# Coats Group

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{{Short description|British multinational sewing supply company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Coats Group plc
| logo = Coats logo.svg
| logo_size = 150px
| type = [Public limited company](/source/Public_limited_company)
| traded_as = {{ubl|{{lse|COA}}|[FTSE 250](/source/FTSE_250_Index) component}}
| slogan = 
| foundation = {{start date and age|1755}}
| location = [London](/source/London), England, UK
| key_people = David Gosnell<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/coats-group-appoint-david-gosnell-as-new-chairman/412940626|title=Coats Group appoint David Gosnell as new Chairman|date=24 November 2020 |publisher=Directors Talk|access-date=14 June 2021}}</ref> [Chairman](/source/Chairman)<br>David Paja, [CEO](/source/CEO)<br>Jackie Callaway, [CFO](/source/CFO)
| industry = [Consumer](/source/Consumer_goods) and [intermediate goods](/source/intermediate_goods)
| revenue = {{increase}} [US$](/source/US_dollar)1,464.9 million (2025)<ref name=results>{{cite web |url=https://cdn.coats.com/wp-content/uploads/Coats-Group-plc-2025-Full-Year-Results-Announcement.pdf|title=Annual Results 2025|publisher=Coats |access-date=5 March 2026}}</ref>
| operating_income = {{increase}} [US$](/source/US_dollar)289.8 million (2025)<ref name=results/>
| net_income = {{increase}} [US$](/source/US_dollar)121.2 million (2025)<ref name=results/>
| num_employees = 
| products = [Textile](/source/Textile) related
| parent = 
| homepage = {{URL|https://www.coats.com}}
}}

'''Coats Group plc''' is a British multinational company. The company provides products, including apparel, accessory and footwear threads, structural components for footwear and accessories, fabrics, yarns, and software applications.

Coats is listed on the [London Stock Exchange](/source/London_Stock_Exchange) and is a constituent of the [FTSE 250 Index](/source/FTSE_250_Index) and [FTSE4Good Index](/source/FTSE4Good_Index). Revenues in 2023 were $1.4bn.

==Founding==
thumb|left|Ferguslie Thread Mills
[Paisley, Scotland](/source/Paisley%2C_Renfrewshire) became a hub for the textile industry in the United Kingdom. In 1755 James and Patrick Clark began a [loom](/source/loom) equipment and [silk](/source/silk) thread business.<ref name="history">{{cite web|url=http://www.coats.com/index.asp?pageid=20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628053334/http://www.coats.com/index.asp?pageid=20|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 June 2012|title=History|publisher=Coats|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref> In 1806, Patrick Clark invented a way of twisting strands of [cotton](/source/cotton) together to substitute for silk that was unavailable due to the French [blockade](/source/naval_blockade) of Great Britain. He opened the first plant for manufacturing the cotton thread in 1812.<ref name="history"/>
[[File:J & P. Coats Best Six Cord, 200 yds, 50. White, black and colors for hand & machine. (front) - 9547344167.jpg|thumb|1887 [chromolithograph](/source/Chromolithography) advertisement for J & P. Coats Best Six Cord thread by [Donaldson Brothers](/source/Donaldson_Brothers)]]

In 1802 James Coats set up his own [weaving](/source/Weaver_(occupation)) in Paisley. In 1826 he opened a cotton mill at [Ferguslie](/source/Ferguslie_Park) to produce his own thread<ref name="guarch">{{cite web|title= Records of Coats Viyella plc, thread manufacturers, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland|url= http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/02120302.html|access-date= 2009-02-03|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120719062445/http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/02120302.html|archive-date= 2012-07-19}}</ref> and, when he retired in 1830, his sons, James & Peter, took up the business under the name of '''J. & P. Coats'''.<ref name="guarch"/>

In 1890 Coats listed on the London Stock Exchange,<ref name="guarch" /> with capital of £5.7 million.<ref name="guarch" />

