Charles Parsons

What Charles Parsons does

Charles Parsons is Australasia's leading wholesale supplier of textile products and solutions, distributing roll stock fabrics, finished home textiles, garment components, and recreational lifestyle products to garment manufacturers, retailers, designers, and vertical retailers across Australia, New Zealand, and selected export markets in Asia, Europe, and North America. Founded in 1915 as a 4th-generation family-owned private business headquartered in Redfern (Sydney), the group operates through a horizontal portfolio of proprietary and acquired brands across apparel fabrics (Charles Parsons Apparel Fabrics, Eclipse Textiles, Merino State), home textiles and interiors (Charles Parsons Interiors, KS Textiles, Rapee, Rowe, Maison, Gainsborough), recreational lifestyle products (Darche), commercial print media (Adversol), technical and fire-resistant fabrics, and textile conversion services (New York Bias Binding). The business also owns S+R Fashions, a vertically integrated women's fashion garment designer and manufacturer serving Australasian vertical retailers.

The group makes money primarily through B2B wholesale of fabrics and components (quote-based pricing, multi-year contract cadence) plus finished-goods sales under proprietary brands and licensed distribution arrangements for technical fire-resistant brands (Westex UltraSoft, Polartec FR, DHJ, Helsa, Intissel, Lainier, Wendler). Go-to-market combines direct division-specific B2B sales teams across four operating divisions (Apparel, Trimmings, Technical, Interiors), stockist networks in ANZ, Darche's own e-commerce site, and growing international export via the Shanghai manufacturing/conversion office. The technology base rests on registered proprietary trademarks — Thermaweave™ and Thermaback™ for thermal-lined curtains, Max-Treme® canvas and Air-Volution™ inflatable tent technology for Darche, and an exclusive Australasian LYCRA® distribution partnership with Italian mills Carvico, Jersey Lomellina, and Eurojersey — supported by a 50+ year in-house textile testing laboratory. Customer concentration skews toward enterprise vertical retailers in fashion (Sportsgirl, Sussan, French Connection, Seed Heritage), campervan rental (Britz), and marine sponsorship (ChinaSpirit).

Name

Charles Parsons

Legal name

Charles Parsons & Co Pty Ltd

Website

https://charlesparsons.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Charles Parsons is Australasia's leading wholesale supplier of textile products and solutions, distributing roll stock fabrics, finished home textiles, garment components, and recreational outdoor products to manufacturers, retailers, and designers across Australia, New Zealand, and export markets through a portfolio of proprietary and acquired brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Redfern

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wholesale textile sales: Charles Parsons generates revenue through wholesale supply of roll stock fabrics and components to garment manufacturers, from basics to high fashion, performance sport, school and corporate wear. The company sells to retailers, designers, and manufacturers across Australia and New Zealand with growing exports to Asia and Northern Hemisphere.
2. Finished goods sales: Sale of finished home textile products including cushions, throws, napery, drapery, upholstery, and outdoor/recreational products (swags, tents, sleeping gear) under proprietary brands.
3. Brand licensing and distribution: Licensed and distribution brands including Westex UltraSoft, Polartec FR, DHJ, Helsa, Intissel, Lainier, and Wendler for fire resistant fabrics and trimmings.
4. Fashion garment manufacturing: Designs and manufactures fashion garments for well known Australasian vertical retailers through S+R Fashions acquisition.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Charles Parsons is a wholesale supplier of textile products and solutions, providing roll stock fabrics, finished home textile products, apparel fabrics, garment components, and recreational outdoor gear to garment manufacturers, retailers, designers, and vertical retailers across Australia, New Zealand, and export markets. The company operates through multiple divisions and proprietary brands covering apparel fabrics, interiors/homewares, technical textiles, and recreational lifestyle products, with in-house laboratory testing and design-to-manufacturing capabilities.

