Burlington: Getting into the game

Burlington socks have always been synonymous with quality Filipino athletic socks. Now on its 40th year, Burlington is expanding its line to become a "complete athletic garments and accessory" company.

"We want to be known not only as the premier socks company but also as a brand offering different products and accessories similar to Nike and Adidas," said Rudy Tan, general manager for Burlington Industries Phils.

Few companies ever reach 40 years. As such, Tan believes they have to keep on exerting a lot more effort to maintain their lead in the business. In fact, Burlington has always been in search for new technologies to compliment their products. One such breakthrough is the "Bio-Fresh" technology that destroys the bacteria in socks and towels, keeping it fresh even after 52 washings.

Tan said the Bio-fresh line of socks and towels are now gaining a lot of support from their loyal market. As such, Burlington will be expanding its Bio-Fresh products. For the first quarter of the year, the Bio-Fresh Foot spray will be introduced in the market.

Aside from the Bio-Fresh product lines, Burlington is expanding its women’s line with body hugging girdles that gives the shape but is comfortable enough to let the wearer breathe. In addition, Burlington is introducing stockings that help maintain blood circulation in the legs to prevent the breakout of varicose veins or at least from getting worse.

Also, being the official socks of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Tan said they are continuously looking for ways to better improve their products. Their latest training socks which was recently offered in the market is the "Shock XT" extra thick socks. This was developed by Burlington together with Kirk Collier, the basketball trainor for San Miguel. "Shock XT" socks come with a special padding for critical portions of the feet. These socks, though extra thick are still light and specifically designed to strengthen the feet and prevent injuries during training.

These innovative products, Tan said, is just part of the company’s efforts to meet the changing needs of its clientele. Nonetheless, Tan says that one of the major reasons for Burlington’s success over the years is that they have maintained the quality of their products and at the same time kept their prices a lot lower than the imported brands.

As such, even with the influx of cheaper products from China, Burlington still maintains a loyal following who prefers quality products that are competitively-priced. Thus, to show their appreciation, Burlington will be coming up this year with different ways to reward their loyal customers.

From two hosiery machines in 1967 to 200 computerized machines today, this Filipino company has gone a long way. Hopefully, other local companies can also tell of their own success stories in the years to come.