GANT, a Swedish clothing brand, is renowned for its clothing apparel the world over. The company was established in 1949 by Bernard Gant.
GANT’s initial target audience was adolescents and particularly young American male students. In the early 1960s, GANT shirts became a trademark for young people. The shirts were worn without any tie with the collar open. Soon the shirts were so popular that during the 1960s GANT became the second largest shirt maker in the world.
Their clever marketing strategy of only allowing their products to be sold in the best stores added to the brand’s appeal. Initially, the company faced an uphill task to increase sales. But after a year things changed dramatically and there was no looking back. Advertising was limited to very particular media like The New Yorker to maintain the company’s up-market image. Soon, GANT was known as a designer label in the US with stores across the country.
The Gant family was enjoying their hard work and success and sold the business in 1967. Since then, the GANT name has passed through many different hands. It was Pyramid Sportswear that finally turned GANT into the global brand that it is today.
In 2006, GANT became a public company, GANT Pyramid AB, and was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The company reached new levels in 2006 when it reported total revenues of US $167.7 million.
Today, GANT stores throughout the world offer clothing for men, women, boys, girls and babies. The brand also offers other products such as fragrance, footwear, underwear and eyewear.
As of 2007, GANT has 298 stores across the world (of these 18 are directly operated by the company) with plans to open at least another 60 more. Renovations are underway and the company plans to reopen its prestigious store on Fifth Avenue, New York. The GANT fashion collections are subdivided into the main line G.N.H. (Gant New Haven), the younger RUGGER sportswear line and the more formal Elliot Gant collection.
