Hanes
John Wesley Hanes' brother Pleasant H. Hanes founded the P.H. Hanes Knitting Company in 1901. The brothers previously operated a tobacco manufacturing business, that they sold to R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 1900. The P.H. Hanes Knitting Company merged with Hanes Hosiery in 1965. The P.H. Hanes Knitting Company complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Consolidated Foods (later renamed Sara Lee) announced its purchase of Hanes in 1978.
Playtex
In 1988 Playtex split into two companies, Playtex Apparel and Playtex Family Products, in a series of financial transactions totaling $1.3 billion. The transactions allowed Smilow to buy out other Playtex shareholders and put ownership of the brand into two separate investment groups that were owned by Smilow and other Playtex executives. In 1990 Playtex Products acquired cosmetics brand Maybelline for $300 million.($ in modern dollars). The next year Smilow sold Playtex Apparel to the Sara Lee Corporation, owner of the Bali and Hanes brands, for $571 million, ($ in modern dollars) but keeping the Playtex Family Products Corporation.