Product overview

Charles Parsons is Australasia's leading wholesale supplier of textile products and solutions, operating as a multi-faceted group of businesses. The product portfolio spans multiple categories: (1) Interior and home furnishing textiles through Charles Parsons Interiors (drapery, upholstery, linings, ready-made curtains) and brands like Rowe and Maison; (2) Bedding and Manchester through KS Textiles; (3) Home accessories through Rapee (cushions, throws, napery); (4) Recreational lifestyle products through Darche (outdoor gear, swags, tents, sleeping bags); (5) Apparel fabrics including Charles Parsons Apparel Fabrics, Eclipse Textiles (LYCRA stretch fabrics), and Merino State (merino wool); (6) Garment components including Trims and Componentry, Bias & Bindings (textile conversion), and Fire Resistant Fabrics; (7) Commercial print media through Adversol. The company designs and manufactures fashion garments for vertical retailers and supplies to garment manufacturers across fashion, corporate wear, sports, and technical applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Charles Parsons Interiors: Leading supplier and wholesaler of interior textiles for drapery, upholstery, lining and home furnishings to retailers, designers and manufacturers.
• Charles Parsons Apparel Fabrics
• KS Textiles
• Rapee
• Rowe
• Maison
• Adversol
• Darche
• Eclipse Textiles
• Merino State
• New York Bias Binding (NYBB)
• Trimmings & Componentry
• Fire Resistant Fabrics
• Gainsborough
• Line 7
• Ella Blue
• LXÉ

Products and services

• Charles Parsons Interiors

Quantifiable outcome

• Australasia's leading wholesale supplier of textile products

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ChinaSpiritcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2013ChinaSpirit, the exclusive Chinese Multiplatform Performance Sailing Team based in Shanghai and endorsed by the Chinese Government, selected Line 7 Marine as 'Official Clothing Partner'. This partnership provides Line 7 with international exposure in the sailing/marine market through Chinese sailing team sponsorship.
• Carvico, Jersey Lomellina, EurojerseycoreTechnology or IntegrationExclusive Australasian agency relationship with three well renowned Italian manufacturers of LYCRA® products. This partnership guarantees superior quality and state of the art technology for Eclipse Textiles stretch fabric offerings, covering Swimwear, Active Sports, Fashion, Dancewear and Intimate Apparel industries.
• BritzcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDarche supplies Britz Campervans (largest campervan rental company in Australia) with Darche roof top tents and awnings, fitted on their new fleet of Toyota Safari Landcruisers starting May 2015.
• Westex UltraSoft, Polartec FR, DHJ, Helsa, Intissel, Lainier, WendlerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLicensed and distribution brands for fire resistant fabrics and trimmings componentry, operated as part of Charles Parsons product portfolio under distribution arrangements.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Carvico: Italian stretch fabric manufacturer producing LYCRA®-based textiles for swimwear, sportswear and fashion. Currently a Charles Parsons supplier (exclusive ANZ agency) but could also be viewed as a global stretch-fabric peer in adjacent geographies.

Direct peers

• Haddington International: Australian-owned textile converter and wholesaler with apparel, interior and industrial fabric lines. Comparable in product breadth, B2B wholesale model, and ANZ customer base.
• Bruck Textiles: Australian textile wholesaler and converter supplying apparel, homeware, and industrial fabrics. Directly comparable to Charles Parsons as a piece-goods wholesaler serving ANZ manufacturers and retailers.
• Klopman International: European workwear and technical fabric manufacturer and wholesaler. Comparable to Charles Parsons' technical/fire-resistant fabric portfolio and B2B distribution to workwear and uniform customers.
• Coats Group: Global leader in apparel thread, trims, and components. Comparable to Charles Parsons' Trimmings & Componentry division and shared B2B garment supply customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Milliken & Company: Large diversified US textile manufacturer with technical fabrics, performance materials and floor coverings. Comparable in technical textile capabilities but operates at much greater scale and global reach.
• Toray Industries: Global Japanese textile conglomerate producing synthetic fibers, performance fabrics and industrial textiles. Comparable to Charles Parsons' performance/technical fabric business but at a vastly larger, publicly listed scale.
• Pacific Brands / Hanes Australasia: Major Australasian apparel manufacturer and brand owner. Comparable in apparel manufacturing and ANZ distribution but focused on finished garments rather than fabric wholesale.
• Spotlight Group: Australia's largest specialty retailer of fabrics and homewares (Spotlight, Anaconda). Partially comparable as a fabric wholesaler/retailer overlap in ANZ but skewed more toward retail.

Emerging players

• TenCate Protective Fabrics: Specialist in flame-resistant and protective technical fabrics. Comparable to Charles Parsons' Fire Resistant Fabrics division, sharing industrial safety customers but with European geographic orientation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/charlesparsons
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charles-parsons

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Charles Parsons