By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Sales were up 6 percent to $1.06 billion. The case was settled out of court in 1989 for a reported $1 million. In mid-1992 the company refinanced its loan agreements, reducing its interest payments. Upon the liquidation of the pension plan, Murdock invested the funds with Executive Life Insurance of California. Find a great collection of Charisma Bath Towels & Sheets at Costco. The recently formed company was sold to Pillowtex Corporation in 1997, which went into bankruptcy in July 2003. A new chairperson, Harold Hornaday, was installed, who conceded to Forbes that 'the times require that Cannon be more market oriented.' During World War II shortages hampered the mills' ability to meet consumer demand. Profits rebounded to $11.3 million that year and reached $23.4 million in 1989. Fieldcrest produced goods under its own name as well as private labels, with customers Sears, Roebuck & Co. and J.C. Penney accounting for almost 15 percent of total sales. Though Fieldcrest Cannon's sales reached $1.09 billion, profits flagged at $1.1 million. The company's production was vertically integrated, from the spinning of the cotton to the finished product. The only company in the USA that will make cotton towels to He evidently brought some knowledge of the retail business with him when he decided to put his name on the fabric that his mill manufactured, reasoning that sales could only increase if customers could ask for a product by name. Sales that year were $175.3 million. The company diversified into the manufacture of various items for kitchen and bath, including mats and rugs. We tested sheets for their durability after washing, fabric strength, fit over a standard queen-sized mattress, and more. The popularity of 'Cannon cloth' spread throughout the south, and thus the Cannon retailing philosophy was born. Upon his death in 1951 stewardship for the trust passed to his son F.C. Free shipping on orders over $49. While Cannon was in control, the company did not acquire any long-term debt. By 1953 Marshall Field & Co. was eager to expand its stores, especially in the emerging suburban landscape. Towards the end of the 19th century, James William Cannon, a 35-year old partner and manager of a general store, became intrigued with the textile business and decided to open a cotton mill. By 1961 sales had reached $77 million, and the following year Fieldcrest became a publicly owned company, with Amoskeag holding about 40 percent of the stock. The market responded favorably, and Fieldcrest saw a 43 percent gain in its bed and bath products in 1976--77. Prior to its acquisition by Pillowtex Corporation in 1997, Fieldcrest Cannon, Inc. was a leading producer of towels, bed sheets, bath accessories, bath rugs, and furniture coverings. Kannapolis was considered a 'model mill city,' and its mills could turn out 300,000 towels daily. Fieldcrest started with aspiring empire-builder, Benjamin Franklin Mebane, who launched an ambitious plan to open one mill a year on and around 600 acres of land he had purchased in Spray, North Carolina, in 1893. The neon sign remained unlit after Cannon died, but Cannon Mills stock soared on Wall Street as investors believed that new management would fully take advantage of the company's cash-rich, debt-free position. After the acquisition, Fieldcrest Cannon merged Bigelow-Sanford with its Karastan division and dismissed the Bigelow-Sanford executives. Restructuring and Takeover Threats in the 1990s. (After World War II, the sign was altered to read 'Leading Manufacturer of Towels' and updated with neon.). Under these conditions, the Amalgamated Clothing & Textile Workers Union (ACTWU) attempted to organize Cannon employees, which culminated in a vote in October 1985. Later, in the 1930s, Charlie Cannon returned from a business trip to Williamsburg so impressed by its colonial architecture that he had facades for the business district constructed to mimic their colonial style, and downtown Kannapolis was thus transformed into a Georgian village. These cookies do not store any personal information. In 1923 Cannon had the Cannon name sewn into all of its towels, becoming the first company to do so. In 1984 Occidental repurchased its stock from Murdock-controlled entities--including the Cannon pension fund--with a $60 million premium attached. Electrode, Comp-be2e4ec7-7912-4fcf-bc96-9c4bd730762c, DC-scus-prod-a13, ENV-prod-a, … Please note we are not responsible for the content on this 3rd party website. Dumaine, Jr., who had started working for Amoskeag in 1922. Under his stewardship, Cannon Mills maintained its dominant position in the U.S. towel market, regularly producing half of all towels purchased. Who makes extra large cotton towels, big cotton towels or extra long cotton towels? The lower priced St. Marys brand was sold through mass merchandisers. Fieldcrest is Livable Luxury. Cannon's tenure was marked by an entrenched fiscal conservatism. Frontgate also makes bath sheets and coordinating accessories, including hand towels, washcloths, and bath mats. Profits crested at $24.8 million on sales of $517.7 million in 