Despite inflation and supply chain challenges, HanesBrands (asi/59528) engineered a sales and earnings increase in the first quarter of 2022, financial data showed.

Meanwhile, the Winston-Salem, NC-headquartered global apparel maker, whose products sell extensively in the promotional products industry among other channels, has named a new C-suiter to lead growth for its marquee Champion brand.

As for the financials, HanesBrands increased sales 4.5% year over year in Q1 to $1.57 billion. The tally is a total of worldwide sales across all divisions, including but not limited to the North American promo products/imprinted apparel market. Champion brand sales improved 3%.

Net income was $118.7 million, which translated to earnings per share of $0.34. That was a marked improvement over the prior year’s first quarter when HanesBrands experienced a $263.2 million loss, due in significant part to issues tied to discontinued operations. There were challenges though, as gross profit declined 3% to $584 million on margins that retreated from 40% the prior year to 37.1%.

“The margin decline was driven by the expected impact from higher inflation and the higher-than-planned strategic investment in expedited freight to service new retail space gains and new product innovation,” HanesBrands said in a statement. “These expected headwinds more than offset efficiency improvements in manufacturing, cost savings from initiatives such as a SKU reduction program and the partial-quarter benefit from the price increase in innerwear business.”

Looking ahead, HanesBrands is predicting that its total net sales for 2022 will fall somewhere between $7 billion and $7.15 billion. Such a performance would represent about 4% annual growth.

“The global operating environment has deteriorated significantly over the past three months, with accelerating inflation, continued COVID-19 disruptions and logistical challenges,” said HanesBrands CEO Steve Bratspies. “In this environment, we are highly focused on executing in the areas we control. We are unwavering in our commitment to investing in our people, brands and technology, and I remain confident that we will deliver on our Full Potential plan.”

Vanessa LeFebvre, HanesBrands

Experienced apparel industry executive Vanessa LeFebvre will be helping HanesBrands deliver on its objectives.

The company has hired LeFebvre as president of global activewear. In this role, she will spearhead driving growth for Champion, with a particular focus on innovation, key markets and new channels.

LeFebvre joins HanesBrands from adidas, where she was senior vice president, commercial, North America, with responsibility for e-commerce, retail stores and wholesale. At adidas, she delivered what HanesBrands described as significant growth and profit improvement in North America.

Prior to joining Adidas in 2019, LeFebvre was president of Lord and Taylor. Earlier in her career, she held senior leadership positions and merchandising roles at Stitch Fix, Macy’s, Daffy’s and T.J. Maxx.

“This is an exciting time to join HanesBrands,” said LeFebvre. “The company has iconic brands and a passionate team. I look forward to helping consumers around the world ‘Be Your Own Champion’ as we take the company’s activewear business to the next level.”