White Stag is an in-store brand of women's clothing and accessories sold by

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

. Founded as a

skiwear A ski suit is a suit made to be worn over the rest of the clothes when skiing or snowboarding.Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, the company was purchased by the

Warnaco Group The Warnaco Group, Inc. was an American Textile industry, textile/clothing corporation which designed, sourced, marketed, Brand licensing, licensed, and distributed a wide range of underwear, Sportswear (fashion), sportswear, and swimwear worl ...

in 1966, which in turn sold the brand to Wal-Mart in 2003.

Company origins

The White Stag company began as an offshoot of the Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company of Portland, Oregon, which made durable outdoor clothing and supplies worn by loggers, mill hands, and stockmen. Hirsch-Weis was founded when brothers Max S. and Leopold B. Hirsch purchased the Willamette Tent and Awning Company, a manufacturer of sails for deepwater ships, from E. Henry Wemme in 1907. The Hirsch brothers renamed the company for themselves and Harry Weis, Wemme's secretary, whom the brothers retained as a partner with the new company. The company began to make more tents and catered to the logging industry; some of the company's first clothes were waterproof garments for loggers. In 1929, Harold S. Hirsch, Max's 21-year-old son, returned to Portland after graduating from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, where he had enjoyed skiing. He began making

downhill skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

apparel, starting with a

ski suit A ski suit is a suit made to be worn over the rest of the clothes when skiing or snowboarding.sportswear Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical spor ...

Company growth and acquisition by Warnaco

In 1956, reflecting the popularity of the sportswear line, Hirsch-Weis changed its name to White Stag. It became a

publicly traded company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( ...

in 1958. In 1957,Denny, John L. (April 29, 1957). "Business Briefs". ''The Oregonian'', p. 8. the company modified a large animated sign on the roof of its downtown Portland building to include a stag leaping over an outline of the state of Oregon. For the 1959 Christmas season, a red neon "nose" was added to the stag's snout in imitation of

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on C ...

, a tradition that has been repeated annually ever since. The

White Stag sign The White Stag sign, also known as the "Portland Oregon" sign, is a lighted neon-and- incandescent-bulb sign located atop the White Stag Building, at 70 NW Couch Street in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States, facing the Burnside Bridge. Th ...

quickly became an identifying landmark for the city, and it was designated a Portland landmark by the city's Historic Landmarks Commission in 1977."Commission designates White Stag sign Portland landmark" (October 13, 1977). ''The Oregonian'', p. A17. Its lettering was changed to advertise the Made in Oregon gift retailer in 1997, and in 2010 the sign was acquired by the city and its lettering changed again, to read "Portland Oregon". In 1966, White Stag was purchased by the Warner Brothers Company, which later became the

. The company moved its operations out of its downtown Portland building in 1973 and by 1987, had moved out of Portland completely. In 1983, the company was doing $70 million in sales annually, out of Warnaco's overall annual sales of around $500 million. In fall 1986, White Stag had around 200 employees, and its facilities included a three-building complex occupying on S.E. Harney Drive in Southeast Portland. Warnaco's move out of Portland was forecast for completion in 1987.

The Warnaco years

In 1986, former Warnaco executive Linda J. Wachner engineered a $550 million

hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (law), company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast t ...

of Warnaco and began streamlining the company. White Stag was reorganized with other activewear lines, including

Speedo Speedo International Limited is an Australian-British distributor of Swimsuit, swimwear and swim-related accessories based in Nottingham, England. Founded in Sydney, Australia in 1914 by Alexander MacRae, a Scottish emigrant, the company is n ...

, into a new company, Authentic Fitness Corporation, which went public in 1992. The company grew through the 1990s, but saddled with debt from other acquisitions and mergers, Warnaco filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

protection in 2000.

Walmart label

After Warnaco emerged from bankruptcy in 2003, it sold the White Stag trademark to

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

. For a time Wal-Mart used the trademark on a line of women's casual clothing, footwear, and basic jewelry.

References

External links

*{{Oregon Encyclopedia, white_stag_manufacturing, White Stag Manufacturing, author=Battistella, Edwin Clothing companies of the United States Clothing companies established in 1907 Walmart brands Clothing brands of the United States 1907 establishments in Oregon Clothing companies disestablished in 2003 2003 disestablishments in New York (state)