Selling clothes had been in the genes of sportswear distributor Broder Bros. for years. Begun as a haberdashery in 1919, the company evolved from making hats and gloves into a leading distributor of imprintable sportswear, distributing about 1,100 products under 40 retail brands, including adidas Golf, Champion, alternative, and Dickies, and private labels; it operates under the Broder, Alpha, and NES divisions. Its private labels include Devon & Jones, Chestnut Hill, and others. Customers, mostly small US retailers, order merchandise through seasonal catalogs or online. Private investment firm Bain Capital has held a majority interest in the company since 2000, when the Broder family sold the company.