Lever Style Corporation is doubling down on its inorganic growth strategy to counteract a deteriorating global trade environment. By acquiring key assets from the Australia-based Active Apparel Group (AAG) in December 2025, the Hong Kong-listed group has secured its seventh major transaction since 2019.
This $13 million asset purchase comes at a critical juncture; with US apparel import tariffs hitting a multi-decade high of 26.4 per cent in mid-2025 and a potential tariff-induced recession looming for 2026, Lever Style is aggressively pivoting toward the resilient activewear sector. ‘Bad times are the best times to buy,’ notes Stanley Szeto. Executive Chairman, signaling a move to utilize the industry downturn to capture market share from credit-strained competitors.
High-performance portfolios and the Sun Day Red synergy
The acquisition specifically targets the activewear market, which remains the industry’s primary growth engine with a projected global value of $431.12 billion in 2025. AAG brings 38 years of technical expertise and a premium client roster including Greyson, Johnnie-O, and Tiger Woods’ high-profile Sun Day Red brand. This portfolio complements Lever Style’s existing partnerships with performance giants like Arc’teryx and Skims.
By integrating AAG’s technical sophistication, Lever Style enhances its operating leverage, allowing it to offer cross-selling opportunities across its ‘asset-light’ modular platform. This strategy is essential for navigating a market where US demand for Chinese imports has plummeted by nearly 38 per cent, forcing a rapid shift to the group’s multi-country network in Vietnam, India, and Cambodia.
Lever Style Corporation is a leading global production platform for the premium contemporary and performance apparel sectors. The company operates a unique modularized supply chain that supports over 150 brands through a network of more than 100 partner factories across seven countries.
Unlike traditional manufacturers, Lever Style utilizes an asset-light model that focuses on design, technical development, and logistics rather than factory ownership. This allows the group to remain highly agile, moving production between regions to mitigate geopolitical risks and tariff spikes.
