Which denim company owns the Lee and Wrangler brands through Kontoor Brands?

Kontoor Brands owns the Lee and Wrangler denim brands.

Kontoor Brands became an independent publicly traded company in 2019 after VF Corporation separated its jeanswear business from its other brands. The new company retained major denim names including Wrangler, Lee and Rock & Republic.

This ownership history is easy to confuse because VF Corporation had owned Wrangler and Lee for many years. After the spin-off, VF continued with brands such as The North Face, Vans and Timberland, while Kontoor became the separate apparel company focused on denim and related clothing.

Kontoor’s portfolio gives it two of the best-known names in American jeans history. Lee and Wrangler remain distinct consumer brands even though they share the same parent company.