What D&L Apparel does

D&L Apparel, Ltd. is a privately held, family-owned wholesale distributor of name brand apparel headquartered in a 50,000 square foot facility in Chicago's Jefferson Park neighborhood. Founded in 1985 by Lee Cooperman (who started the business out of his Lake Shore Drive condo and previously managed a retail store in St. Louis), the company sources outerwear, jeans, footwear, swim, shorts, and accessories from top brand suppliers and resells them at competitive, below-wholesale pricing. The product line spans four categories — Menswear, Womenswear, Kids, and Accessories — serving small independent retail store owners and off-price/discount retailers across the United States.

The business model is transactional wholesale distribution on a per-order basis, with no subscription or recurring revenue component. Pricing is quote-based and obtained through direct contact via phone (773-736-0855), fax (773-736-0367), the company website contact form, or in-person at industry trade shows. The go-to-market motion is event-driven: D&L exhibits as a primary acquisition channel at the OFFPrice Show Las Vegas (Booth #50103) and the Worldwide Trade Show in Reno (Booth #119), with a relationship-driven inside sales team (e.g., Lindsay Mazurek) that curates inbound inventory recommendations for each buyer's store mix. There is no proprietary technology platform, no API, no AI/ML capability, and no digital advertising or content marketing — the company operates as a traditional offline wholesaler supplemented by organic social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and earned trade press coverage in Off Price magazine (2016, 2019), California Apparel News (2018), and the Offprice Vendor Profile.

The company has no disclosed funding, no parent company, and no institutional investors. Leadership consists of founder Lee Cooperman alongside his son Brandon (joined 2010) and daughter Ashlee (joined 2018), making it a multi-generational family business. The company is described as "an industry leader for over 35 years" and continues to actively exhibit at trade shows in 2026, indicating ongoing operations.

Name

D&L Apparel

Legal name

D&L Apparel, Ltd.

Website

https://dlapparel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

D&L Apparel, Ltd. is a privately held, family-owned Chicago-based wholesale distributor of name brand apparel — including menswear, womenswear, kids, and accessories — selling at below-wholesale pricing to small independent retail store owners and off-price buyers across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Wholesale distribution of name brand apparel: D&L Apparel generates revenue by purchasing name brand sportswear, outerwear, jeans, footwear, swim, shorts, and accessories from brand suppliers and reselling them to retail buyers at competitive, below-wholesale pricing. Revenue is transactional per order rather than recurring or subscription-based, with a focus on quick turnaround and timely shipping. Buyers contact D&L directly (phone, fax, trade show) to place purchase orders against available inventory.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

D&L Apparel, Ltd. is a wholesale distributor of name brand sportswear, outerwear, jeans, footwear, swim, shorts, and accessories for men, women, and kids. The company sources apparel from top brand suppliers and resells it to retail buyers at competitive, below-wholesale pricing, with quick turnaround on orders fulfilled from its 50,000 sq ft Chicago distribution facility.

Product overview

D&L Apparel, Ltd. operates as a single-line wholesale distribution business (not a software platform with modules) organized around four product categories for name brand apparel: Accessories, Menswear, Womenswear, and Kids. The company sources outerwear, jeans, footwear, swim, shorts, and accessories from top brands and distributes them to retail buyers at competitive below-wholesale pricing, with quick turnaround on orders and dedicated customer service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Menswear Wholesale category of men's apparel distributed to retail buyers, including jeans, polos, woven shirts, shorts, jackets, swimwear, t-shirts, and hoodies sourced from name brand suppliers.
• Womenswear Wholesale category of women's apparel distributed to retail buyers, including jeans, polos, woven shirts, shorts, jackets, swimwear, t-shirts, and hoodies sourced from name brand suppliers.
• Kids Wholesale category of kids' apparel distributed to retail buyers, including polos, shorts, woven shirts, and swimwear sourced from name brand suppliers.
• Accessories Wholesale category of accessories distributed to retail buyers, including headwear, belts, wallets, handbags, luggage, home goods, jewelry, and footwear sourced from name brand suppliers.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship / primary acquisition channel and secondary trade show venue.

• OFFPrice Show Las Vegasflagship / primary acquisition channelGTM or Marketing PartnerD&L Apparel is an exhibitor at the OFFPrice Show Las Vegas, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, occupying Booth #50103 for the February 17–19, 2026 edition. The OFFPrice Show is a major apparel trade show focused on the off-price retail sector, and D&L has maintained a booth presence there (customer testimonials reference purchasing from D&L's booth at the off-price show in Vegas). This is D&L's primary customer acquisition venue.
• Worldwide Trade Show (Reno)secondary trade show venueGTM or Marketing PartnerD&L Apparel is an exhibitor at the Worldwide Trade Show (hosted by Worldwide Buy Group) at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, occupying Booth #119 for the February 3–5, 2026 edition. Provides D&L a secondary domestic trade show venue for reaching off-price and wholesale apparel buyers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Li & Fung: Global apparel sourcing and distribution giant that supplies major retailers and off-price chains worldwide. A much larger incumbent operating in the same apparel distribution value chain as D&L but at vastly greater scale and breadth.
• G-III Apparel Group: Apparel manufacturer and distributor holding licenses and owned brands across menswear, womenswear, and accessories. Overlaps with D&L's product categories but operates at a much larger scale with proprietary and licensed brands rather than pure resale of name brands.
• Delta Galil Industries: Global manufacturer and distributor of branded and private label intimate, activewear, and basics apparel. Comparable category overlap with D&L (apparel distribution) but with manufacturing scale and proprietary brand portfolios that D&L does not have.
• Mast Industries: Off-price apparel sourcing arm (historically part of Limited Brands) supplying branded apparel to off-price and retail channels. Operates in the same off-price sourcing-and-distribution layer as D&L but at materially larger scale and through a different ownership structure.

Direct peers

• E. Gluck Corporation: Wholesale distributor of watches, accessories, and select apparel serving mass-market and off-price retailers. Comparable to D&L's accessories distribution arm and below-wholesale positioning toward SMB and off-price buyers.
• Randa Apparel & Accessories: Wholesale distributor and licensor of men's and women's apparel, accessories, and footwear working with name brand and licensed brands. Comparable to D&L in distributing across multiple categories of name brand apparel/accessories to retail buyers.
• Gemini Shirt Company: Off-price apparel distributor of branded men's and women's sportswear serving independent and off-price retailers. Overlaps with D&L in customer type, product categories, and off-price wholesale positioning.
• Surati International: Importer and wholesaler of off-price apparel, footwear, and accessories sold to independent retailers and off-price chains. Comparable to D&L in serving the off-price ecosystem with multi-category branded merchandise.
• The Levy Group: Family-owned off-price apparel and accessories wholesaler serving a similar SMB and off-price retail buyer base with name brand apparel across multiple categories. Most directly comparable to D&L's business model, customer type, and below-wholesale pricing approach.
• Trimark Sportswear Group: Off-price wholesaler and supplier of branded apparel, footwear, and accessories to small and mid-sized retailers. Directly comparable in target buyer segment, product breadth, and the below-wholesale price position.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/dlapparel
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• Instagraminstagram.com/dlapparel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 D&L Apparel