99-year-old textile company abruptly shutters; 122 out of work

ASHEBORO — Bossong Hosiery, which opened 99 years ago, has closed its doors, apparently for good.

A letter from Bossong to the NC Department of Commerce Division of Workforce Solutions, with attention to the Rapid Response Team, was sent on Sept. 9 saying, “This letter is being issued in accordance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, in order to notify you that Bossong Hosiery Mills, lnc is permanently closing its facility located at 840 West Salisbury Street, effective 9/09/2026.”

According to the letter, signed by company president F. Huntley Bossong, the closing affects 122 employees, including 117 in manufacturing and five office workers. All were said to have been notified of the closing.

The reason for closing was said to be the loss of credit to keep Bossong in business. The letter said that on Aug. 28, “the Company’s primary creditor unexpectedly refused to extend further credit necessary to continue business operations, despite prior indications that such credit would remain available. This sudden and unforeseeable action has made it impossible for the Company to continue operations and has forced an immediate cessation of business.”

The company, acknowledging that the WARN Act requires a 60-day advance notice of closing, says, “The Company is providing as much notice as is practicable under these circumstances. Because of these unforeseeable business circumstances, the Company is unable to provide the full 60 days’ advance notice otherwise required by the WARN Act.”

Bossong sought relief from the 60-day advance notice, saying, “The Company is also invoking the faltering company exception under 29 U.S.C. S 21. At the time that 60 days’ advance notice would otherwise have been required, the Company was actively pursuing a real estate transaction involving Company-owned property that, if consummated, would have generated sufficient liquidity to enable the Company to continue operations at the Facility for a reasonable period of time. The transaction represented a realistic opportunity to obtain needed capital, as the parties were in active negotiations and the deal was not formally terminated until August 31, 2026. 

“The Company reasonably and in good faith believed that providing WARN Act notice would have precluded it from completing this transaction, as the prospective purchaser would not have proceeded upon learning that the Company’s workforce was being notified of a potential facility closure and cessation of operations. Accordingly, the Company was unable to provide the full 60 days’ advance notice otherwise required by the WARN Act and is providing as much notice as is practicable under these circumstances.”

Company president Huntley Bossong had led a tour of the plant facilities for City of Asheboro officials and City Council members on Aug. 3. He told them that the intent was to sell the property but lease back part of it to continue manufacturing its products. He said the new owner would likely use the other part of the facility or lease it to another business.

The reason for selling, Bossong said at that time, was to raise capital. However, he said the business was doing well but was much smaller than in previous years, and that there was unused equipment they needed to get rid of. 

Attempts to get Bossong’s response to this news were unsuccessful.

Bossong Hosiery was founded in 1927 by Charles Bossong, grandfather of Huntley. The third-generation company was lately manufacturing fashion hosiery and compression wear. Some of the industry partners were Spanx, Lane Bryant, QVC, Danskin, Medline and Curad, among others.

Total size of the buildings is 131,536 square feet on approximately 9.8 acres. Once the sale was completed, Bossong intended to “lease back 92,768 square feet for a 10-year term at a market lease rate basis,” according to the real estate company, CBRE. “The buyer will be left with a very functional, fully air-conditioned 38,768 square-foot warehouse to lease to a third-party or utilize for its own purposes.”

The sales price was listed at $5,650,000.

Bossong Hosiery would have celebrated its 100th anniversary next year.