Dickies

Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. is an apparel manufacturing company primarily known for its largest brand, Dickies. The company was founded in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1922 by C. N. Williamson and E. E. "Colonel" Dickie, who began a denim bib overall company selling workwear to farm and ranch hands around the Southwest. Today, Dickies is a global brand found in more than 100 countries designing, manufacturing and selling workwear to the automotive, hospitality, construction and medical industries. Williamson-Dickie also owns the Walls, Liberty and Kodiak brands.

For the Los Angeles punk rock band, see The Dickies.
For the restaurant, see Dickey's Barbecue Pit.
Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co.
Subsidiary
IndustryClothing
Founded1922
FounderC.N. Williamson and E.E. "Colonel" Dickie
Headquarters
Fort Worth, Texas
,
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsWorkwear
BrandsDickies, Walls, Liberty, Kodiak
ParentVF Corporation
Websitewww.dickies.com

Beginnings

C.N. Williamson and E.E. "Colonel" Dickie began their business careers in the "vehicle and harness" business in Bryan, Texas. In 1918, they and a few friends established the U.S. Overall Company. Then, in 1922, C. Don Williamson joined with his father and cousin to buy 100% of the overall company on a one-third-each basis and renamed it Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company.

From its early years, Williamson-Dickie enjoyed steady growth which was slowed only by the Great Depression, and during World War II, the company produced millions of uniforms for the nation's armed forces. In converting to civilian production after the war, C. Don Williamson began a strategy of geographical expansion and established new production facilities, warehouses, and sales territories throughout the United States. In the late 1950s, Williamson-Dickie became an international company by expanding into the European market and the Middle Eastern market - where Texas oilmen introduced the Dickies brand to Middle Eastern oil fields.

Present day
Dickies scrubs uniforms on the rack in a Work 'n Gear store in Dorchester, Massachusetts (December 2012)

Dickies is currently sold in all 50 U.S. states and throughout the world in countries such as Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Australia, Russia, Chile, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Iceland, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland with COH Sales Ltd, Croatia, Poland and Mexico.[1]

In 2008 Williamson-Dickies acquired the Canadian Kodiak Group Holdings Inc.[2] In 2013 Dickies acquired Walls.[3]

In 2014, Jerry Leigh of California became the exclusive licensee for Dickies Girl juniors’ apparel.[4]

VF Corporation acquired Williamson-Dickie in 2017 for $820 million in cash.[5]

Williamson-Dickie Europe Ltd is based in the UK in Radstock, Somerset. Previously known as Dickies UK, this division of the company now operates across the entirety of Europe and the Middle East for both the workwear and streetwear product ranges.

References
  1. Dickies history site
  2. "Dickies® Acquires Kodiak Group Holdings Inc.", Business Wire, April 01, 2008
  3. "Dickies® Acquires Walls Industries." Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company, June 03, 2013
  4. "Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. Signs New Junior Apparel License" Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company, Dec 10, 2014
  5. "VF Corp buys Dickies for $820 million"
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