By George! Look at that shirt!

By JORDAN K. SPEER

Have you seen the new George shirts at Wal-Mart? If not, you might want to check them out, says Manuel Meza, president of El Salvador-based dress shirt manufacturer, Picacho. You might be surprised at the high quality, especially incredible when you consider the low price points, he says.

Meza would know. His factory is one of a select few that churned out George shirts all summer to prepare for the label's U.S. launch in September. Many of his factory's lines were dedicated to the blue and white shirts, seen above. The company, and its sister division, also manufacture items including woven sport shirts and blouses, woven uniforms, woven boxer shorts and casual pants. On a recent tour of Picacho's facilities, Apparel also saw camouflage lounge pants coming down the line, also destined for Wal-Mart.

The family-owned business places the highest focus on meeting quality standards, says Mauricio Caballero, plant manager. In addition to manufacturing for Wal-Mart, Picacho is formally certified by JCPenney, Kohl's, Target, Wilk International, Phillips-Van Heusen, Capital Mercury and L.L. Bean.

Picacho has traditionally offered cut-make-trim (CMT) programs, but has also expanded into full package production. For the latter, the company is currently focused on the regional market, but is looking to offer full package to a broader range of customers going forward, says Meza.

JORDAN K. SPEER is senior editor of Apparel and may be reached at jspeer@apparelmag.com

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Picacho S.A. de C.V.

503-338-5676 . mmeza@picacho.com.sv www.picacho.com.sv