Lion Brothers Company

What Lion Brothers Company does

Lion Brothers Company Inc. is an apparel identity and badging systems provider founded in 1899 and headquartered in Owings Mills, United States. The company specializes in sports gear customization and apparel brand identity solutions, producing embellishments and branding products for leading global brands and organizations across sports apparel, team sports, and performance wear segments. Its product portfolio encompasses heat transfers, textiles, specialty embellishments, and related services aimed at meeting demand for branded apparel driven by sports events and sponsorships.

In 2024, Lion Brothers was acquired by Avery Dennison Corporation and integrated into the latter's Apparel Solutions division, specifically into the Embelex platform. This acquisition was part of Avery Dennison's broader strategy to strengthen its position in the sports apparel embellishment market, which was valued at USD 732.84 million in 2024 and projected to reach USD 1168.44 million by 2033. The deal was executed alongside the acquisition of Silver Crystal Group.

Following the acquisition, Lion Brothers operates as a subsidiary under Avery Dennison, gaining access to global scale and a broader apparel industry value chain spanning fashion brands, sports and performance wear, luxury, workwear, and retail segments. Its capabilities now sit alongside Avery Dennison's RFID and digital ID solutions, printers and applicators, and branding and packaging offerings. Leadership continues under CEO and Chairman Susan Ganz.

Name

Lion Brothers Company

Website

https://lionbrothers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1899

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Lion Brothers Company is an apparel identity and badging systems provider, founded in 1899, specializing in sports gear customization and apparel brand identity for leading global brands. Acquired by Avery Dennison in 2024 and integrated into the Embelex platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Apparel Embellishment and Branding

NAICS

Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (31599)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949), Wholesale-Apparel, Piece Goods & Notions (5130)

akta.pro primary industry

Team Sports Equipment & Uniforms Retail (CRAMABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Athletic Footwear & Sport Apparel Retail (CRAMABAC), Team & League Branded Merchandise Retail (Non-Apparel) (CRAMAOAF)

Keywords

• Apparel embellishment
• Sports gear customization
• Apparel branding solutions
• Heat transfer products
• Apparel identity systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Owings Mills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Core offering

Lion Brothers Company provides apparel identity, badging systems, and sports gear customization solutions for leading global brands and organizations. Following its 2024 acquisition by Avery Dennison, its offerings have been integrated into Avery Dennison's Embelex platform, delivering heat transfers, textiles, specialty embellishments, and apparel brand identity products to the sports apparel and broader apparel industry.

Product overview

Lion Brothers Company, acquired by Avery Dennison, operates within Avery Dennison's Apparel Solutions division, which offers a unified platform of embellishment, identification, and branding products. The portfolio includes Embelex (heat transfers, textiles, specialty embellishments, and services), RFID and digital ID solutions (RFID labels, AD TexTrace), printers/scanners/applicators for supply chain management, and branding/packaging solutions (permanent branding, point of sale branding, packaging). These products are designed for the apparel industry value chain from factory to customer, serving fashion brands, sports and performance wear, luxury, workwear, and retail segments. The Lion Brothers acquisition specifically expanded Avery Dennison's sports gear customization and apparel brand identity capabilities within the broader embellishment and customization platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Embelex Heat Transfers Heat transfer products for apparel embellishment and branding, offered through Avery Dennison's Embelex platform. Designed for sports apparel, team sports, performance wear, and general apparel brands requiring durable branded embellishment.
• Embelex Textiles Textile-based embellishment products for apparel branding and identity applications. Targeted at apparel brands seeking textile-based decoration solutions across sports, performance, fashion, luxury, and workwear segments.
• Embelex Specialty Embellishments Specialty embellishment products serving apparel brand identity needs, including distinctive decoration and customization solutions for sports and performance wear markets.
• Apparel Identity and Badging Systems Apparel identity and badging systems delivered by Lion Brothers Company for leading global brands and organizations, forming the company's core historical offering and now part of Avery Dennison's broader embellishment portfolio.
• Sports Gear Customization Solutions Customization and personalization solutions for sports gear and apparel, supporting team sports, performance wear, and sponsorship-driven branded apparel demand.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Avery DennisoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Avery Dennison acquired Lion Brothers to expand its sports gear customization and apparel brand identity capabilities. This acquisition is part of Avery Dennison's broader strategy in the sports apparel embellishment market, which was valued at USD 732.84 million in 2024 and projected to reach USD 1168.44 million by 2033. The acquisition was made alongside Silver Crystal Group (approximately $30 million in revenue), strengthening Avery Dennison's position in the embellishment and customization space.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Augusta Sportswear: Team uniforms and athletic apparel manufacturer serving schools, leagues, and sports organizations. Comparable sports apparel customer segment and overlapping branded team merchandise use cases.
• Stahls' (Groupe STAHL / Stahls.com): Specializes in heat transfers, apparel decoration equipment, and customization services. Directly competes with Lion Brothers in the apparel embellishment and customization space serving sportswear and team apparel customers.
• JDS Industries: Manufacturer of awards, badges, nameplates, and identification products. Closely comparable to Lion Brothers' apparel identity and badging systems specialty.
• Transfer Express: A leading heat-transfer and apparel decoration supplier serving decorators, team apparel, and sportswear buyers. Highly comparable to Lion Brothers' Embelex-aligned heat transfer business.
• Trimark Athletic: Team sports apparel and headwear supplier serving collegiate, professional, and corporate clients. Comparable customer overlap with Lion Brothers in the team sports branded merchandise vertical.
• Silver Crystal Group: Sports apparel customization and embellishment provider co-acquired with Lion Brothers by Avery Dennison. Closest comparable peer given shared ownership and overlapping customer base in team sports branded merchandise.
• Groupe STAHL: Global provider of heat-transfer labels, embellishments, and textile decoration technologies for fashion, sportswear, and workwear brands. Directly comparable to Lion Brothers in apparel badging and embellishment.

Emerging players

• National Pen: Custom promotional products and imprinted apparel/branded merchandise provider. Adjacent business model in custom branded identity with some overlap in customer types to Lion Brothers' apparel identity business.
• Logo Sportswear: On-demand customizable apparel and sportswear retailer. Comparable customization-first sports apparel focus, though operating at smaller scale and via an online retail/distribution model rather than B2B embellishment.

Broad incumbents

• Avery Dennison (Apparel Solutions / Embelex): Now the parent platform of Lion Brothers via Embelex. Operates broadly across RFID, labels, embellishments, and branding for the apparel industry — overlapping capability set but at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lion Brothers Company