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22-521: The current mills were built beginning in 1863 by Robert Knight and Benjamin Knight (B.B. & R. Knight Company) to replace a smaller textile mill they had acquired from US Senator John Hopkins Clarke . Robert Knight, formerly a clerk at the mill's company store, had begun leasing the mill upon Clarke's election to the US senate in 1846, before purchasing it outright in 1850. The Knights later demolished it to erect

44-495: A Registered Historic Place in Kent County , Rhode Island is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Robert Knight (industrialist) Robert Knight (8 January 1826 – 26 November 1912) was a New England industrialist and philanthropist, who was a partner with his brother Benjamin Knight in B. B. & R. Knight and was one of the largest textile manufacturers in the world when he died in 1912. He co-founded

66-637: A Snopes reporter said that a search of newspaper advertisements between the 1920s and 2020s revealed none that depicted a cornucopia , despite many consumers recalling that the trademark did contain one — this is often cited as an example of the Mandela Effect . The company is a vertically integrated manufacturer. In 2006, Fruit of the Loom acquired Russell Brands, LLC , a global company whose brands included Russell Athletic , Brooks Running , and Spalding , among other names in athletic wear. The purchase amount

88-414: A 10 percent increase in sales. In 1999, Fruit of the Loom filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, 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 spring 2000. Reasons for the bankruptcy are varied. A large debt load which was assumed in the 1980s, a common practice at

110-506: A small shop in Providence that sold cloth from Knight's mill. Skeel's daughter painted images of apples and applied them to the bolts of cloth. The ones with the apple emblems proved most popular. Knight thought the labels would be the perfect symbol for his trade name, Fruit of the Loom  – an expression referring to clothes, paralleling the phrase "fruit of the womb", which can be traced back to

132-553: The Bible (Psalm 127:3). In 1871, just one year after the first trademark laws were passed by Congress, 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

154-649: The 1990s, the American textile industry overall experienced widespread downsizing in the wake of North American Free Trade Agreement and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade . In 1995, Chairman Farley announced that the company would close six plants in the Southeastern United States , and cut back operations at two others. Operations were moved to cheaper plants abroad. 3,200 workers, or about 12 percent of its American work force, were laid off. Farley also announced that company earnings fell 22 percent, despite

176-597: The Loom is an American company that manufactures clothing , particularly casual wear and underwear . The company's world headquarters are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky . Since 2002, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway . Products manufactured by Fruit of the Loom itself and through its subsidiaries include clothing ( t-shirts , hoodies , jackets , sweatpants , shorts and lingerie ), and sports equipment ( softballs and basketballs ) manufactured and commercialized by Spalding . Fruit of

198-400: The Loom is one of the largest manufacturers and marketers of underwear, printable T-shirts and fleece for the activewear industry, casualwear, women's jeanswear, and childrenswear. The company employs more than 32,400 people worldwide. The company's logo comprises a red apple, leaves, green grapes, purple grapes, and white currants (or yellow gooseberries), but not a cornucopia. In July 2023,

220-466: The Loom's sales revenue rose from approximately US$ 500 million at the time of NWI's purchase (equivalent to $ 1.42 billion in 2023) to roughly US$ 2.5 billion nearly 15 years later (equivalent to $ 4.42 billion in 2023), about a three-fold increase after inflation. Debt financing proved difficult to manage, however, even as dollar sales revenue quintupled. On March 23, 1987, the company sold its subsidiary General Battery to Exide Corporation . In

242-580: The clothing brand Fruit of the Loom , now owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway . Knight was born in Old Warwick, Rhode Island , on January 8, 1826, to Stephen Knight and Weltham Brayton. After moving to Cranston, Rhode Island , Knight's father put Robert to work in the Cranston Print Works when he was eight years old. Knight later worked in Coventry, Rhode Island , for Elisha Harris until he

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264-615: The construction of a library on property belonging to his estate. The library was operated by the Elmwood Public Library Association, and the building maintained by the Knight family. In 1962, library management was turned over to the Providence Public Library, and in 2011 the building was transferred to the city. Knight's Elmwood Avenue mansion was demolished in 1963. Fruit of the Loom Fruit of

286-611: The current mill in 1863. The mills produced uniforms for Union soldiers during the American Civil War . In 1920 Webster Knight sold Fruit of the Loom and the Pontiac Mills to the Consolidated Textile Corporation of New York for approximately $ 20 million, one of the largest deals ever made in the textile industry at that time. Shortly thereafter, the mill became involved in one of the largest worker strikes of

308-595: The era, after wages were cut by 20% and a 54-hour work week mandated. The strike resulted in 150 people being evicted from their mill-owned homes, as well as riots and attacks on the mill, following which the National Guard was called in by Rhode Island governor Emery J. San Souci and machine guns mounted to the roofs of Pontiac Mill and nearby Natick Mill. The textile industry in New England began declining shortly after this period. The mill ceased operations in 1970, and

330-531: The mill workers. In 1851 Knight formed Fruit of the Loom and trademarked the well known fruit trademark in the 1870s soon after the trademark registry was established. By his death in 1912, the New York Times listed Knight as the largest cotton manufacturer in the world. Knight lived with his wife Josephine and family in the Elmwood neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island . In 1924, Knight's children financed

352-525: The time, did not help. William F. "Bill" Farley, the company's former chairman, CEO, and COO, was ousted prior to the bankruptcy filing 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 investor Warren Buffett , who wanted

374-520: 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 COO and then interim CEO John Holland remain available to be the CEO for the company. The company purchased Russell Brands, LLC , effectively taking the former competitor private, in a deal valued at $ 598.3 million that

396-654: Was $ 600 million. The origin of the Fruit of the Loom company dates back to 1851 in Rhode Island , when textile mill owner Robert Knight and his brother Benjamin established the "B.B. and R. Knight Corporation" after they acquired the Pontiac Mills in Warwick, Rhode Island . In 1856, the company introduced the brand name "Fruit of the Loom ", while producing its first muslins . A friend of Robert Knight named Rufus Skeel owned

418-568: Was 17 years old working for $ 1.25 per week. In 1843 Knight began working for his brother Benjamin as a store clerk. Two years later with the help of a friend, Knight studied for a year and a half at Pawcatuck Academy in Westerly, Rhode Island , after which he taught school in Exeter, Rhode Island , for four months. In 1846 Knight was employed by John Hopkins Clarke as a clerk in his factory store at Arnold's Bridge, now Pontiac, Rhode Island . After Clark

440-634: Was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 1995 a new owner attempted to revive the mill with new tenants including stores selling antiques, furniture, and jewelry. The mills reopened in 2018 as Pontiac Lofts luxury mill apartments, with additional tenants Apponaug Brewing Company, Studio B salon, and On The Ropes Boxing. [REDACTED] Media related to Pontiac Mills at Wikimedia Commons 41°43′36.8″N 71°28′13.3″W  /  41.726889°N 71.470361°W  / 41.726889; -71.470361 This article about

462-420: 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. This company was renamed Vanity Fair Brands and is operated as a wholly owned subsidiary. In 2010, Rick Medlin was named president and CEO of Fruit of the Loom. Longtime CEO John Holland became the company's chairman. In 2014,

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484-527: Was elected to the U.S. Senate, Knight and a partner purchased the business and became owners of the Pontiac Mills . In 1852 Knight with his brother, Benjamin Knight formed B. B. and R. Knight a manufacturing and grain firm. Later along with other partners, they formed and purchased numerous manufacturing operations in New England. The brothers also became involved in the banking and insurance industries. The Knights built employee housing, mill villages, and donated funds to build various denominations of churches for

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