The Big Interview
From chance meeting to premium European printwear brand
A chance meeting in 1979 at a tradeshow in Anaheim, California, led to TEE JAYS becoming one of the most recognisable printwear brands in Europe today.
P&P editor Melanie Attlesey spoke with Peter Hofler, CEO of TEE JAYS, to find out more about the brand’s rich history and exciting future.
the beginning. TEE JAYS was founded in 1976 by Terry
T
o provide you with an accurate idea of how the TEE JAYS brand came to be, we need to start at
Wylie and his partner Jim in Florence, Alabama, which explains the origin of the name. Jim left the business after a few years, but Terry continued on to pursue his dream of creating high quality printable garments and custom made products. It was on a sunny day in 1979 that Peterʼs father George and Terry met for the first time. George was attending a tradeshow in California and while walking past the TEE JAYS stand, a man remarked that he liked the smell of his pipe – that man was Terry. This chance meeting sparked a lifelong friendship between the two men.
At the time of this meeting George owned a wholesale business in Denmark with his wife Lone called LG Sportswear. George was so impressed by the quality of TEE JAYSʼ offering that he was keen to bring TEE JAYS to Europe. After meeting with Terry again in Florence to discuss options, the first shipment of Sof-Tee heavyweight T shirts made its way to Europe. The following year, after doing such a fantastic job of selling this tee into high- end retail stores in Europe and setting up the first distributors, George was hired as the European sales director for TEE JAYS
TEE JAYS is founded in
Florence, Alabama by Terry Wylie and his friend Jim
1976
The original TEE JAYS logo
1979
Peter’s father George Hofler bumps into Terry at a tradeshow in California and agrees with Terry to bring the Sof-Tee heavyweight T shirt to Europe
| 34 | Ocotober 2018
– a job he did for more than 20 years. This is where Peter picks up the story.
TEE JAYS in Europe
At the tender age of 18, Peter was asked by his father if he would like to go to America to spend some time with Terry and his team learning the production side of the business; everything from knitting and dyeing to sewing and screen printing. “I had always been fascinated by what my father did, so I jumped at the opportunity. It was a fantastic 24 months. I couldnʼt ask for better learning,” Peter explains.
Peter then returned to Denmark full of ideas and joined the business, focusing primarily on sales and purchasing. It was around this time that George began talking about producing garments in the Far East because due to the nature of the business, production in America was becoming expensive. After seeking approval from Terry, George organised for the first TEE JAYS T shirt to be manufactured outside of the US in 1995. The basic tee was produced at a specialised factory in Bangladesh and distributed widely across Europe. George and Peter continued purchasing the Sof-Tee, sweats and polos from Terry until 2001, when they got the news that he was selling the business. At its peak TEE JAYS employed 4,000 people and had 20 shipping and production plants in the
George is hired as European sales director for TEE JAYS
1980 1985 George focuses on bringing TEE
JAYS’ T shirts and sweatshirts into retail. He also redesigns the TEE JAYS logo as a gift to Terry
Peter Hofler, CEO of TEE JAYS
Florence area. At the time George and Peter were trying to establish TEE JAYS Europe as a multi-brand distributor in Scandinavia, distributing well-known brands such as OuterBanks, Result, Hanes and Stedman together with a limited TEE JAYS collection, but their numbers were bleeding and both men knew this wasnʼt the direction they wanted to take the business in. “After Terry closed operations we no
The new dress shirt which joins the collection next year
Peter Hofler joins the family business and goes to Alabama for 24 months to learn knitting, sewing, dyeing, cutting and screen printing
1990 1995
The first European catalogue is shot using models
1998
The first offshore TEE JAYS tee, the Basic 150gsm T shirt, is produced in Bangladesh
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96
