# Brooks in Malaysia and Hong Kong?



## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

(From the Thrift Exchange)

Found this article on the Malaysian textile industry, for those interested. One surprise is that they suggest that Brooks simply contracts out to the lowest bidder, rather than having a dedicated Brooks factory there. True? Most of the industry seems to be centered in Johor or Penang. Strangely enough, their big concern is that their extremely low labor costs are being undercut by other countries now, mainly China, India, and Thailand. 

This article suggests that Pen Apparel out of Penang is the maker for Brooks (along with Lands' End, Nordstrom, L.L. Bean, Ben Sherman, and Ashworth). Here's an Ocean Bill of Landing that seems to confirm.

According to this article, the Hong Kong supplier for Brooks seems to be TAL Apparel (or maybe their Hong Kong factory Cheong Shun Garments Co Ltd) who also produce for LL Bean, Nordstrom, Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Lands' End, Dillard's and JCPenney, and appear to own Pen Apparel. Other articles seem to agree that they make for Brooks. (Although they also suggest that "Made in Hong Kong" might actually be shorthand for "finished in Hong Kong but made in China" to get around U.S. quotas for Chinese imports.)

Do you figure that Brooks has "dedicated contract" makers in Hong Kong and Malaysia, or that they jump from outfit to outfit within the country depending on who's offering to do their stuff the cheapest? I don't suppose anyone's been to the Pen Apparel or TAL Apparel factories? (It is a global forum, after all.)

On a slightly related note, has anyone ever visited the Garland Shirt Factory down in North Carolina, the Brooks factory where our must-iron OCBDs are made? (Possibly out of Hong Kong or Malaysian fabric?)


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

katon said:


> On a slightly related note, has anyone ever visited the Garland Shirt Factory down in North Carolina, the Brooks factory where our must-iron OCBDs are made? (Possibly out of Hong Kong or Malaysian fabric?)[/QUOTE]
> 
> I think there was a photo essay of Garland, NC posted on SF a while back along with pics of the outlet store (I plan to make a trip there in the late summer), but not inside the actual factory. If anyone around these parts has visited the factory, I'd bet my money on Jamgood.
> 
> As for overseas contracting - I'd guess that Brooks shifts manufacturers all the time depending on bids, quality, etc., in order to stay competitive. The very fact that Brooks sells goods made in Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, (and Japan) suggests they shift manufacturers constantly, which would also account for the constantly changing fits and quality (even though BB presumably monitors QC).


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

I work in the electronics industry and it would seem that most industries operate this way. There is essentially a class of mass market goods which moves from supplier to supplier to contract the manufacture of their widget (be it the entire widget or a component thereof) or truly artisinal manufacturers who make their products in their own facilities and reflect this model in the brand and pricing.


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## MikeDT (Aug 22, 2009)

There is a couple of BB stores in nearby Shanghai. They're very expensive, more expensive than USA prices. I don't suppose BB would be shipping their garments all the way from China to the USA and back to China would they?


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## MikeDT (Aug 22, 2009)

Trip English said:


> ...or truly artisinal manufacturers who make their products in their own facilities and reflect this model in the brand and pricing.


Are there any manufacturers left who actually do this? Apart from manufacturers with government defence contracts that is, e.g. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, etc.


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

MikeDT said:


> There is a couple of BB stores in nearby Shanghai. They're very expensive, more expensive than USA prices. I don't suppose BB would be shipping their garments all the way from China to the USA and back to China would they?


Yes



MikeDT said:


> Are there any manufacturers left who actually do this? Apart from manufacturers with government defence contracts that is, e.g. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, etc.


Yes


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## realbrineshrimp (Jun 28, 2010)

Are all Brooks non-irons made in the Garland Shirt Factory in NC? The tags typically say made somewhere in Asia when I've looked. Is there a specific set of shirts for Brooks made in the USA?



Cardinals5 said:


> I think there was a photo essay of Garland, NC posted on SF a while back along with pics of the outlet store (I plan to make a trip there in the late summer), but not inside the actual factory. If anyone around these parts has visited the factory, I'd bet my money on Jamgood.
> 
> As for overseas contracting - I'd guess that Brooks shifts manufacturers all the time depending on bids, quality, etc., in order to stay competitive. The very fact that Brooks sells goods made in Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, (and Japan) suggests they shift manufacturers constantly, which would also account for the constantly changing fits and quality (even though BB presumably monitors QC).


Was this the photo essay? https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...thers-Clearance-Center-(with-pics-56k-warning)


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

realbrineshrimp said:


> Are all Brooks non-irons made in the Garland Shirt Factory in NC? The tags typically say made somewhere in Asia when I've looked. Is there a specific set of shirts for Brooks made in the USA?
> 
> Was this the photo essay? https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...thers-Clearance-Center-(with-pics-56k-warning)


The photo essay I was thinking of was this one (https://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=105817&highlight=Brooks+Brothers+Garland), which was written by the same author, but that has pictures of the inside of the outlet center.

