As a 135-year-old company headquartered in Greensboro, NC, Cone Denim has seen its share of industry transitions, from onshoring to offshoring to nearshoring. It recently announced it is moving out of China completely to focus on its two manufacturing locations in Mexico with a combined installed capacity of 58 million yards a year (the China factory had a capacity of 28 million linear yards a year). Sales, product and merchandising teams will remain in Greensboro, New York and Los Angeles.
HGI chatted with Steve Maggard, president of Cone Denim, about the shift and what comes next.
HGI: What ultimately made this the right moment for Cone Denim to exit manufacturing in China and put Mexico at the center of its go-forward manufacturing strategy?
Steve Maggard: This decision to exit China follows careful consideration of a range of economic, market and geopolitical factors that have increasingly affected the competitiveness and long-term viability of operating in China. Changing global trade dynamics, evolving customer sourcing strategies, cost pressures, supply chain considerations and broader geopolitical developments all contributed to this announcement.
HGI: You’ve described this as a strategic transformation for Cone Denim. Beyond the changes to the manufacturing footprint, what do you see as the biggest opportunity for Cone in this next chapter?
SM: This consolidation into Mexico is an important step in sharpening Cone Denim’s focus on the markets, capabilities and manufacturing platforms where we are best positioned to compete and win. By supporting customers through this transition and strengthening our established Mexico platform, we are building a more focused, resilient Cone Denim business for the future. We will leverage a speed model and current tariff benefits from Mexico to service the U.S. retail market.
Despite having to make some difficult decisions this year, I am excited about the future of Cone Denim. We are taking the necessary steps today and have a quality team who will be leading us into the future.
HGI: For customers who have historically sourced Cone denim from China, what will change and what will remain the same during this transition and beyond?
SM: We will coordinate with customers and migrate and service as much current China business into our other facilities. The majority of the styles we run in China are already approved and duplicated in our plants in Mexico. We realize that some customers will require a fabric sourcing option in Asia and we will discuss with our customers the best way to help them during this transition on a case by case basis.
HGI: Cone has a 130-year-plus history of innovation, from performance and stretch denim to technologies like S GENE and Sustainblue. Where do you see the biggest areas for innovation and growth in denim over the next several years? Will the Mexico factories have different capabilities than the China one to advance Cone?
SM: Cone’s 135 year legacy continues. The plants in [Parras and Yecapixtla] Mexico have the same manufacturing capabilities as our plant in China with very few exceptions. Cone Denim’s innovation will continue in the areas of sustainable manufacturing—less water, lower carbon footprint, etc, and we constantly look for ways to manufacture quicker with smaller lot sizes to facilitate rapid response and customization. We also maintain our commitment to the overall customer experience and excellent quality.
HGI: What do you think the denim market will look like three to five years from now, and what does Cone need to do today to make sure it remains a leader in that market?
SM: The future denim market will demand quality, comfortable fabrics that can be made in a more environmentally sustainable way. As we look ahead, customers will require documented transparency in regard to sourcing of raw materials and the components in the fabric. A simple paper trail will not be enough in the future; you will need to be able to scientifically prove the claims you are making.