== Implantation in the United States ==
The firm expanded internationally, particularly to the United States. In 1869, J. & P. Coats signed a contract with the Conant Thread Company in [Pawtucket, Rhode Island](/source/Pawtucket%2C_Rhode_Island), which entitled them to use of the Conant company's manufacturing facilities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last= Kim |first=Dong-Woon |date=1998 |title=The British multinational enterprise in the United States before 1914: The case of J. & P. Coats |journal=Business History Review |volume=72 |issue=4 |pages=523–551|doi=10.2307/3116621 |jstor=3116621 }}</ref> This move towards local production in the United States was primarily driven by high tariffs on imported goods, including thread.<ref name=":0" />

thumb|J & P. Coats Best Six Cord 50, ca. 1870-1900; from the 19th Century American Trade Cards collection of the Boston Public Library
In 1893, J. & P. Coats absorbed the Conant Thread Company and assumed direct control over the [Pawtucket plant](/source/Conant_Thread-Coats_%26_Clark_Mill_Complex_District), under the management of James Coats (1834–1913) and Alfred M. Coats (1869–1942).<ref name=":0" /> In 1896 J. and P. Coats acquired controlling interests in the firms of  Clark and Co, Jonas Brook and Brothers, and James Chadwick and Brother.<ref>{{cite web|title=Clark and Co (of Paisley)|publisher=Grace's Guide To British Industrial History, quoting "The Stock Exchange Year Book 1908"|url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Clark_and_Co_(of_Paisley)|access-date=16 September 2022}}</ref> The Clark family had manufacturing sites in [Newark, New Jersey](/source/Newark%2C_New_Jersey), [U.S.](/source/United_States_of_America) as the Clark Thread Co. since 1864.<ref name="history" />

J & P Coats moved their base of operations to Delaware in 1951 and officially closed the plant in Pawtucket in November 1964.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/RI-01-PA9|title=Coats and Clark (Conant Thread Mill Complex, Later J. and P Coats Ltd)|date=17 July 2018 |publisher=Society of Architectural Historians|access-date=13 April 2024}}</ref>

== Mergers and consolidation ==
In 1952, J. & P. Coats and the Clark Thread Co. merged to become '''Coats & Clark's'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://roots.sg/learn/collections/listing/1154615|title=A spool of machine embroidery thread from Clark & Co's Anchor Mills in Paisley|publisher=Roots|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref> In 1961, a merger with [Patons and Baldwins](/source/Patons_and_Baldwins) created '''Coats Patons'''.<ref name="guarch" /> By the mid-1960s, Coats Patons decided to invest in the Philippines by initiating a joint venture with Tan Heng Chai of the [Marikina](/source/Marikina)-based Manila Bay Spinning Mills, Inc. called J. & P. Coats Manila Bay, Inc.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kunio|first=Yoshihara|title=Philippine Industrialization: Foreign and Domestic Capital|date=1985|publisher=[Ateneo de Manila University Press](/source/Ateneo_de_Manila_University_Press)|location=[Quezon City](/source/Quezon_City), Philippines|isbn=0-19-582620-5|page=78|quote=By the time J & P Coats decided to invest in the Philippines it was not possible}}</ref>

In 1986, a merger with Vantona Viyella created '''Coats Viyella'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ipe.com/coats-pensions-chairman-dow-steps-down/www.ipe.com/coats-pensions-chairman-dow-steps-down/2093.fullarticle|title=Coats Pensions chairman Dow steps down|date=9 August 2005|publisher=IPE|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref> In 2003 [Guinness Peat](/source/Guinness_Peat_Group) took Coats [private](/source/Private_company) and in 2015 the business returned to the market as Coats Group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/ron-brierley-resigns-from-coats/YK4RTRZIFXNZD6M4MTLH3NATTA/|title=Ron Brierley resigns from Coats|date=20 April 2015|publisher=New Zealand Herald}}</ref>

