fashion retail headquarters sydney australia number of locations 47 products clothing footwear eyewear accessories 1 2 website www.generalpants.com.au general pants co. also known as general pants is an australian fashion retailer operating across act nsw vic qld sa and wa that sells both international and national brands . the retailer specialises in streetwear denim skate clothing and surfwear . as of april 2014 the company operates 47 stores . 3 contents 1 history 2 controversy 3 references 4 further reading 5 external links history edit general pants company was originally conceived and started by tom and bronwyn tsipris on 20 april 1972 . they opened their first store on george street wynyard sydney and grew the chain to 20 stores throughout the sydney metropolitan and regional areas . in addition to general pants they purchased the surf dive n ski nsw chain in 1979 which they expanded and ran in conjunction with the general pants stores . on december 1 1995 they sold the general pants stores to the smorgon group . the surf dive n ski stores were later sold to the smorgon jetty surf group in 2005 . who later sold it to billabong . the international company acquired the retail stores numbering 38 at the time of sale for 35 to 45 million 4 on 1 november 2010 two licensed billabong stores were also included as part of the sale . 5 the brand entered into a partnership with the peer group media company in 2010 to launch the major label music initiative . as of april 2013 major label is a record label that is wholly owned by general pants co. and allows artists to maintain ownership of copyright retail full creative control and receive all of the royalty income that is generated through digital music sales . 6 the label only releases singles and the staff of general pants co. act as the label s talent scouts and promoters artists have been invited to submit their demo recordings at general pants co. retails store locations . guineafowl circle pit and high highs were the first three acts that signed deals with the label and sydney australia band buzz kull were chosen in the may june 2013 period . 7 8 9 controversy edit in 2011 the company published a racy poster advertisement depicting a scantily clad woman with another person s hands unzipping her pants . 10 the australian advertising standards bureau logged 37 complaints about the advertisement . 10 the company later censored the posters after consumer complaints covering parts of the posters . 11 also during this time the company was criticised for forcing its store employees to wear badges stating i love sex and for using naked mannequins in its stores . 11 after consumer complaints the company covered the mannequins in their stores but continued to have employees wear the i love sex badges . 11 some female store employees expressed disapproval of being made to wear the badges with one referring to it as inappropriate and another stating that she felt uncomfortable wearing the badge finding it embarrassing and demeaning . 11 references edit mens . general pants co. general pants . 2013 . retrieved 14 april 2013 . womens . general pants co. general pants . 2013 . retrieved 14 april 2013 . staff writers 18 july 2011 . general pants moves into perth . perthnow . retrieved 29 october 2013 . ooi teresa 2 october 2010 . surfwear retailer billabong in 35m general pants deal . the australian . retrieved 29 october 2013 . eli greenblat 2 october 2010 . billabong snaps up surf dive n ski jerry surf stores . the sydney morning herald . retrieved 10 april 2013 . general pants co. partners with peer group media to launch major label . peer group . peer group media . 28 january 2010 . retrieved 14 april 2013 . major label signs mildlife . sounds of oz . sounds of oz . 23 march 2012 . retrieved 14 april 2013 . general pants champions singles with major label . sounds of oz . sounds of oz . 2 march 2010 . retrieved 14 april 2013 . major label our winners . general pants co. general pants . may june 2013 . retrieved 14 april 2013 . a b galleries most complained about ads of 2011 . the australian . retrieved 29 october 2013 . a b c d speranza laura 8 may 2011 . youth retailer general pants in strife over i love sex badges naked mannequins . herald sun . retrieved 29 october 2013 . aussie clothing company general pants co. accused of lookism hiring only good looking sales staff . tnt magazine . 2012 08 17 . retrieved 2013 10 29 . reist melinda tankard 10 may 2011 . i love sex general pants gives customer service a whole new meaning . australian broadcasting corporation . retrieved 29 october 2013 . speranza laura fraser kelmeny 8 may 2011 . massive backlash after general pants co s racy campaign sees young staff forced to wear i love sex badges . the courier mail . retrieved 29 october 2013 . cs1 maint multiple names authors list link general pants to censor sex campaign . ad news magazine . 3 may 2011 . retrieved 29 october 2013 . further reading edit leek genevra 2010 10 05 . jess hart does artistic t shirts for general pants co . vogue.com.au . retrieved 2013 10 29 . front row ruby rose shines at the general pants show on opening night of mercedes benz fashion festival sydney . the daily telegraph . 22 august 2013 . retrieved 29 october 2013 . henderson brittany . candice lake for general pants . instyle magazine . retrieved 29 october 2013 . kesa ingrid 1 november 2011 . social snaps general pants halloween party . oyster magazine . retrieved 29 october 2013 . external links edit official website elsom and general pants in actual pain over plagiarism accusations exclusive . the vine . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title general pants co. & oldid 724838562 categories 1972 establishments in australiaclothing retailers of australiaretail companies established in 1972hidden categories use dmy dates from november 2011use australian english from november 2011all wikipedia articles written in australian englishcs1 maint multiple names 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