COMPANY HISTORY

Harper Industries, Inc. was founded in 1946 by Abner M. Friedland, who had worked as a shirt salesman during the depression. 

Seeing an opportunity to participate in the post-war USA economic expansion, Friedland started Harper Industries, Inc. with the vision that Harper would supply high-quality, low-priced garments for working class Americans.  Friedland noticed that considerable quantities of fabric were sold at distressed prices because the mills producing the fabric had failed to match the exact colors fashion houses had requested.  Recognizing these color variations as insignificant for most consumers, Harper Industries, Inc. was able to offer shirts at below-department-store prices by matching department store silhouettes and workmanship but by using discounted fabric.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Harper Industries, Inc. grew as more and more customers perceived the value of Harper shirts.  Discount stores, which began after World War II and saw rapid growth during the post-War years, were the natural outlets for Harper garments. Harper became a major discount-store shirt supplier.

Harper located its manufacturing headquarters in Mississippi and Alabama, managing its production from hubs in Union, Lucedale, and Neely, Mississippi. Satellite factories operated throughout South-central and South-west Mississippi and across the Alabama border in Southwest Alabama.

Shortly after 1960, apparel imports began to make inroads into the USA market. Imports presented a direct challenge to the Harper business strategy because they, too, could underprice fashion products. Harper responded to the import challenge by joining. Harper supplemented its domestic production with imported shirts, configuring its domestic production to make somewhat less labor-intensive knit tops and importing more labor-intensive lined flannel shirts and lined sweatshirts. Harper created an affiliate company, Harcrest International, Ltd., to serve as the Harper import arm. By 1980, Harper and Harcrest, together, were major suppliers of both domestic knit shirts and imported heavyweight shirts.

Beginning about 1990, foreign suppliers improved their competitiveness and quality, causing Harper domestic production to be less competitive with low-cost imports. At the same time, Harper retail customers accelerated their implementation of a strategy they had started during the prior decade:  buying directly from Asian suppliers using Harper importing expertise. Recognizing that its future must entail producing garments itself, outside the USA, Harper entered a joint venture agreement with Yusuf Amdani, President of Pride Sportswear, Honduras, and Randy Kogon, former Harper manager of the Lucedale, Mississippi factory.  Yusuf and Randy now oversee production in the joint venture factories in Campeche, Mexico.

Harper applies 65 years of experience as a low-cost, high-quality garment producer to meeting the needs of a select group of prized customers.

What is next for Harper? Bring us your ideas for growth and expansion.  We are glad to work with you to meet your needs.

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