Lee and Wrangler’s Parent Company Shuts Down Mexican Plants, Shifts Production to Bangladesh

Lee and Wrangler leave Mexico. The U.S. group Kontoor Brands, also owner of the Norwegian Helly Hansen, has announced the permanent closure of its production plants after more than two decades in Mexico, located in the cities of Torreón, La Rosita, San Pedro and Coyote, causing the loss of more than 2.2,000 jobs, according to the local press, as part of a global restructuring plan.

The company announced to its workers on August 13 the permanent and gradual closure of the factories, expected to be completed early next October, after more than twenty years of production in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. For the time being, the company will continue to operate its second plant in the country, located in the state of Yucatán.

In order to “optimize costs and improve the efficiency of manufacturing processes globally”, the group has announced the transfer of its production to Bangladesh. This decision comes after Kontoor Brands closed the first six months of the year with higher sales and profits.

Kontoor Brands increased its first-half profit by 5% compared to 2024.

Kontoor Brands put its revenue for the first half of 2025 at $1,281 million, up 3.4% on 2024, in turn increasing the group’s profit by 5% to $116.7 million, compared to the $111.2 million it earned the previous year.

The star of Kontoor Brands’ portfolio continues to be Wrangler, through which the group posted sales of $881.5 million. In addition to accounting for a large part of Koontor’s turnover, the brand posted 5% growth compared with the first half of the previous year. Lee, on the other hand, generated sales of US$365.5 million, 7% less than in the first half of 2024.

Last June, the U.S. company completed the acquisition of Helly Hansen, the Norwegian outdoor fashion company, in a deal valued at $900 million. The company, hitherto focused on the North American and denim markets, thus finally sealed its diversification into new markets and products.