Munsingwear Original Penguin - Fashion Company Profile
Munsingwear Original Penguin is the Minneapolis-born brand inside Perry Ellis International - the underwear maker founded in 1886 that introduced the first iconic golf shirt to America in 1955 under a stuffed penguin named Pete, and whose Original Penguin brand was relaunched in 2003 for a new generation.
Company Snapshot
- Status
- Operating - as the Original Penguin brand, a division of Perry Ellis International
- Type
- Brand of Perry Ellis International, Inc. (private since 2018); Munsingwear's North American apparel rights were acquired by Perry Ellis International's predecessor Supreme International in 1996
- Headquarters
- The original company was based in Minneapolis, Minnesota; the brand is managed by Perry Ellis International from Miami, Florida
- Founded
- 1886, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by George D. Munsing, Frank H. Page and Edward O. Tuttle (incorporated as the Northwestern Knitting Company in 1887); the Original Penguin golf shirt followed in 1955
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Company Profile
Current Original Penguin products are on the brand's website, linked above; the shop box covers Original Penguin and Munsingwear products sold through Amazon and eBay. The brand's corporate home is Perry Ellis International, the Miami company whose full portfolio record sits on its own profile in this letter: Supreme International acquired the Munsingwear label and Penguin logo rights in 1996, became Perry Ellis International in 1999, relaunched Original Penguin by Munsingwear as a heritage lifestyle brand in 2003, and went private in 2018. The penguin itself - Pete, bought from a New York taxidermist's window by a traveling salesman, in the story told in full on the history page - remains the mark on the golf shirts and sportswear the brand sells today.
The now famous ORIGINAL PENGUIN logo has an interesting story behind it, kept exactly as the historical record tells it. As history tells us, one of Munsingwear's salesmen spotted a flock of penguins in the window of a New York taxidermist, and on what seems like a lark, bought one of the stuffed birds. Before long, Pete the penguin became the official mascot and logo of the golf shirts. A directory rarely gets a founding myth this compact: no design committee, no brand consultancy, just a salesman, a shop window and a stuffed bird carried back as a joke that turned into one of American sportswear's most recognizable marks.
Munsingwear Original Penguin History
The earlier record for this company - its history, past brand line-ups, figures and photographs from the periods described - is kept on a separate page for historical reference.
Munsingwear Original Penguin History & Historical Profile →Common Questions
Who owns Munsingwear and Original Penguin today?
Perry Ellis International. Its predecessor Supreme International acquired the Munsingwear label and Penguin logo rights in 1996, and Original Penguin operates as a Perry Ellis International division/brand. Perry Ellis International itself has been privately held since 2018.
When was Munsingwear founded?
In 1886, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by George D. Munsing, Frank H. Page and Edward O. Tuttle; the business was incorporated as the Northwestern Knitting Company in 1887 and later took the Munsingwear name. The Original Penguin golf shirt was introduced in 1955.
What is Pete the penguin?
The brand's mascot and logo. In the story kept on the history page, a Munsingwear salesman bought a stuffed penguin from a New York taxidermist's window on a lark, and Pete became the official mascot and logo of the golf shirts.
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