Black Friday Brands: The Parent Company Guide to Who You're Really Buying From
Black Friday deals come from hundreds of brands, but most are owned by the same handful of corporations. Here is the parent company behind every major Black Friday brand.
Who Profits From Your Black Friday Haul?
Black Friday generates approximately $10+ billion in online sales alone in a single day, making it the biggest shopping event of the year. Retailers advertise deals from hundreds of brands, creating the impression of a vast, competitive marketplace.
But if you trace the brands behind the deals to their corporate parents, a different picture emerges. A significant portion of Black Friday spending flows to the same handful of multinational corporations, regardless of which specific brand you choose.
This guide maps the most popular Black Friday product categories to their corporate parents, so you can see who really benefits from your holiday shopping.
Electronics: The Big 3
Electronics are consistently the top Black Friday category by revenue.
Apple Products
- iPhone (various models)
- iPad and iPad Air
- Apple Watch
- AirPods and AirPods Pro
- Beats headphones and earbuds
- MacBook laptops
When you buy AirPods OR Beats on Black Friday, both purchases go to Apple. Apple rarely discounts its own products directly but allows retailers (Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Walmart) to offer modest discounts.
Samsung Products
- Galaxy smartphones
- Galaxy tablets
- Samsung TVs (QLED, OLED, Frame)
- Galaxy Watch
- Galaxy Buds
- Samsung appliances (refrigerators, washers, dryers)
Samsung is a South Korean conglomerate whose subsidiaries also build ships, skyscrapers, and semiconductor chips. Every Samsung TV, phone, and appliance funnels revenue to the same corporate parent.
Amazon Devices
- Echo speakers (Alexa)
- Fire TV Stick and Fire TV
- Kindle e-readers
- Ring doorbells and cameras
- Blink cameras
- eero Wi-Fi routers
Amazon's hardware strategy is unique: the company sells devices at or below cost to lock consumers into its ecosystem (Alexa, Prime Video, Amazon shopping). Black Friday Echo deals at $20-30 are essentially customer acquisition tools.
Personal Care: P&G vs Unilever
The personal care gift set aisle on Black Friday is dominated by two companies:
Procter & Gamble Gift Sets
- Olay skincare sets
- Gillette razor and grooming kits
- Old Spice body wash and cologne sets
- Braun electric shaver sets
- Oral-B electric toothbrush sets
- Tide, Downy, Bounce bundles
Unilever Gift Sets
- Dove body wash and skincare sets
- AXE grooming gift packs
- TRESemme hair care sets
- Degree/Rexona deodorant sets
- Vaseline skincare sets
If you buy a Dove gift set AND an Olay gift set as stocking stuffers, you are buying from two different corporations. But if you buy Dove AND AXE, both go to Unilever. And if you buy Olay AND Gillette, both go to P&G.
Toys: Hasbro vs Mattel
The holiday toy market is split between two companies:
| Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) | Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT) |
|---|---|
| Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue | Barbie, Hot Wheels, UNO |
| Nerf | Fisher-Price |
| Play-Doh | American Girl |
| Transformers | Matchbox |
| My Little Pony | Mega Bloks |
| Peppa Pig | Thomas & Friends |
| Power Rangers | Polly Pocket |
LEGO (privately held by the Kirk Kristiansen family, Denmark) is the notable independent in the toy category, generating approximately $10 billion in annual revenue without being owned by either Hasbro or Mattel.
Appliances: A Few Corporate Parents
Black Friday appliance deals trace to a concentrated set of owners:
| Brand | Corporate Parent | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid | Whirlpool Corporation | USA |
| GE Appliances, Hotpoint | Haier Group | China |
| LG appliances | LG Electronics | South Korea |
| Samsung appliances | Samsung Group | South Korea |
| Bosch, Thermador | BSH (Bosch/Siemens) | Germany |
| Frigidaire, Electrolux | Electrolux | Sweden |
When you see a "GE" refrigerator on Black Friday sale, you are buying from Haier, a Chinese conglomerate. The GE Appliances brand was sold to Haier in 2016 for $5.4 billion.