Coats was fined €110 million by the [European Commission](/source/European_Commission) in 2007 for participation in [cartel](/source/cartel)s with [Prym](/source/Prym), YKK, and other companies to fix and manipulate the prices of zips and other fasteners, and of the machinery to make them.  One of the cartels ran for twenty-one years. An appeal in 2012 to the General Court of the European Union was dismissed, and the fine upheld.<ref name="aoife">Aoife White (27 June 2012). [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-27/coats-and-ykk-lose-eu-court-challenges-over-antitrust-fines.html Coats and YKK Lose EU Court Challenges Over Antitrust Fines]. Bloomberg. Accessed March 2015.</ref><ref>[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62007TJ0439:EN:NOT Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 27 June 2012. Coats Holdings Ltd v European Commission. Competition – Agreements, decisions and concerted practices – Markets for zip fasteners and ‘other fasteners’ – Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC – Coordinated price increases, fixing of minimum prices, customer-sharing, market-sharing and exchange of other commercial information – Evidence – Single and continuous infringement – Limitation period – Rights of the defence – Fines – Guidelines. Case T-439/07]. Accessed March 2015.</ref>

The company acquired the footwear components business, Texon, in July 2022,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Coats-acquires-texon-as-athleisure-footwear-market-booms,1421403.html|title=Coats acquires Texon as athleisure footwear market booms|date=6 July 2022|newspaper=Fashion Network|access-date=10 April 2023}}</ref> and the footwear reinforcement components business, Rhenoflex, in August 2022.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.just-style.com/news/coats-acquires-rhenoflex-to-strengthen-footwear-presence/|title=Coats acquires Rhenoflex to strengthen footwear presence|date=11 August 2022|newspaper=Just Style|access-date=10 April 2023}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [Thomas Coats](/source/Thomas_Coats) (1809–1883)
* [Sir Peter Coats of Auchendrane](/source/Peter_Coats) (1808–1890)
* Sir James Coats, 1st [Baronet](/source/Coats_baronets) (1834–1913)
* [Sir Thomas Glen-Coats, 1st Baronet](/source/Sir_Thomas_Glen-Coats%2C_1st_Baronet) (1846–1922)
* [Conant Thread-Coats & Clark Mill Complex District](/source/Conant_Thread-Coats_%26_Clark_Mill_Complex_District) in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
* [Alfred M. Coats](/source/Alfred_M._Coats) (1869–1942)

==References==
{{reflist|50em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Coats|first=Brian|title=Seams Sewn Long Ago. The Story of Coats The Threadmakers|year=2013|publisher=CreateSpace|isbn=978-1490408262}} 
* {{cite book|last=Kim|first=Dong-Woon|title=From a Family Partnership to a Corporate Company: J. & P. Coats, Thread Manufacturers|publisher=[Textile History](/source/Textile_History)|date= Autumn 1994| volume= 25 |pages= 185–225}}
* {{cite book|last=Kim|first=Dong-Woon|title=The British multinational enterprise in the United States before 1914: The case of J. & P. Coats|publisher=Business History Review|date=Winter 1998|volume=72|pages= 523–52}}
* {{cite book|last=Kim|first=Dong-Woon|title=J. & P. Coats in Tsarist Russia, 1889–1917|publisher=Business History Review|date=Winter 1995|volume=69|pages= 465–494}}
* {{cite book|last=Kininmonth|first=Kirsten W.|title=The growth, development and management of J. & P. Coats Ltd, c.1890–1960: An analysis of strategy and structure|publisher=Business History|date= October 2006|volume=48|pages= 551–579}}
* {{cite book|last=Knox, William W. |title=Hanging by a Thread: The Scottish Cotton Industry, c. 1850–1914|year=1995|publisher=Carnegie|isbn=978-1859360118}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Coats Group}}
* {{official website|https://www.coats.com}}
* {{FadedPage|id=Coats and Clark, Inc.|name=Coats and Clark|author=yes}}
* {{PM20|FID=co/054983|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=}}
* Boston Public Library [https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/albums/72157635146993044/ Thread Trade Cards] Collection

{{FTSE 250 Index constituents}}
{{FT 30 constituents}}
{{NZX 50 companies}}
{{Knitting}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coats Plc}}
Category:1755 establishments in England
Category:1755 establishments in Scotland
Category:British companies established in 1755
Category:Companies based in the London Borough of Hillingdon
Category:Companies in the FTSE 250 Index
Category:Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1755
Category:Manufacturing companies of Scotland
Category:Privately held companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Scottish brands
Category:Textile manufacturers of Scotland

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Coats Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coats_Group) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coats_Group?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.