Brooks Brothers, dressers of presidents, coming to Israel
Israel’s Royal Linen Capital signs $40 million deal to bring prestigious apparel brand to Israel, also secures rare agreement to manufacture its underwear line locally
Brooks Brothers, the American apparel brand that for 200 years has been the go-to choice for US presidents, is set to be marketed in Israel.
Israeli textile company Royal Linen Capital signed a NIS 130 million ($40 million) deal with Authentic Brands Group, which owns Brooks Brothers, to sell the exclusive clothing over the next 10 years, Globes reported Sunday.
The contract includes establishing a local online site.
Though ABG does not usually permit its brands to be manufactured locally, Royal Linen Capital CEOs Etamar Mozes and Eliav Popper secured the rights to produce the Brooks Brothers underwear line at Delta Galil, the Tel Aviv-headquartered textile company, according to the report.
Mozes told Globes that the clothing will be available by the end of the year. Prices will range from $3,500 for a cashmere or camel hair coat down to around $700, putting items squarely on the high-end of the Israeli clothing market.
“The brand is the official dresser of the White House, and most of the US presidents and their wives for the past 200 years wore those clothes,” Mozes said.
He said the company is currently deciding on which stores it will work with, adding that there has been great interest from outlets.
Brook Brothers association with the White House began with United States President Ulysses S. Grant and has included the vast majority of presidents since, with George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama among the more recent customers.
Royal Linen Capital, which was established two years ago, last year obtained the rights to distribute Nautica Home merchandise in Israel.
Brooks Brothers, as a New York textile business, has a Jewish connection in its history. It was established as a family business in 1818. In 1946, it was sold to Julius Garfinckel and Co., a company started by the businessman son of Jewish immigrants, though its merchandise continued to be sold under the Brooks Brothers brand.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the company hard and, with no online outlet, all its stores closed, leading the company to file for bankruptcy in July 2020. It was bought out by ABG, a brand management company.
