• Source: Lee (brand)

Lee is an American brand of denim jeans, first produced in 1889 in Salina, Kansas. The company is owned by Kontoor Brands, a spin-off of VF Corporation's Jeanswear Division. Since 2019 its headquarters has been in Greensboro, North Carolina, relocated from Merriam, Kansas. The company states that it is an international retailer and manufacturer of casual wear and work wear and that it has more than 400 employees in the United States. In Australasia, the brand has been owned by Pacific Brands since 2007, after it was acquired from Yakka.




History



The company was formed in 1889 by Henry David Lee as the HD Lee Mercantile Company at Salina, Kansas, producing dungarees and jackets. The growth of Lee was prompted by the introduction of the Union-All work jumpsuit in 1913 and their first overall in 1920. Later in the 1920s Lee introduced a zipper fly and continued to expand. Around this time, the first children's overalls line was sold. In 1928 H.D. Lee, founder and president of The H.D. Lee Mercantile Company, died. During the 1930s and 1940s the company became the leading manufacturer of work clothes in the US. In 1944, the Lazy "S" became the official Lee back pocket. Buddy Lee dolls were a promotional item. In 1954, Lee expanded into casual wear. During the 1960s the company expanded to 81 countries and in 1969 was acquired by VF Corporation, becoming a brand. Lee aired its first television advertisement, which promoted Lee western wear.
In the 1970s Lee shifted its focus from the workwear business and began catering to fashion cycles. Lee created an all-new fit for women under the Ms. Lee label. A youth wear line for boys and girls was introduced. In 1996, the company launched Lee National Denim Day as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Working with the Entertainment Industry Foundation, Lee National Denim Day has raised over $75 million to help fund breast cancer research programs. In 2014, the brand was relaunched in Paris via the Citadium Paris store. In 2019, Lee, Wrangler, Rock & Republic, and VF Outlet were separated from VF Corporation into Kontoor Brands.




Manufacturing


In 1981, 240 factory workers in Greenock, Scotland, staged a sit-in in protest against plans to move the factory to Northern Ireland. What was planned as a one-night protest continued for seven months. As of 2005, Lee Jeans have been manufactured by Arvind Mills, in a number of small factories in Chamarajanagar, India. About 60,000 workers produce 5,000 pairs of jeans a day.




Advertising


In the 1930s "The Great Lee Success Story" advertisements were launched that led to Lee's slogan "The Jeans that Built America".
Within the United States, the company spends more than $40 million per year on advertising. In 2009, Olson was appointed as the lead interactive agency for the American brand and redesigned their website. Barkley Inc. had previously handled interactive advertising for the brand. Arnold Worldwide continues to provide offline advertising services for the brand.




See also


Rock & Republic




References






Further reading


Marsh, Graham; Trynka, Paul (2002). Denim: From Cowboys to Catwalks: A Visual History of the World's Most Legendary Fabric. Aurum Press. ISBN 1-85410-791-7.
Rodengen, Jeffrey L. (1998). The Legend of VF Corporation. Write Stuff Enterprises. ISBN 0945903383.




External links


Lee Jeans
Lee Jeans Australia
Lee National Denim Day
• Source: Lee Brand

Lee R. Brand (born April 5, 1949) is an American politician and businessman who is the 25th mayor of Fresno, California. He took office as the successor for Ashley Swearengin on January 3, 2017. Upon inauguration, Brand became the oldest to assume the mayoralty of Fresno beating the previous holder Dr. Chester A. Rowell by 3 years and 21 days.




Early life


Brand was born in The Dalles, Oregon. His father was Archie L. Brand better known as ‘Brandy,’ of English descent, and his mother was Florence G. Trosi. His parents, his brother and he lived in a small motel room with no indoor bathroom. Archie and Florence worked for his grandfather Archie M. Brand better known as A.M. as dishwashers and general labor at the café, gas station, motel and small zoo A.M. operated.
Brand's mother was from Fresno, and his maternal grandfather and grandmother, Ralph Trosi and Pierina Trosi immigrated to the U.S. from Naples.
The Brand family moved to Fresno when A.M. no longer ran the roadside business and started a career as a sea lion trainer, touring the county with his ‘Sparky the Seal’ act. Brand's family arrived in Fresno in 1954 where he and his brother began Elementary school.
Growing up in a poor household, Brand began committing petty theft while in elementary school. While in junior high, Brand and some friends were arrested for breaking and entering several schools and served time in the juvenile hall work program. In 1964, when Brand was only 15, his father died in a plane crash.
At Theodore Roosevelt High School in Fresno, Brand was an average student who competed on the cross country and track teams and ran a 1:59 half-miler in his junior year. He became a voracious reader is senior year and his grades started improving.
After graduating in 1967, Brand briefly attended Fresno City College before enlisting in the California Air National Guard.
After less than half a year in active duty as a technician, Brand returned to Fresno and engaged in a lifestyle he described as "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" before experiencing a "calling from God" in 1971. Brand began taking heavy course loads at Fresno City College and later California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) and graduated in 1973 from Fresno State summa cum laude. Brand paid for his education by working at a local Sears and doing weekend patrol for the California Air National Guard. He later received an honorable discharge from the Guard.




Business career


Brand completed his M.P.A. at the University of Southern California in 1974 via a project instead of thesis. From 1974 to 1978, Brand was an assistant mental health administrator for Madera County. On the side, Brand flipped houses and eventually opened a real estate business, Brand-Glenn & Associates, and car stereo store named The Sound Machine. Brand's real estate business became Brand & Associates in 1981, and Brand co-founded Westco Equities in 1987.




Political career


In 1996, Brand managed the successful campaign of Fresno City Council candidate Ken Steitz.
After an unsuccessful campaign for the city council in 2000, Brand began serving on the Fresno Planning Commission as an appointee of mayor Alan Autry.
Brand won election to the City Council in 2008 for the northeast Fresno seat previously held by Jerry Duncan. He was re-elected to a second four term in 2012. During his eight years on the Fresno City Council, he wrote 19 legislative acts focused on fiscal management and better
government. In 2011, he served as the Council President.
In 2016, Brand ran for the Mayor of the City of Fresno. He finished second in the primary and won the November runoff. He was sworn in as the 25th Mayor of Fresno on January 3, 2017.




Post-Political career


Lee Brand concluded his term as Mayor of Fresno on January 5, 2021. After finishing his political career, he began researching his family ancestry finding surprising information about his father and grandfather.
This motivated him to write a book about family relationships through generations. His debut novel Discovering the Family I Never Knew, is a fictional book inspired by real people and events in his life.




Electoral history






See also


List of mayors of the 50 largest cities in the United States




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Lee Byung-chul
• Lee Hong-gi
• Lee Jong-won (pemeran, lahir 1994)
• Lee Do-hyun
• Brand New (album Shinhwa)
• Lee Young-ji
• Mark Lee (penyanyi)
• Nanairo no Ashita: Brand New Beat / Your Color
• Lee Jong-suk
• Lee Tae-yong
• Lee (brand)
• Sara Lee Corporation
• Lee Brand
• Lee Cooper
• Rachel Brand
• Wrangler (brand)
• Jimmy Dean (brand)
• Dion Lee
• Champion (sportswear)
• Keith Lee (wrestler)