1979. A massive sign on the edge of town, lighted by 1,800 bulbs and visible from the highway and the railroad, proclaimed that Cannon Mills was the 'World's Largest Manufacturer of Towels.' If you like warm, extra-soft sheets, we recommend jersey knit sheets. Shop for Fieldcrest Bed Sheets in Basic Bedding at Walmart and save. The import-battered market had led to further layoffs (reaching 3,000), the closing of three mills, and a $31 million drop in exports. This makes the sheets stronger and smoother than percale but also heavier and warmer. Cannon had difficulty changing its old-fashioned image, however, and its share of the towel market fell to below 35 percent. A diversified portfolio of strong global consumer brands. We don't need designers' names,' the president of Cannon's merchandising subsidiary told Forbes in 1972. With millions of unique furniture, décor, and housewares options, we'll help you Internationally distributed in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand, South America, and Southeast Asia. The union had failed previously, most recently in 1974 in a 44 to 56 percent vote. At the same time, the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers sensed an opportunity to once again approach Fieldcrest Cannon workers and sent representatives to the company's mills in Rowan and Cabarrus, North Carolina, to attempt to unionize employees. Murdock, by that time seeking a buyer for Cannon, fought the union in a venomous campaign in which he jetted frequently into Kannapolis, touring the factories and shaking hands with virtually all of the company's 10,000 employees. Yet 1996 proved to be another difficult year for the company. The ownership issue came to a head again in May 1993 when one of Fieldcrest Cannon's chief competitors, Springs Industries, Inc., offered to purchase the company for $330 million. The mills there started operation in 1908 and were able to produce more towels than any other group of mills, due in part to automatic terry looms. Shop for fieldcrest towels at Bed Bath & Beyond. Shop Target for bedding--including sheets, pillowcases, shams, comforters and more. His youngest son, Charles Cannon, who had quit college at the age of 19 to start work in his father's mills and had become a vice-president at the age of 23, became the company's president. In 1987 Fieldcrest Cannon lost $3.7 million on sales of $1.4 billion, and much of the loss was attributed to problems with Bigelow-Sanford. Brand Positioning: Women of all ages, with a focus on brides Quality that a consumer can trust, at a smart . James Cannon died in 1921 at which time he controlled 12 mills with over 15,000 employees and an estimated $40 million in annual sales. Fieldcrest, which makes towels and bedding products such as sheets, reported net income last year of $30.7 million, up from $25 million in 1993. The population of Kannapolis was 36,000, ten percent of which lived in company housing. Nevertheless, they did produce a variety of goods for the armed services, including silk cartridge cloth, camouflage net, parachute cloth, and mosquito netting. Most of Cannon Mills' products were distributed through mass merchandisers. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Enjoy low warehouse prices on name-brand Bath Towels & Sheets products. Though best known for comfortable bedding, this home supply company also makes wonderfully luxurious bath towels that are made of 100 percent long-staple Turkish cotton to ensure they're plush, absorbent, and exceptionally Fieldcrest Cannon's apparent weakness emboldened others to try to make inroads. Brand Positioning: In December of that year, Fieldcrest wrote off its half of a Canadian joint venture, Crossley Karastan Carpet Mills, Ltd., which had lost $1.2 million in 1981. Enjoy low warehouse prices on name-brand Bed Sheets products. Furthermore, Cannon's reign over Kannapolis--which remained unincorporated--also reflected his paternalistic style. Founded in 1887 by James William Cannon, by 1914 the company was the largest towel and sheets manufacturer in the world. In that year, Cannon was reinstated to the New York Stock Exchange, having given voting rights to all public shareholders and begun publishing more detailed annual reports. The company, which had invested heavily in junk bonds underwritten by Michael Milken of Drexel Burnham Lambert during the 1980s, suffered sharp losses after the junk bond industry collapsed in 1990. Previously part of Marshall Field's wholesale division, they became part of the manufacturing division, and sales departments distributed their products nationally at both wholesale and retail levels. The mills also produced a variety of 'gray goods' such as cotton cloth and woman's hosiery. Luxury fabric designer Robin Roberts was also hired to create a fashionable and upscale line of sheets and towels. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent. Moreover, critics reasoned that Ely had been able to remain at Fieldcrest Cannon as long as he had by virtue of his position as treasurer of the Dumaine trust, holding ultimate power over an elderly board on which remained several members from F.C.