HanesBrands to Downsize Imagewear Business

HanesBrands, the parent of Champion and Hanes, said it plans to narrow the focus of its worldwide imagewear business by restructuring to exit noncore segments and reduce risk. The company announced the sale of its European imagewear division and, in the U.S, the exit from the private-label category and the planned divestiture of its OuterBanks brand. Imagewear, which sells basic apparel to wholesalers in the screen-print market, accounts for 8 percent of the company’s sales before the actions. Hanes expects to incur pretax charges in the second quarter of up to $85 million to $95 million.