Hat World to Invest $21.77M in Major HQ, Distribution Expansion in Indiana

by Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Hat World Inc. has announced it would invest $21.77 million in the expansion of its headquarters and distribution operations in central Indiana and create up to 758 jobs by 2025.

As part of its expansion, the Indianapolis-based company will build and equip a new 150,000-square-foot headquarters office at Creekside Corporate Park in Zionsville.

According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, the development is slated to rise on 15.6 acres of land that the Zionsville Redevelopment Commission has agreed to sell to Hat World for $577,200. The transaction is expected to close in May.

Hat World also plans to lease more than 600,000 square feet of additional warehouse space in Indianapolis. The company currently operates out of 225,000 square feet of leased space in Park 100 and another 285,000 square feet of leased space on 76th street on the northwest side of the city.

Hat World will relocate its headquarter operations to Zionsville and fill approximately 300 new administrative, finance, human resources and business development positions in late 2015 or early 2016. The company will also hire new manufacturing, distribution and warehouse associates in Indianapolis in the third quarter of this year.

If it meets its job creation plans, Hat World will receive up to $3.4 million in conditional tax credits and up to $300,000 in training grants from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. The city of Indianapolis is also supporting the expansion at the request of Develop Indy, a business unit of the Indy Chamber, while the town of Zionsville is considering additional tax abatement and incentives.

Hat World, which does business as Lids Sports Group, manufactures hats and other sports apparel and operates more than 1,000 retail stores under the brands of LIDS, Locker Room by LIDS, LIDS Clubhouse and LIDS Team Sports.

The company opened its first store in Lafayette in 1995 and currently employs more than 1,000 associates in Indiana and more than 9,000 retail associates across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. In 2004, it was acquired by Nashville, Tenn.-based Genesco Inc.

“Hat World has seen tremendous growth in the past decade and I’m happy to see them continue to grow here in Indy,” Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said in a news release. “As the company continues to grow, the expansion of their manufacturing and distribution operations in Indy shows a confidence in our workforce and our central location to support their ever-growing production needs.”

Photo credits: LIDS Sports Group