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Interesting read Telason posted on FB.
Our Thoughts on the Closure of Cone Mills White Oak
When our friend and manager of the Cone Mills office in San Francisco called on the morning of October 18 and asked us if we were sitting down, we knew what he was going to say. The big surprise came a few months ago when we learned that we were the fourth largest customer at White Oak. We thought: "if this is the case, where are the big brands?" Of course, we all know where they are – chasing down the lowest cost production around the globe to satisfy the demands of their customers -- who care about quantity over quality, price over provenance.
If White Oak is the size of a football field, the Draper looms that make the selvedge denim take up the space of half of an end zone. The mill depends on selling a large volume of fabric produced on their modern looms -- the exact type of fabric large brands and retailers use. As these brands and private label producers moved their production out of the U.S., there was no way they would ship fabric from North Carolina to Bangladesh, China or Vietnam. Many thanks to Cone Mills for fighting the good fight and keeping White Oak afloat as long as possible.
We visited White Oak in Greensboro a couple of years ago and met the people that, in many cases, had been working at Cone Mills for decades, some right alongside their parents. We saw the beautiful antique looms humming along, producing some of the most coveted denim in the world. We saw the spun yarns taking dips in indigo baths. We witnessed the pride the workers had in being a part of something historic, something important. The faces of these people and the memories of meeting them are the first thoughts we had when we heard of White Oak's closure.
In the meantime, remember that entities like White Oak are businesses not museums and if you care about them, support them with your wallet. To that end, we have plenty of our core denim products made from our 12.5, 14.75 and 16.5 oz White Oak selvedge denim in stock, in work and rolls of fabric ready to use at our factory in San Francisco. Tellason is almost nine years old and during this time we have built up tremendous respect for makers in all categories that pursue quality and timelessness with their products. The same goes for the next mill that will produce our selvedge denim in 2018 and beyond.
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If we just call a spade a spade it's closing because the entity (Platinum Equity) that bought International Textile Group (the owner of Cone) does not see a financial benefit in keeping it open vs. ridding or moving those operations elsewhere. This is a numbers game and the move was made to increase the IRR for investors in Platinum Equity. Like Tellason wrote the draper/selvedge looms at Cone made up a fraction of the total production and were not where the money was, it was/is in the modern projectile looms….. Those same looms can make the same denim for a fraction of the labor cost somewhere else. They don't even need to sell more if they're slashing costs and sustaining revenue the returns are trending in the right direction.
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There is little doubt in my mind that if Cone was it's own standalone entity and not part of a bigger conglomerate the factory would not be closing.
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If we just call a spade a spade it's closing because the entity (Platinum Equity) that bought International Textile Group (the owner of Cone) does not see a financial benefit in keeping it open vs. ridding or moving those operations elsewhere. This is a numbers game and the move was made to increase the IRR for investors in Platinum Equity. Like Tellason wrote the draper/selvedge looms at Cone made up a fraction of the total production and were not where the money was, it was/is in the modern projectile looms….. Those same looms can make the same denim for a fraction of the labor cost somewhere else. They don't even need to sell more if they're slashing costs and sustaining revenue the returns are trending in the right direction.
yep. Private equity firms, like Bain Capital for example, are notorious for buying companies that are in financial dire straights only to turn around and strip them down to nothing so that they can make a profit. I doubt ITG is any different.
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Big Shirt & Foreman ducks
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You guys think this is his final goodbye?
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You guys think this is his final goodbye?
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I believe that's a remake of RS00
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Gotcha - the whole “going places” stamp kind threw me off
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there's a post on his page saying these are a few odds n sods , only a few pair in limited sizes 31, 33, 35, 36.live around noon Saturday April 14.
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New SE collaboration will be out next week. I'm very curious about the fit. I wear my SF01s all the time. One "nicer" pair goes to work and my original pair still going strong when I do house projects or just bumming around. Might be time for some new Roys if the measurements look good.
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Original pair, SF01s
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^ WOW those Roy's look awesome [emoji41]
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@BloodnThunder @steelworker how did your Roy's Peanut pants end up working out for you?
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@Filthy I admittedly I have not given them as much love as they deserve, but I do really like them. They are a bit fuller cut than I typically wear (usually wear a slim jean with a taper) but it's fun to rotate them in for a different look. If you have never had a pair of Roy's and are thinking of snagging a pair I would definitely recommend doing so. There is no telling how much longer he'll be making jeans and I think a pair of Roy's is a necessity to have if you are a denim collector. For what it's worth the following are my pre and post soak measurements on the Peanuts. I believe they are the same or very similar cut to what Self Edge is releasing in a few days. The denim is the same so you can expect similar shrink results:
Soak was hot with a kettle full of boiling water to start, and after 30 minutes I refilled the tub with new hot water and added a new kettle of boiling water for another 30 mins. Hang dry. In short, the denim shrinks like crazy.
Pre-Soak:
Waist: 15"
Top Thigh: 12.75"
Knee: 9.5"
Hem: 8.5"Post-Soak (slightly damp)
Waist: 14"
Top thigh: 11"
Knee: 8.75:
Hem: 8"Peanut Pants as of a few weeks ago:
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They look great on you! Unless Roy starts making Ultra Heavy jeans, I'm afraid they are not for me. They are very well made though. I will give him that. I am keen on getting a Roy shirt some day though.
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Thanks! The shirts are equally well made. I have a few from him, and I have to say, I probably like them even more than the jeans.
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I have one of his shorts (the Portland) and it's awesome.
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@Filthy:
@BloodnThunder @steelworker how did your Roy's Peanut pants end up working out for you?
I love them @Filthy though like @BloodnThunder I haven't been wearing them since the weather turned. I think I have 4 pair of Roys and they're all just a bit different.
