Champion clothing is owned by Authentic Brands Group, which purchased the brand from Hanesbrands in 2024 for 1.2 billion dollars.
Champion is no longer manufactured or operated directly by its owner, since Authentic Brands Group runs Champion as a licensed brand rather than a vertically integrated manufacturer.
Champion clothing is made overseas, primarily across the Caribbean and Asia, through licensed operating partners rather than a single company owned factory network.
This article covers who owns Champion today, where its clothing is actually manufactured, why it left Hanesbrands, and its founding history.
So let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Who Owns Champion?
Champion is owned by Authentic Brands Group, a brand management company that acquired Champion’s intellectual property and business from Hanesbrands in a deal completed in October 2024. Current collections are available on Champion’s official website.
The deal was valued at roughly 1.2 billion dollars, with the potential to reach 1.5 billion dollars through performance based earnouts.
Rather than manufacturing Champion products itself, Authentic Brands Group converted the business into a licensed model and works with regional operating partners to handle design, production, and distribution.
Champion’s team apparel line, Champion Teamwear, now operates under a separate licensed partner, Unrivaled Teamwear, following the same licensing structure Authentic Brands Group uses across much of its broader portfolio.
Why Did Champion Leave Hanesbrands?
Hanesbrands sold Champion in 2024 after the brand became a persistent drag on its overall financial results, with global Champion sales falling 26 percent year over year at the time of the sale, including a 35 percent decline in the United States.
Hanesbrands launched a strategic review of Champion in September 2023 before ultimately agreeing to sell the brand.
Proceeds from the sale went primarily toward paying down roughly 1 billion dollars of Hanesbrands debt, part of a broader plan to simplify the company’s brand portfolio.
Hanesbrands itself was later acquired by Gildan Activewear in a deal that closed on December 1, 2025, meaning the Hanes brand and Champion now sit under entirely separate corporate owners for the first time since Hanesbrands was spun off from Sara Lee in 2006.
Where Is Champion Clothing Made?
Champion clothing is manufactured overseas, mainly across the Caribbean and Asia, rather than at any single company owned factory. Champion does not publish a detailed public breakdown of its manufacturing locations.
Under Authentic Brands Group’s licensed model, actual production, distribution, and retail operations are handled by regional partners rather than Authentic Brands Group itself, following the same structure the company uses for other licensed brands in its portfolio.
In the United States and Canada, Champion printwear products are now produced under an exclusive license held by Gildan, following Gildan’s separate 2025 acquisition of Hanesbrands, which had previously held manufacturing rights to that portion of the Champion business.
When Was Champion Founded?
Champion was founded in 1919 in Rochester, New York by the Feinbloom brothers under the name Knickerbocker Knitting Company. More on the brand’s ownership history is documented on Wikipedia.
Champion’s original sweatshirt design became iconic enough to earn a permanent place in the Museum of Modern Art’s fashion collection in 2018.
Sara Lee Corporation acquired Champion in 1989, and manufacturing shifted increasingly overseas to Mexico and other lower cost countries in the years that followed.
Hanesbrands spun off from Sara Lee in 2006 and took Champion with it, operating the brand for nearly two decades before selling it to Authentic Brands Group in 2024.
Is Champion Clothing Good Quality?
Champion’s Reverse Weave hoodies and sweatshirts remain the brand’s most consistently praised products, with reviewers on Zappos and Walmart frequently calling them some of the best made hoodies on the market, citing heavyweight cotton fleece, minimal shrinkage, and durability that holds up over years of regular wear.
Standard Champion sweatshirts and licensed apparel receive more mixed feedback. Some reviewers describe inconsistent fabric weight and sizing between individual items, and a handful of complaints cite thinner materials on lower priced pieces compared to the premium Reverse Weave line.
Overall sentiment still favors Champion for value, particularly on core hoodies and crewnecks, though buyers looking for the brand’s historically strongest construction should focus on the Reverse Weave collection rather than budget licensed items, since quality can vary more across the wider catalog than it once did.
Frequently Asked Questions About Who Makes Champion Clothing
Is Champion still owned by Hanesbrands?
No, Champion is no longer owned by Hanesbrands. Authentic Brands Group acquired the brand from Hanesbrands in a deal completed in October 2024 and now operates it as a licensed business.
Is Champion clothing made in the USA?
No, Champion clothing is made overseas, primarily in the Caribbean and Asia. The brand’s website does not list specific factories, and no meaningful domestic manufacturing has been confirmed for its core apparel lines.
Who bought Champion from Hanesbrands?
Authentic Brands Group bought Champion from Hanesbrands in a deal valued at roughly 1.2 billion dollars, with the potential to reach 1.5 billion dollars through additional performance based payments.
Is Hanesbrands still an independent company?
No, Hanesbrands is no longer independent. Gildan Activewear completed its acquisition of Hanesbrands on December 1, 2025, making Hanesbrands a wholly owned subsidiary of Gildan.
I am Jack Neel, a mechanical engineer, researcher, and writer. I created this website to share my knowledge about different brands and products with you. I research the manufacturers behind the brands and provide you with the information you need to make smart buying decisions.