If someone compliments your threads, you should probably thank Coats plc, a leading global supplier of apparel and industrial thread. In addition to clothing thread, the company manufactures specialty thread (with applications for footwear, camping equipment, bedding, furniture, and automotive), zip fasteners and trim, and craft thread. It claims to own 20% of the world's market share in sewing thread manufacturing. Coats serves customers in more than 100 countries through its 70 manufacturing facilities spanning the globe. The company's thread division accounts for more than two-thirds of its total sales each year. Coats is a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based investment firm Guinness Peat Group.