Making Sense of M&A Activity in the Apparel Decorating Community

A quick word on mergers and acquisitions in the apparel industry and what it means going into 2026 by Cassie Green | www.apparelist.com

Over the last few years, merger and acquisition (M&A) news has dominated headlines in the apparel decorating community. Big announcements like S&S Activewear acquiring alphabroder, Grimco acquiring GSG, and Lawson Screen and Digital and Workhorse Products merging have left the industry reorganizing and restructuring.

But perhaps one of the biggest announcements came in August 2025 with Gildan announcing its goal to acquire HanesBrands.

Both brands have long held staple positions as popular suppliers of apparel blank basics. Over the course of the last several years, both have also found themselves topping news in various ways (how could the industry forget the ruckus within Gildan after they fired CEO Glenn Chamandy and the ensuing battle that followed).

HanesBrands has also found itself making headlines, with struggling numbers and site closures rolling out over the course of the last few years. Still, both companies have remained particularly well-known due to affordable price points and longevity.

Like or not, there’s also been mergers and acquisitions happening on the decorator level as well. Early in 2025, PromoCentric announced that it acquired Screen Gems. All of this M&A news might leave many asking what does this mean for our industry? Is this a normal trend? How will the industry respond to what seems like heavy M&A activity?

A Closer Look at Apparel M&A with an Expert

The first, and perhaps one of the most important, things to do is not to go into a wild panic. If the tariff uproar of 2025 taught the industry anything, it’s that while global economic events can and do impact our industry, the ability to be flexible, adapt, and adjust is a strong card apparel decorators, and most anyone in the printing industry, carry.

Mark Hahn, senior managing director, Graphic Arts Advisors, notes that over the last few years, including 2025, M&A activity in the printing industry has actually been pretty consistent. Post-COVID was a noted peak (around 2022), he clarifies, but for the most part, he doesn’t feel 2025 was exceptionally active. “It’s been stable,” he says. “You do get the big deals like Hanes [and Gildan], but I don’t think it’s been more active.”

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