# Kellwood Company

> Kellwood Company is an American apparel design, sourcing, manufacturing and marketing firm founded in 1961. It builds and operates women's, juniors' and girls' fashion brands - including Democracy, Jolt, Briggs New York, Rewind, My Michelle and Wit & Wisdom - and provides private-label and full-package product development, sourcing, quality assurance and distribution services for major retailers such as Nordstrom, Macy's, Kohl's, Dillard's, Target and Costco.

- **Founded:** 1961
- **Headquarters:** New York, New York, United States
- **Founders:** Fifteen independent Sears soft-goods suppliers (merger) (Founding companies), Maurice Perlstein (First President), Fred W. Wenzel (Founding executive)
- **Team size:** ~1,300 employees
- **Products:** Democracy, Jolt, Briggs New York, My Michelle, Rewind
- **Notable:** Formed in 1961 as the third-largest U.S. apparel manufacturer at inception, with 7,000 employees, 22 plants and >$86M in combined sales., Grew past $1 billion in annual sales under CEO William J. McKenna (1980s-90s)., Spun off Vince into a successful NYSE IPO in November 2013.

## Products & services

- **Democracy** — Contemporary women's apparel brand known for denim and 'Ab-solution' fit technology.
- **Jolt** — Juniors' fashion brand focused on denim and casual trend styles.
- **Briggs New York** — Women's career and casual apparel brand.
- **My Michelle** — Girls' and juniors' apparel brand.
- **Rewind** — Juniors' casual and denim fashion brand.
- **Wit & Wisdom** — Women's denim and casual apparel brand featuring 'Ab-solution' shaping technology.
- **City Blues** — City-inspired women's fashion line launched to ~200 doors for women aged 25-35.
- **Private Label & Full-Package Development** — End-to-end design, sourcing, product development, quality assurance and distribution for major retailers.
- **Global Sourcing & Supply Chain** — International factory relationships, advanced fabric sourcing, social/environmental compliance auditing and in-country QA.
- **Product Design & Development** — Trend forecasting, 3D/virtual fit technology, digital product libraries and PLM-driven design services.

## Achievements

- Formed in 1961 as the third-largest U.S. apparel manufacturer at inception, with 7,000 employees, 22 plants and >$86M in combined sales.
- Grew past $1 billion in annual sales under CEO William J. McKenna (1980s-90s).
- Spun off Vince into a successful NYSE IPO in November 2013.
- Built and operates a multi-brand portfolio spanning women's, juniors' and girls' fashion.
- Launched the City Blues line in 2025 to roughly 200 retail doors.

## Latest updates

- **2025-08** — Introduced City Blues, a city-inspired women's fashion line shipped to ~200 points of sale including Nordstrom, Dillard's, Von Maur, Boscov's and Stitch Fix, aimed at women aged 25-35.
- **2016-12** — Acquired by an unnamed Hong Kong-based investor group from Sun Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount.
- **2013-11** — Vince clothing line spun off in an IPO on the NYSE.

## Links

- Website: https://kellwood.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/kellwood-company
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/kellwoodcareers
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/KellwoodCompany

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kellwood-company
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-26