Hanes Imagewear Announces Best-Selling Hanes Beefy-T Going Tag-Free in 2010

Hanes Imagewear, Winston-Salem, N.C., announced it is transitioning its Hanes Beefy-T T-shirt to a tag-free neck label during 2010. Now celebrating its 35th year, the Hanes Beefy-T T-shirt is the industry’s leading premium T-shirt and one of the best-known tees within the decorated apparel industry. With the announcement, Hanes becomes the only major brand to offer a premium tagless T-shirt in its portfolio. Shipments of the Tagless Hanes Beefy-T to wholesaler customers are underway and Hanes Imagewear expects the transition to be complete by spring.

“Hanes is on a mission to make the world a more comfortable place,” said John Marsh, senior vice president/general manager of Hanes Imagewear. “Now is the time for the decorated apparel industry to embrace tagless T-shirts in a big and exciting way and Hanes is happy to lead the way.”

Consumer research says it’s time to surrender the tag as well. When asked to describe their perfect T-shirt, consumers list “tag-free,” second only to “soft” in frequency. The overwhelming preference for tag-free neck labels extends into the decorated apparel industry as well. When graphic T-shirt wearers were asked to compare a Hanes Tagless T-shirt with its four largest competitors, 94 percent who had a preference chose Hanes versus the competitive tagged T-shirts.*

Strong consumer preference for Hanes Tagless T-shirts also translates to more sales for decorators and promotional products distributors. Since Hanes introduced its original Hanes Tagless 6.1 T-shirt into the decorated apparel industry, sales for that style have significantly outperformed the overall market.

“We know from experience that a Hanes Tagless T-shirt offering can have a very positive and profitable effect for decorators and distributors,” said Marsh. “Not only does a Hanes Tagless T-shirt deliver what consumers want, it also gives everyone a chance to talk about something new and innovative in our category.”