Jockey 2300 60th St., Kenosha Industry: Retail/apparel manufacturing Employees: 1,000 (300 in Kenosha) jockey.com The average person might not associate underwear and sleepwear with innovation, but that’s exactly what’s kept Kenosha-based Jockey International Inc. going for nearly 150 years. Jockey has more than 300 employees based in Kenosha and approximately 1,000 throughout the United States.
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Mark Fedyk[/caption]
“We continue to expand slightly, slowly, our head count, along with our real estate presence,” he said.
In 2021, Jockey acquired CapeAble Weighted Products, which is based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company makes weighted products including blankets, vests, wraps and more.
Jockey also opened a satellite office in downtown Nashville in June 2024. The office is just three miles away from Coopers 12South, a retail store Jockey also opened in partnership with Bryan.
In Kenosha, the company’s most notable recent real estate investment was the 2021 purchase of the former Jack Andrea store, located at 2401 60th St. in the city’s Uptown neighborhood. The family-owned and -operated gift shop had been a community staple before announcing its closure in early 2021. Jockey reopened the business as Coopers Uptown, a community gathering space, cafe and gift shop named after the company’s founder, Rev. Samuel T. Cooper.
“We didn’t want the Andrea family’s legacy to leave this community and be forgotten. That was our primary motivation,” said Fedyk. “We also wanted to make an investment in the city of Kenosha, particularly in the Uptown community, which has had its challenges since the loss of the Chrysler engine plant.”
More than 70 businesses in and around the Uptown neighborhood were impacted by the riots that followed the Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake in August 2020. Jockey is one of many Kenosha-based companies and local organizations that have worked to rebuild Uptown.
Fedyk also serves on the board of the Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood, which is working to redevelop the 107-acre former American Motors Corp. and Chrysler plant site. The plant closed in 2010 when the auto manufacturer filed for bankruptcy.
“Between our founder and our current family ownership, we’ve always put the mission of faithfully serving families and communities first, and I think that’s really been the foundation of a lot of our success,” said Fedyk.
Among Jockey’s numerous philanthropic efforts is the creation of the Best Buy Teen Tech Center, located within the new Kenosha Emerging Leaders Academy at 2222 63rd St., and the new Teen Achievers program, in partnership with the YMCA, to provide a free, safe space where children can gather after the school day. The program serves as an extension of the school day with a focus on math, reading, relationship skills and social awareness.
Jockey also supports a local Sylvan Learning tutoring program to help kids between third grade and high school catch up on math and reading.
Another program, called the Kenosha Robo Crew, gives students hands-on experience in applying science, technology, engineering and math. The program takes place at Shoreland Lutheran High School.
“We were founded by a minister – you don’t get much more faithful in serving families and communities than that. It’s just part of our DNA,” said Fedyk of Jockey’s corporate stewardship efforts.
As Jockey enters 2025 – its 150th year in business – Fedyk said the community can expect much of the same from the company: intentional growth that aligns with their founder’s original values.
“We’re going to continue to accelerate, expanding the reach of the brand,” said Fedyk. “While we’re concerned about growing the size of the business, we’re more concerned about growing the impact of the brand.”