Wrangler is a major denim brand that has had a significant impact on the global denim industry. Since its inception in the late 1890s, the brand has grown from a small factory in North Carolina to a multi-national corporation. Mostafawi group takes you on a brief historical tour of the origin and history of the brand and helps you to see how it has evolved. It’s a journey down denim memory lane which you will enjoy for sure.
So fasten your seat belts and take on an exciting journey into the wrangler world.
The Origin- 1880s Era
In 1887, a 20-year-old man named C.C Hudson, who grew up on Spring Hill Farm in Williamson County, Tennessee, decided to leave his home and seek his fortune in Greensboro, North Carolina, an emerging textile town. He got a job sewing buttons on overalls for about 25 cents a day. He worked for several years until 1904 when the factory closed. Hudson, his brother Homer, and a few other factory employees decided to purchase several sewing machines.
They established the Hudson Overall Company in a loft above Coe Brothers Grocery on South Elm Street in Greensboro. This continued for many years, and by 1919, sales of Hudson overalls were brisk, necessitating a move to larger quarters, at which point the company decided to change its name to the Blue Bell Overall Company.
Today it’s hard to believe that the brand which is so popular across the world and especially in the Middle East had its beginning in a very humble way. A simple search with the term “wrangler clothing Dubai” will bring you exceptional results. Let us take a further deeper look into the history of this iconic clothing brand.
Merger and setting Industry Standard- 1920s
Blue Bell was purchased by Big Ben Manufacturing of Kentucky in 1926 for a whopping $585,000. Even after the companies merged, they kept the Blue Bell name because it was so popular. Production continued to take place at their Greensboro headquarters. A decade later, in 1936, as Hudson’s brand continued to expand, they introduced Super Big Ben Overalls, which featured 100% Sanforized fabric that limited shrinkage to very little than 1%, setting a new industry standard. This took hold, and Blue Bell quickly became the industry leader.
By doing something exceptional and setting industry standards, Mostafawi group had always been highly inspired by the Wrangler brand and as a result, we partnered with the brand and introduced it to the Gulf market. Today there are numerous wrangler outlets in Dubai where you can buy your favorite jeans and other Wrangler brand clothing.
Becoming a Western Icon and Cowboy Favorite- the 1940s
Wrangler authentic western jeans were designed by superstar tailor Rodeo Ben in 1947. They were then presented to the American consumer, but during the same time professional skilful rodeo cowboys Jim Shoulders, Bill Linderman, and Freckles Brown put the Wrangler 13MWZ jeans through its test and fell in love with them, and endorsed the Wrangler brand for durability, quality, and authenticity. This is why Wrangler even now has that West vibe and feels to it today, and why cowboys adore it.
A year later, in 1948, World Champion Cowboy Jim Shoulders signed on as an official Wrangler endorsement. He went on to win a total of sixteen championships, including five All-Around World Championships, seven Bull Riding World Championships, and four Bareback Riding World Championships. This catapulted Wrangler to fame as the legendary cowboy jean that everybody desired. With a vision to bring great brands before the people of UAE Mostafawi group also introduced this legendary brand in the gulf market. That is the reason wrangler jeans shops in Dubai can be easily located in several parts.
Expanding The Horizons To Europe- the 1960s
Blue Bell established a plant in Belgium in 1962, and the Wrangler brand was officially launched in Europe. The term “teenager” is coined a year later by Newsweek magazine, which features a Wrangler-clad girl on its cover. Many people loved Wrangler jeans by this point, and they were being spotted in them all over the United States and Europe, which in itself is the reason why they lead in the longevity department when it comes to denim. This went on for many years until the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association officially endorsed Wrangler jeans in 1974! This was a watershed moment for the brand and a great milestone! It’s from this point that the brand never had to look back and kept growing by leaps and bounds. When you visit any wrangler store in Dubai near you, you can feel the vibes of authenticity and inspiration in all of Wrangler stores.
Becoming The Industry Leader- 1980s
In 1982, Wrangler became the major sponsor of racing driver Dale Earnhardt and the iconic blue-and-yellow “Wrangler Jean Machine.” Dale won the very first 3 of his seven NASCAR championships that year, and the brand became the first to have a significant involvement in NASCAR. Wrangler appears to have always enjoyed being a part of sports!
When denim demand was at its peak in 1986 across Europe and the United States, Blue Bell merged with VF Corporation of Pennsylvania. This move turned out to be transforming VF into one of the world’s two largest jeans manufacturers, controlling 25% of the $6 billion market. Isn’t that incredible? This implied that the brand had taken the denim marketplace by storm and had established itself as an industry leader.
The Legend Continues Even Today
Wrangler is still going strong today, creating amazing new concepts and campaigns such as the Wrangler Spa jeans, which featured skin treatments on the inside of the jeans a few years ago, as well as an incredible campaign called Stop Thinking. This was a fantastic plan designed to help people lead their lives without worry, sending some of their customers’ skydiving, mountain climbing, moto-racing, and other activities at the drop of a hat. Searching for this iconic and legendary brand in Dubai is very easy thanks to all the efforts Mostafawi group took in introducing it to the Middle Eastern markets. Today it isn’t an icon only in European and western markets but wrangler jeans in Dubai is an established and legendary brand as well.