Steve Bratspies. Credit: LinkedIn

HanesBrands recently announced that Steve Bratspies will depart as its chief executive officer (CEO) of the company at the end of 2025, or upon the appointment of his successor. The company also announced its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results on the same day, which it reports were better than expected.

As part of the company’s leadership succession planning process, the board has begun a search to identify its next CEO. HanesBrands has retained Spencer Stuart, an executive search firm, to support its work. Bratspies will step down from the board of directors concurrent with the end of his tenure as CEO. He will stay on in an advisory role once a new CEO is named.

“Leading HanesBrands over the past five years has been an honor,” said Bratspies in a press statement. “Since joining as CEO, working alongside our talented global team, we have significantly simplified and strengthened our business. … I am proud of the actions we have taken, what this organization has achieved together, and how HanesBrands is ready for the future.”

The announcement comes on the heels of the big Champion sale to Authentic Brands Group, which took place in mid-2024. According to news reports shared by both HanesBrands and other press outlets, these moves reflect HanesBrands’ progress in recent years to “reignite its innerwear business, increase market share, attract younger consumers, and strengthen its operating model.”

“Having reached a positive and important inflection point in executing our strategy and looking ahead to the next leg of the company’s journey, the board, in concurrence with Steve, has decided that now is the right time to initiate a search for our next CEO,” said Bill Simon, chairman of the board, in the official press release from HanesBrands. “We are actively searching for the next leader who will continue building on our momentum for the next chapter of the company’s growth. We will provide updates as appropriate.

“On behalf of the entire board, we deeply appreciate the transformative leadership Steve has demonstrated throughout his tenure as CEO to make HanesBrands a new and better company. Steve led HanesBrands through a turbulent period in our industry, overhauling the company’s operating model, completing the sale of the Champion business and positioning HanesBrands as a global powerhouse in basics and innerwear.”

HanesBrands has set first-quarter and full-year 2025 guidance at the time of writing. The company expects Q1 net sales to be around $750 million. For 2025 in total, it expects net sales of between $3.47 and $3.52 billion.

The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with Apparelist. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Apparelist.