Here's a Youtube video on the Garland Shirt Factory (



)


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

katon said:


> I don't suppose anyone's been to the Pen Apparel or TAL Apparel factories? (It is a global forum, after all.)



















An inside view of Pen Apparel circa 1995 courtesy of photographer Shepard Sherbell.









...and another from 2008.









Also, an aerial view of the factory.


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

A photo tour of , the main fabric supplier to Pen Apparel, and a potential candidate for the fabric source for Brooks Bros. "Made in Malaysia" shirts (and possibly fabric for Brooks shirts made elsewhere?)

Mill 1:


















Mill 2:


































Mill 3:










































Mill 4:


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

katon said:


> (From the Thrift Exchange)


I think I bought those. If not then I have the identical shirts.

Which has nothing to do with the topic.


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## My Pet. A Pantsuit (Dec 25, 2008)

From my time working there, I can confirm that Brooks uses Pen. They say, however, that they outfit the factory with their own equipment, and specially train the employees.


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

From an old blog post, a young woman writes about making her first Brooks Brothers shirt:

Sunday, August 21, 2011

*Officially One Month at Garment Factory*

Who guess i have successfully sewed a garment?
TaDang!!!









Garment of Brooks Brother which is mainly export to US.

Sewing is absolutely a pretty new and fresh thing for me.
All because i never sew even a cloth for more than 5inches.
Mum, i'm sorry that i din't learn from you when you feel like want to teach me to sew.
Is really impressing when i got my garment fully sew although is with the help of a tutor.

One month working is not long really.
Anyway, i feel like it's 3months time here.
Well, _HOMESICK _just came and knock my door.
Maybe i'm still new in this area.
I might be slow in mingling with new friends.
Slow hot person hur..^^

One month of training is fun and sometimes boring too~
Everyday receiving new information all about the factory.
Somehow i earn experience and knowledge beside the delighting salary.
Yesterday just get my first salary!
At last, i have money to give my parents,
share with my brother and sisters.

Guess what,
Now everyone at home is aiming at my money.
Can't wait for even a second to get treat makan from me.
I'm going back home tomorrow night,
a day that i have for so long.

Seriously,
I miss home.
I miss my dog.
I can go back finally!!!

==Hugging Ipoh tomorrow==


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## Enrique Shockwave (Jan 17, 2014)

Interesting post. From the blog, some things stick out; she's ethnically Chinese, not Malay, but clearly is comfortable with Malay. Chinese are the ethnic minority in Malaysia, but in general are better off financially.

"Treat makan" would involve food. I'm guessing that her friends expect her to pay for food now that she has money. "Makan" can mean food or eating in Malay.

As always, it impresses me the perspective that sharing money with your family is not a burden, but a privilege and something to be looked forward to.

I suspect that she would speak English more clearly than this post in conversation with a westerner; the language above isn't so much poor understanding of English as it is a dialect common to Southeast Asia.


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## Steve Smith (Jan 12, 2008)

In response to several posts:

Pen and TAL both manufacture for BB. I have seen their paper tags on samples.

Different manufacturers should not cause different fits on the same item. Each measurement should be within the range specified. I have seen the spec sheets on measured items.

The Garland shirt factory manufactures Supima OCBD's, Golden Fleece, and Luxury Line (Egyptian Cotton) shirts along with any (AFAIK) other made in USA BB shirts. My impression is that they are gaining more US contract work than before. I have observed that many other well known labels are being manufactured in the BB plant under contract. This was discussed in a thread here several weeks ago.

All BB Non Irons are manufactured in Malaysia.


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

*Brooks in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Wuxi*

Not quite Hong Kong, but I wasn't sure if this deserved it's own thread. Pictures from the in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China, the mill that creates the yarn (or at least, some of the yarn) that ultimately ends up in Brooks Brothers clothing.

From the outside:

























From the inside:


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

2011 Brooks award for TAL





The outside of Penfabric Mill #2

















The Wuxi No. 1 Cotton Mill in 1919.


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

To add to the handful of factory floor photos, here's one from inside the office at Pen Apparel.

It also looks like Google Street View has caught up with Malaysia; if you feel like wandering around the neighborhoods surrounding the factory, now you can.


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## AldenPyle (Oct 8, 2006)

https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1519582/garment-maker-tal-re-engineers-stay-game

https://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f31b2d54-60de-11e3-916e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3xZ3jP3A6

Interesting articles. Seems TAL is a third generation family owned company started in HK by a guy who escaped Shanghai after the revolution. His nephew, an electrical engineering PhD from Brown, took over the company in 1980 and oriented them toward R&D and technical innovation (like non-iron shirts).


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