Stetson & Resistol?

[Spats McGee]

I am eagerly awaiting the Resistol that I bought from rmrdaddy & I've also had my eye on several Stetson hats. Today, just out of curiosity, I visited both the Stetson & Resistol websites. The two websites are almost identical, having used the same website design company and even have almost identical FAQ pages. For example:

What do the X’s mean?
The quality of the hat body used to make a hat is the main factor that determines the X’s. In felt it is determined by the percentage of fur’s used in making the hat body. We use beaver, mink, chinchilla and other animal fur to make bodies. The mixture of which furs we use determines the X’s. In straw, the X’s are also determined by the body used to make the hat. The tighter the weave and narrower the straw reed used to make the hat, the better X quality is marked in the hat.

What are the percentages of beaver in our hats?
The percentage of beaver is determined by the X quality of the product. The higher the X’s the higher percentage of beaver fur is mixed in the hat. Because of our efforts to remain the leading manufacturer in headwear, the exact percentages are a manufacturing secret formula that we choose not to share.

What do the "X's" mean?
The quality of the hat body used to make a hat is the main factor that determines the X’s. In felt it is determined by the percentage of fur’s used in making the hat body. We use beaver, mink, chinchilla and other animal fur to make bodies. The mixture of which furs we use determines the X’s. In straw, the X’s are also determined by the body used to make the hat. The tighter the weave and narrower the straw reed used to make the hat, the better X quality is marked in the hat.

What are the percentages of beaver in our hats?
The percentage of beaver is determined by the X quality of the product. The higher the X’s the higher percentage of beaver fur is mixed in the hat. Because of our efforts to remain the leading manufacturer in headwear, the exact percentages are a manufacturing secret formula that we choose not to share.

Surely this isn't an accident. Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but are Stetson and Resistol the same company or owned by the same parent company?

 

[Dinerman]

They are both owned by HATCO.

 

[carouselvic]

Hatco

Hatco is the parent company of both.

 

[Lefty]

Always start with this when you have a question that you think may have been already answered. In this case, Mingo has put together one heck of a thread.

Hat Corporation of America
Founded by John Cavanagh, whose Park Avenue hat shop was among the most prestigious in the United States.

Originally called the General Hat Company, the Hat Corporation of America was created through the merger of Knox and Dunlap with Cavanagh-Dobbs in 1932. By the mid 1930s, the company was one of the leading manufacturers of high-end hats, and second in size only to John B. Stetson.

In 1956 Hat Corporation of America acquired Champ from LaSalle, and began to market their lines in a “tiered” manner that was similar to the sales structure of General Motors’ vehicles, with Cavanagh being the Cadillac line, Knox being the Oldsmobile, Dobbs, representing the Buick level, and Champ, the Chevrolet line.

In the 1960s the company changed its name to HCA Industries. In 1972 HCA was bought out by Koracorp, the owners of Byer-Rolnick (Resistol), and through that merger HCA gained the rights for such brands Kevin McAndrew, Bradford, and Churchill, as well as its original brands, Knox, Dunlap, Dobbs, Chanp and Cavanagh.

HCA changed hands several times in the 1970s and 80s. In 1979 HCA acquired the Stetson name and in 1985 was bought by ADJ Caps, which owned the Texas, Miller and Adam labels, among others.

Finally, in 1992 a new group of investors reorganized the various corporate entities into HATCO. The company currently manufactures the following: Cavanagh, Dobbs, Knox, Mallory, Stetson, and Resistol. Their production facility is located in Garland, TX.