NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, has selected Hardwick Clothes, America’s oldest tailored clothing brand to provide in-studio apparel for its production of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, which take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5 – August 21. The announcement was made today by Anne Grotefeld, Vice President of Game Services, NBC Olympics, and Bruce Bellusci, President and CEO, Hardwick Clothes.
As an apparel provider, Hardwick Clothes will produce tailored clothing for the roster of select studio hosts and analysts during the coverage.
“Hardwick Clothes is extremely honored to contribute to NBC Olympics’ coverage of the Rio Games,” says Bellusci.
“NBC Olympics is proud to work with Hardwick Clothes, which has a long history of American tradition,” said Grotefeld.
Hardwick Clothes, Inc., located and operated in Cleveland, Tenn., has been producing clothing domestically for over 135 years. The Olympics deal comes only two years after Hardwick was purchased by Cleveland millionaire Allan Jones in bankruptcy court, and put on an aggressive trajectory of reinvention. The plant has also been retrofitted with $2.5 million worth of new manufacturing machinery, and has invested in new types of high-end fabrics, linings and buttons – not to mention top industry talent and training.