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Hanes, Wake Forest Athletics Partner for Retail Apparel



December 28, 2021

HanesBrands, Inc. (HBI), Winston-Salem, N.C., has partnered with Wake Forest University to serve as the its primary retail apparel licensee.

Wake Forest and HBI will focus their efforts on expanding the Demon Deacons retail footprint across the Triad community and nationally at key retailers to ensure access to a wide range of best-in-class Demon Deacons gear, providing increased quality and value for all fans, according to the university. This partnership will offer Wake Forest branded merchandise under the labels including Hanes, Champion and Alternative Apparel.

“When looking to fulfill our goals of providing Value to the University, Winston-Salem and Triad, and the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina, this partnership was a clear focus,” says John Currie, Wake Forest director of athletics. “Wake Forest is proud to partner with HanesBrands to further cultivate a relationship that will prove to be extremely valuable for our University and our entire community, while it expands the retail availability of merchandise for students, alumni, fans and anyone living in the Triad!”

Athletics worked with its exclusive licensing agent, CLC, to conduct a thorough analysis of its licensed apparel program to identify growth opportunities before executing this new agreement with HBI, which includes Wake Forest branded men’s, women’s, unisex, youth, infant and toddler apparel across mass, midtier, and campus retail channels.


To further enhance and integrate the partnership, HBI has agreed to provide hands-on development opportunities for Wake Forest student-athletes, and undergraduate students each year. These activities include company leaders’ participation in on-campus events as guest speakers or lecturers, involvement in class projects and an invitation to an annual corporate social responsibility trip to an HBI facility for select members of the Wake Forest University faculty, staff and students.

“We are thrilled to partner with Wake Forest University,” says John Fryer, HBI’s president of sports apparel. “Wake Forest is a top national university with premier athletics programs — and a treasure in our shared hometown of Winston-Salem. Creating this dynamic, long-term partnership is a win for Wake Forest, Winston-Salem and our company. Champion and our other iconic brands will help students, alumni and fans celebrate the college experience, and we’ll work together to create unique educational and business opportunities that benefit the university, our company and the community.” — D.S.


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