · York News-Times) Jewelry Ben Bridge Jeweler · Borsheim's Fine Jewelry · Helzberg Diamonds · Richline Group Scott Fetzer Kirby · World Book · Campbell Hausfeld MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company MidAmerican Energy Company · PacifiCorp · Northern Powergrid · CalEnergy Generation · Kern River Gas Transmission Company · Northern Natural Gas · HomeServices of America Related articles Blue Chip Stamps · Owned assets Annual Revenue: US$118.249 billion  · Employees: 233,000 · Stock Symbol: NYSE: BRKA, NYSE: BRKB · Web site: berkshirehathaway.com Category

v t e Lingerie Upper torso Types of bras (History) Balconette brassiere • Bandeau • Cupless bra • Male bra • Nursing bra • Push-up bra • Sports bra • Training bra • Underwire bra Other Babydoll • Bustier • Camisole • Negligee • Torsolette Lower torso Bikini • Boyshorts • French knickers • Girdle • Girl boxers • Panties • Tanga • Tap pants • Thong (G-string) Full torso BodyBriefer • Corsage • Corset • Corselet • Nightshirt • Playsuit • Slip • Teddy Hosiery Garter • Knee highs • Pantyhose • Stocking Historical Basque • Bustle • Chemise • Crinoline • Farthingale • Hoop skirt • Liberty bodice • Pannier • Pantalettes • Petticoat • Pettipants • Waist cincher • Yếm Accessories Falsies • Lingerie tape Brands Aerie • Agent Provocateur • American Apparel • Andrés Sardá • Baby Phat • Bali • Berlei • Bruno Banani • Calvin Klein • Chantelle • DKNY • Formfit • Frederick's of Hollywood • Fruit of the Loom • Gerbe • Gilly Hicks • Hanes • HerRoom • Intimissimi • Intimo Lingerie • Jockey • Jolidon • La Senza • Maidenform • No Nonsense • Olga Intimates • Passport Panties • Peach John • Playtex • Pretty Polly • Trashy Lingerie • Triumph International • Ultimo • Underalls • Valisere • Van de Velde • Vassarette • Victoria's Secret • Wacoal • Warner's • Wolford • Wonderbra • XTG Extreme Game

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 is a historical look at the way in which Al-Qaeda came into being, the background for various terrorist attacks and how they were investigated, and the events that led to the September 11 attacks. The book was written by Lawrence Wright, and he received a Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for it.

The Looming Tower is largely focused on the people involved; what they were like, why they did what they did, and how they interacted. The book starts with Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian religious scholar who visited the United States in the late 1940s and returned to his home to become an anti-West Islamist and eventually a martyr for his beliefs. There is also a portrait of Ayman al-Zawahiri, from his childhood in Egypt to his participation in and later leadership of Egyptian Islamic Jihad to his merging of his organization with Al Qaeda.

Osama bin Laden is the person described the most, from his childhood in Saudi Arabia in a rich family, his participation in the jihad against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, his role as a financier of terrorist groups, his stay in Sudan, his return to Afghanistan and his interactions with the Taliban. The 1998 United States embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya are described, as is the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000.

Lawrence Wright also describes in detail some of the Americans involved, in particular Richard A. Clarke, chief counter-terrorism adviser on the U.S. National Security Council, and John P. O'Neill, an Assistant Deputy Director of Investigation for the FBI who served as America's top bin Laden hunter until his retirement from the FBI in August 2001, after which he got a job as head of security at the World Trade Center, where he died in the 9/11 attacks.

The book also describes some of the problems with lack of cooperation between the FBI and the CIA and other American government organizations that prevented them from uncovering the 9/11 plot in time.

Because The Looming Tower is to a large extent focused on telling the story of the people involved it does not describe the 9/11 plot and its execution in much detail. It focuses more on the background and the conditions that produced the people who allegedly planned and staged the attack, and information about those who were combating terror against the USA.

About the title[link]

The words "the looming tower" appear in the Qur'an. According to Lawrence Wright, Osama bin Laden, at a wedding before the 9/11 attack, quoted a line from the fourth Sura of the Qur'an, repeating it three times: "Wherever you are, death will find you, even in the looming tower."^[1]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Looming Tower on Open Library at the Internet Archive
• The Looming Tower Reviews at Metacritic
• AuthorViews video interview about The Looming Tower
• Lawrence Wright Interview: Conversations with History; Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley
• Lawrence Wright speaking at Princeton University on "Al Qaeda: Past, Present and Future". April 25, 2007