Hathaway Shirts to Close Shop: Warnaco Group...

Hathaway Shirts to Close Shop: Warnaco Group Inc. said it plans to stop making the shirts because the market for men’s dress shirts is shrinking. Warnaco spokesman Michael Freitag said the company has three options: sell the Hathaway brand and its factories as a package, sell the brand and the plants separately or sell the brand and close the factories. The company’s decision indicates that it “doesn’t believe the brand has long-term value for the company’s shareholders,” Freitag said. “The value of brands does change over time.” It was unclear what will happen to the 500 workers at the factory in Waterville, Maine, where Hathaway shirts have been made since 1853. Hathaway also has plants in Puerto Rico and Ontario, Canada. In 1986, Hathaway was acquired by the W Acquisition Group Inc., now known as Warnaco.