Page 12 - InTheLoop(April-June2020)

Heart to Heart with Brian Ullmann, Sales Director Target

Visiting Interloop’s Research & Innovation Center with Yaser Riaz,
Head of R & I

Prewett companies in 2008 and I remained with them for 3
years until I joined Interloop in 2011.

How did you come to work at Interloop?
Brian Ullmann in Shanghai for a Target Global Summit The day I lost my job working for Gildan, the stars must
have been in alignment. I called home and told my family
How did you happen to work in the hosiery that I was unemployed and had a long flight back to New
Jersey. The minute I walked into the house, I received a
business? call from my good friend, Emily Cunningham. I broke my
Most young kids when growing up want to be a fireman, news to Emily and she arranged a call and a meeting with
doctor, professional athlete, etc. My father was in the hosiery Tim Graham and the team. The rest is history!
business when I was growing up so from a very young age
I told my parents that I wanted to grow up to be a sock
salesman just like my dad and that’s what I did!

Tell us about your career
After graduating from college in 1974, I joined Morse Shoe
Inc. in their management trainee program and managed a
shoe store for 2 years. My first opportunity in the sock
business came about when I responded to a newspaper
ad for a sales position at Kayser Roth. They hired me to
sell private label & Fruit of the Loom socks. After a few
years of selling socks, I was offered an opportunity in the
apparel business with McCain Manufacturing. After a brief
stay, I realized that I missed the sock business and the
people in the industry. In 1980 I took a job with V.I. Prewett
Hosiery in Fort Payne, Alabama and have been in the sock Interloop group at Target HQ for collaboration
business ever since. Gildan Activewear purchased the

Target Own Brands Sourcing and Development team visits Texlan, Sri Lanka. Left: Musadaq Zulqarnain, Shelley Rider, Farzana Musadaq, Jinni Shi (Target),
Ovais Fazal (Target,) Chris Vierig (Target) & Brian Ullmann

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