| Cabot Hosiery Mills | |
| Logo Alt: | Logo of Darn Tough |
| Industry: | Textile manufacturing |
| Hq Location City: | Northfield, Vermont |
| Hq Location Country: | U.S. |
| Key People: | Ric Cabot, President and Chief Executive Officer |
| Products: | socks |
| Brands: | Darn Tough |
| Revenue: | $50,000,000 |
| Revenue Year: | 2016 |
| Num Employees: | 200 |
| Num Employees Year: | 2016 |
Cabot Hosiery Mills is a textile manufacturer located in Northfield, Vermont, that makes socks under the "Darn Tough" label. First established in 1978, the company began manufacturing its "Darn Tough" socks in 2004.
The company was founded in 1978 by Marc Cabot, who had worked in the textile industry in New York State until he purchased and rebuilt a vacant mill in Northfield.[1] His son Ric Cabot joined the company in 1989. Through the 1990s, Cabot Hosiery primarily manufactured socks for retail chains such as Gap, which relabeled the product for sale under store brand names.[2] As retailers began looking to foreign manufacturers able to offer a lower price, Cabot Hosiery's sales declined from $7 million to $5 million annually, leading the company to lay off about 40 workers. By the early 2000s, the company owed several million dollars to its lenders, had defaulted on loans, and was late on tax bills.
In 2004, Ric Cabot devised the strategy of selling socks designed for durability under an in-house name, leading to the launch of the "Darn Tough" brand that year after both Cabots invested additional personal equity into the business.[3] The socks were initially distributed locally, but high demand, particularly among outdoor enthusiasts, led the company to reach distribution deals with national retailers, including REI and L.L. Bean. The company also sold socks to the US military, which is required by law to purchase supplies from domestic producers, with sales to the armed forces making up as much as a third of all revenue. Driven by the "Darn Tough" brand, Cabot Hosiery's sales rose through the 2000s, and by 2012 the mill employed about 130 people. During the first half of the 2010s, sales continued to rise by about 60% annually, and in 2015, with Ric Cabot by then having taken over the role of president and CEO from his father, the company announced a 100000ft2 expansion of its factory.[4] As of 2016, annual sales for Cabot Hosiery were just under $50 million, and the company employed about 200 people, with plans to hire more as expansion continued.