TORONTO – Alex Tilley is making plans to hang up his hat.
Canada’s prolific hat and travel clothing designer says the company he founded more than 30 years ago is up for sale.
Tilley, 77, says “it’s time” to put the company on the auction block, though he offered few other details behind the move.
The decision was announced in a newspaper advertisement near the back pages of The Globe and Mail’s business section on Tuesday.
Calls to the Tilley’s headquarters were not immediately returned.
Tilley founded his company with the goal of designing his idea of the perfect sailing hat.
Quickly the company built its reputation in Canada for making durable hats, jackets and other products, many which came with lifetime guarantees.
Its international presence grew over the years, and the image of the “Tilley Man,” a nature enthusiast often dressed in beige, became iconic in some circles.
Soon the company was producing jackets and hats, and eventually branched into women’s and children’s clothing.
Tilley operates six Canadian shops, a web store, and has over 3,800 retail partners in 18 countries, the majority of them in the United States.
The company has hired an advisory services firm to oversee the transaction.
Comments