Quality since 1947

As a US Navy frogman and member of an underwater demolition team, William Haynie "Will" Rice served in China, behind Japanese lines during WWII and was awarded the Chinese Medal of Honor for his bravery. After the war, Will returned home to Belton, a small town in the piedmont region of South Carolina, and founded Rice Mills in 1947. He served as president of the company until his retirement. Initially producing terry cloth bathrobes, with Will's leadership, Rice Mills emerged as a customer oriented clothing manufacturer, providing high quality apparel and outstanding customer service at a fair price. In addition, Rice Mills became a great place to work for the people of Belton and surrounding areas.

Rice Mills grew and evolved into a manufacturer and importer of men's and ladies bathrobes, wraps and kimonos as well as jackets and pajamas for adults and children. These products were made for national retailers, such as JCPenney, Sears and Lands End, and for the wholesale market.

Stiff Competition from Off-Shore

By the mid-1990's, off-shore importers began to aggressively cut prices, driving most of the U.S. cut and sew operations out of business. To keep it's mill running, Rice Mills partnered with high quality manufacturers in Pakistan, Turkey, Mexico and ultimately China. By supplementing Rice Mills production with imported goods, customers could be served with more competitive prices, quality and exceptional service. This strategy was successful until the 2004-2006 period, when major retail customers began going directly to Rice Mill's offshore partners and further reducing the prices they were willing to pay the mill to unacceptable levels.

Direct-from-the-mill via the Internet

In the Fall of 2005, to try to offset losses from sales to major retailers, Rice Mills began to offer its own line of high-quality, competitively-priced family apparel for sale on the internet. The initial website was FleecebyRice.com. Designed exclusively for direct-to-the-consumer sales, the FleecebyRiceTM brand jackets, pajamas and robes have been especially popular. Also, additional products were introduced for sale on the website on a regular basis, and the RiceTM labeled brand was expanded beyond merely fleece products.

Customers expressed an interest in products made for the wholesale market under the Belton label and other imported labels. So, from time to time, when the mill received a wholesale order, it would make a few extra to be made available for the direct-to-the-consumer market. These products were top-of-the-line apparel, available at a very competitive price. In early 2006, the website was re-designed and renamed, ApparelbyRiceMills.com to reflect the broadened product offerings.

The internet business grew at a steady pace, but it was not sufficient to offset losses from the company's primary business with retailers. Consequently, in early 2007, the owners of the company, after absorbing two years of losses, and no prospects for a turn-around, made the difficult decision to close down operations after nearly 60 years.

Keeping a Good Idea going

Because the website continued to prosper, it was purchased by former Rice Mills associates who had a combined 30 years experience at the mill and who wanted to continue the good idea of offering quality and value to individual consumers direct-from-the-mill. Inventory to support orders of the products offered on the website was also purchased, to allow time to obtain product sourcing from other domestic and off-shore quality suppliers.

Because of direct sales to you from some remaining U.S. apparel manufacturers and other global apparel manufacturing partners, we are able to provide product quality and performance equivalent to that of upscale major retailers and catalogs, while passing on substantial savings to you. With the demise of Rice Mills, the new owners renamed the website FactoryApparelDirect.com in the summer of 2007.

Factory Apparel Direct continues the Tradition

We are still privately owned. We continue to believe in the importance of craftsmanship, products and services provided for our customers. We take pride in every garment that we offer to our customers. We value the traditions and values that were the foundation of Rice Mills and that sustained it for 60 years. In the new age of the internet and global enterprise, we are committed to hold to these values and traditions as we continue to serve our customers.

Like Will Rice, we put our customers first. We have adapted to global economic realities by cultivating numerous domestic apparel manufacturing and off-shore apparel manufacturing sourcing partners who, with our experience and guidance, will continue to demonstrate their ability to deliver products and services that conform to the high standards we have set for ourselves.