Wk
- Thread starter Nittany Ned2
- Start date
Yes sad day indeed. I still wear my Woolrich plaid red and black hunting pants for deer hunting since my dad took me in 76. Had them on today for black powder. Old school camo
Very sad. When I was a student at Lock Haven I would visit the Woolrich store with my aunt. I always loved the store, it's clothing, and the time spent with family.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
So, sales are good, and they crap on their domestic employees? Pass.
Sorry to hear about Woolrich; worn plenty of their products over the years, though didn't see them as much in North Carolina.
Looked up some info from wiki on Clinton County; they've had ups and downs over the years, but seem to survive. Population over the 100 years:
1910 31,545 8.0%
1920 33,555 6.4%
1930 32,319 −3.7%
1940 34,557 6.9%
1950 36,532 5.7%
1960 37,619 3.0%
1970 37,721 0.3%
1980 38,971 3.3%
1990 37,182 −4.6%
2000 37,910 2.0%
2010 39,238 3.5%
Est. 2017 38,998 [7] −0.6%
Looked up some info from wiki on Clinton County; they've had ups and downs over the years, but seem to survive. Population over the 100 years:
1910 31,545 8.0%
1920 33,555 6.4%
1930 32,319 −3.7%
1940 34,557 6.9%
1950 36,532 5.7%
1960 37,619 3.0%
1970 37,721 0.3%
1980 38,971 3.3%
1990 37,182 −4.6%
2000 37,910 2.0%
2010 39,238 3.5%
Est. 2017 38,998 [7] −0.6%
Check woolrich tags since the turn of the century. Most of it made overseas. This was a skeleton crew here running the mill anymore.
Hard to keep everyone focused when you’re on your eighth generation of ownership.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
We used to go to the factory outlet every year or two as a kid and I remember getting sweaters, shirts, and a down jacket. I’ve been there a couple of times recently and it just wasn’t the same. There was lots of merchandise, but you wouldn’t know it was woolrich without looking at the tag.
J C Penney will be the next to go belly up. There is too much competition from Target and Kohls in their market with even Wallmart and Costco taking a slice. Bricks and mortar stores in malls are a thing if the past. They are stuck with old real estate in dead markets. If you aren’t successful selling on the net now you get left behind. Their market capitalization is shrinking and it’s an old tired brand. I remember when JC Penney and Sears were known for good prices and decent quality. Times have changed.
A few years back, I watched PCN Tours do a show on the Woolrich factory. Very interesting episode, so I thought I'd buy a new Woolrich coat. Went on their website and every item was imported. What a letdown. PCN show was a few years old.
Times do indeed change and cheap goods from foreign countries have helped to free average Americans from mundane labor, but we have to realize that smart labor from places like Columbia, Brazil and India cost only 30% of similar labor in the US. In a connected world we going have to determine how we are going to continue to maintain the American standard of living where a common laborer in the US makes as much as a talented engineer in those other countries.
Woolrich is one of the first names I remember from living with my grandparents in Williamsport back in the mid-1950s.
And I remember there was a clothing factory (not Woolrich) literally two blocks from the house.
Times have changed.
And I remember there was a clothing factory (not Woolrich) literally two blocks from the house.
Times have changed.
I think there’s a lot companies can do to thrive, they just need to evolve. JC Penny and Sears didn’t develop an online business. Woolrich chased the inexpensive clothing items like flannel shirts. Filson, for example, raised their prices and went high end. I think the future of manufacturing is local, particularly with the innovation you see in automation and machinery.
I grew up not too far from Woolrich and grew up wearing their famous chamois shirts. We used to go to their store all the time to buy seconds. My first gore-tex jacket was a Woolrich. Beautiful little town as well. Oldest mill in America is gone. A lot of their line has become very expensive over the years.
First went to Woolrich with the Penn State Outing Club on a weekend scouting mission to look for a route for the northern extension of the Mid State Trail. It snowed overnight and had to hike back in about 5 inches of snow. We stopped off at the factory seconds store before traveling back to State College. Lots of nice clothing there, but as a student, I didn’t have the money to buy anything. I already had some Woolrich clothing, though, and was absolutely surprised this little town in the middle of nowhere was where it was made. I still have fond memories of that trip.
Used to make runs up to the store at least once a year during college in the early 80s. The factory seconds parkas, chamois shirts (usually had slight color difference on the pockets), or heavy wool shirt/jackets were great college clothes. They were within the college student budget.
It’s virtually impossible to find US-made clothing. LL Bean, for example, only makes their iconic boots, tote bags, and door mats in the US.
Not a whole lot, but some iconic brands still manufacture all or most of their garments in the US. Notable are:
Haspel
Gitman Bros (in Ashland PA)
Hickey Freeman
Hart Schaffner & Marx
Oxxford
Pendleton
Stetson
Schott (leather jackets in Union, NJ)
Their Highwayman jacket is a poor man's ripoff the Schott Perfecto (made famous by Marlon Brando in The Wild One).
Oil rich has been poorly run for decades. As the world moved to more marketing, they remained a manufacturing company. They went for decades without any marketing of advertising.
They should have taken the route Pendelton which is quite successful.
Woolrich was a family run company where folks went home at five o’clock each day.
They refused to attract and pay for talent. They just refused to change. Anybody in business
Knows that you have to change and innovate. I’ve watched that company for thirty years.
Watched them make every mistake in the books. The new owners are making thousand dollar parkas
And selling them in Europe.
They should have taken the route Pendelton which is quite successful.
Woolrich was a family run company where folks went home at five o’clock each day.
They refused to attract and pay for talent. They just refused to change. Anybody in business
Knows that you have to change and innovate. I’ve watched that company for thirty years.
Watched them make every mistake in the books. The new owners are making thousand dollar parkas
And selling them in Europe.
Still some high quality men's shoes made in the US. Allen Edmonds, Alden, and Frye Boots come to mind.
Apparently neither are motorcycle jackets, those designed primarily for protection.
Woolrich was my first hunting clothes. Hand me down from my dad. Also a couple guys from Woolrich on my dorm floor. Used to chew tobacco constantly
Actually, Woolrich has remade itself (at least with respect to some of its merchandise) as high end. For example, you will find their jackets in Bloomingdales and the like next to Canada Goose jackets (with a pricetag to match).
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