Lee
Lee is older than most denim brands and did not even start with clothing: in 1889 Henry David Lee founded a wholesale business for groceries and goods in Kansas. Today Lee belongs to Kontoor Brands, the same group as Wrangler, and is the smaller of its two denim labels: $750 million in revenue in 2025, five percent less than the year before.
Lee
- Origin
- United States
- Founded
- 1889
- Group
- Kontoor Brands
- Production
- Supplier list published
- Core materials
- Cotton, Polyester, Elastane
- Price level
- 2/4
How much this brand discloses, and how much of it we could verify. It is not a quality rating — a composition line cannot tell you how good a fabric is. How we calculate it
- Production disclosure 25/25
- Linked sources 20/20
- Own material check 0/15
- Fabric weight stated 0/12
- Country stated per product 0/10
- Construction detail stated 0/10
- Cost breakdown published 0/8
Evidence for the price About what this price band usually documents
Who the brand is for
For anyone looking for a comfortable everyday jean, often with some stretch. Lee sells jeans, shirts, jackets, footwear and accessories for women, men and children. The men’s Extreme Motion Straight Fit jean we checked cost $49.90 in the US shop and, according to the page, is 71 percent cotton, 28 percent polyester and one percent spandex. We could not read the European shop.
Who owns the brand
In 1889 Henry David Lee and four partners founded the H.D. Lee Mercantile Company in Kansas, which supplied groceries and other goods to retailers. In 1912 the company opened its first garment factory in Salina for overalls and work jackets, in 1913 came the one-piece Union-All, in 1925 the 101 cowboy pants. The headquarters moved to Kansas City in 1917 and, in 2019, after more than 130 years in its founding state, to Greensboro, North Carolina.
The move coincided with the change of ownership: on 23 May 2019 VF Corporation spun off its jeanswear business as Kontoor Brands, with Lee, Wrangler and Rock & Republic. Kontoor is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and reported revenue of $3.15 billion in 2025. Lee contributed $750 million, down five percent, while Wrangler grew by six percent.
In the same group, with the same factory list, the two denim brands are heading in opposite directions.
Where it is made
Lee has no factory list of its own. Kontoor Brands publishes a joint list for Lee and Wrangler, dated 30 June 2026: 823 facilities in 36 countries, 566 of them at licensees and 256 directly sourced or owned facilities in 18 countries, mainly in Bangladesh, China, Mexico, Pakistan and India. The three group-owned plants are in Yucatán and carry the name Manufacturera Lee de México: Tekax, Acanceh and Izamal.
According to the annual report, about 77 percent of all Kontoor units in 2025 came from around 330 contract facilities in 28 countries, 23 percent from its own plants in Mexico. The product page we checked names no country of origin.
What the price buys — our assessment
This section is an assessment. Lee is the group’s more affordable everyday jean, with more than a quarter polyester in the stretch style we checked. Disclosure is solid at group level but breaks off in two places: the list does not distinguish between Lee and Wrangler, and the single product names no country. Anyone wanting to know where a specific pair of Lee jeans was sewn gets no answer. At Levi's, at least the country is on the product.
Verifiable statements with a source, not a rating. We publish no ethics score of our own — for that, follow the external link.
- Production countries
- Bangladesh, China, Mexico, Pakistan, India, Guatemala, Kenya
- Supplier list published
- View the list
What we can document
- H.D. Lee Mercantile Company in Kansas 1889, first garment factory in Salina 1912, Union-All 1913, 101 cowboy pants 1925, move to Greensboro 2019 (Lee company history)
- Spin-off from VF as Kontoor Brands on 23 May 2019 with Lee, Wrangler and Rock & Republic (Kontoor press release)
- Lee revenue 2025: $750 million, down 5 percent; group $3.15 billion (Kontoor full-year release)
- Joint factory list with Wrangler, dated 30 June 2026: 823 facilities in 36 countries, three own plants “Manufacturera Lee de México” in Yucatán (our analysis of the Excel file)
- Extreme Motion Straight Fit: $49.90, 71 percent cotton, 28 percent polyester, 1 percent spandex, no country of origin (US product page, 27 September 2026)
What we cannot
- Which facilities work only for Lee — the list does not separate Lee from Wrangler
- Details in the European online shop — we could not read its pages
- The country of origin of individual items — the product page we checked names none
- Wages and unit costs — not public
Sources
7 in total · archived internally- Firmenchronik Lee — H.D. Lee Mercantile Company 1889, erste Nähfabrik 1912 in Salina, Union-All 1913, 101 im Jahr 1925, Umzug nach Greensboro 2019 — Lee Read 27 September 2026
- Pressemitteilung zur Abspaltung von VF — Abschluss 23. Mai 2019, Wrangler, Lee, Rock & Republic, NYSE: KTB — Kontoor Brands Read 27 September 2026
- Jahresmitteilung 2025 — Konzernumsatz 3,15 Mrd. USD, Lee 750 Mio. USD (−5 %), Wrangler 1,91 Mrd. USD (+6 %) — Kontoor Brands Read 27 September 2026
- Jahresbericht 10-K Geschäftsjahr 2025 — 157 Mio. Teile, 330 Vertragswerke in 28 Ländern, eigene Werke in Mexiko — Kontoor Brands / SEC Read 27 September 2026
- Seite zur Lieferkette mit Fabrikkarte — Kontoor Brands Read 27 September 2026
- Fabrikliste H1 2026, Stand 30. Juni 2026 (Excel) — Grundlage unserer Auszählung — Kontoor Brands Read 27 September 2026
- Men's Extreme Motion Straight Fit Tapered Leg Jean, 49,90 USD, 71/28/1, ohne Herkunftsangabe — Lee Read 27 September 2026
Reader reviews of Lee
These are readers’ own experiences, not an assessment by our editorial team. We do not test — we document, and we cite. Every review is checked before it appears.
No reader review yet. Yours would be the first.
Write a review
Read on
A garment is made across several countries. The label almost always names only one of them. Which one, and what falls away in the process.
We asked twenty brands across four groups the same question: does the product page say where the item was made? The answer has nothing to do with price — and that is the real story.
Questions readers ask
Who owns Lee?
Kontoor Brands of Greensboro, North Carolina, the group behind Wrangler and Helly Hansen. Kontoor was spun off from VF Corporation on 23 May 2019 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
How old is Lee?
Henry David Lee founded the H.D. Lee Mercantile Company in Kansas in 1889, initially a wholesaler. Its first own garment factory opened in Salina in 1912, the 101 cowboy pants followed in 1925.
Where is Lee made?
In contract facilities and three own plants in Mexico. The joint list with Wrangler covers 823 facilities in 36 countries; directly sourced ones are mainly in Bangladesh, China, Mexico, Pakistan and India. The product page we checked names no country.
Are Lee and Wrangler the same company?
They belong to the same group, Kontoor Brands, and share a factory list. As brands they are separate: Lee had revenue of about $750 million in 2025, Wrangler $1.91 billion.
Is Lee growing?
No. Lee’s revenue fell by five percent to $750 million in 2025, while Wrangler, in the same group, grew by six percent.