Clothing and Fashion
| Black Friday Brand | Corporate Parent |
|---|---|
| Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic | Gap Inc. |
| Levi's | Levi Strauss & Co. |
| Nike, Jordan, Converse | Nike, Inc. |
| Adidas | Adidas AG |
| Under Armour | Under Armour, Inc. |
| Coach, Kate Spade | Tapestry, Inc. |
| Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger | PVH Corp. |
| Ralph Lauren | Ralph Lauren Corp. |
| Victoria's Secret | Victoria's Secret & Co. |
Home Goods
| Black Friday Brand | Corporate Parent |
|---|---|
| Yankee Candle | Newell Brands |
| Rubbermaid | Newell Brands |
| Crock-Pot | Newell Brands |
| Mr. Coffee | Newell Brands |
| Pyrex | Corelle Brands (Instant Brands) |
| Keurig | Keurig Dr Pepper |
| Dyson | Dyson Ltd. (private, UK) |
| iRobot (Roomba) | iRobot Corp. (Amazon deal cancelled) |
| Instant Pot | Instant Brands |
Newell Brands (NYSE: NWL) owns a surprising number of Black Friday home staples: Yankee Candle, Rubbermaid, Crock-Pot, Mr. Coffee, Oster, Sunbeam, and FoodSaver. One corporate parent covers your candles, food storage, slow cooker, and coffee maker.
The Insurance Ads
Black Friday television broadcasts are filled with insurance commercials from companies competing for your attention:
| Brand | Corporate Parent |
|---|---|
| GEICO | Berkshire Hathaway |
| Progressive | Progressive Corporation |
| State Farm | State Farm (mutual company) |
| Allstate | Allstate Corporation |
| Liberty Mutual | Liberty Mutual (mutual company) |
GEICO's advertising budget exceeds $2 billion annually, making it one of the largest advertisers in America. Every GEICO commercial funds Berkshire Hathaway's profits.
The Concentration Math
A typical Black Friday shopping list might include:
| Item | Brand | Corporate Parent |
|---|---|---|
| AirPods Pro | Apple | Apple |
| Galaxy Tab | Samsung | Samsung |
| Echo Dot | Amazon | Amazon |
| Dove gift set | Dove | Unilever |
| Gillette kit | Gillette | P&G |
| Barbie dream house | Barbie | Mattel |
| Yankee Candle set | Yankee Candle | Newell Brands |
| KitchenAid mixer | KitchenAid | Whirlpool |
| Nike sneakers | Nike | Nike, Inc. |
| Levi's jeans | Levi's | Levi Strauss |
Ten items from ten seemingly different brands trace to just ten corporate parents. Change the Dove to AXE (still Unilever) or the Gillette to Olay (still P&G) and the number of unique parents drops further.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do brands offer real discounts on Black Friday?
It varies. Electronics discounts are often genuine (especially on older models being cleared). Personal care "gift sets" are sometimes specially made for the holiday season with different quantities than regular products. Fashion discounts can be significant but may be applied to inflated "original" prices.
Does it matter who owns the brand I buy on Black Friday?
It depends on your values. If you want to support smaller or independent companies, understanding corporate ownership helps you identify genuinely independent brands. If you primarily care about price and product quality, ownership is secondary.
Which Black Friday brands are independently owned?
Notable independents include LEGO (Kirk Kristiansen family), Dyson (James Dyson), Patagonia (Patagonia Purpose Trust), Dr. Bronner's (Bronner family), and some direct-to-consumer brands. Most major retail brands are owned by large corporations.
The Bottom Line
Black Friday creates an illusion of overwhelming choice, but a significant portion of holiday spending flows to the same set of multinational corporations. Understanding the corporate parents behind Black Friday brands helps you see through the deal-day marketing to the ownership reality underneath. Whether that changes your shopping behavior is up to you.
Check any brand's corporate parent on WhoBrands before you buy, or browse brands by category.
All brand ownership data verified through WhoBrands.com's research methodology. Last updated: January 29, 2026.
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Brands & Companies Mentioned
Beats
Owned by Apple Inc.
Audio equipment brand specializing in headphones and speakers, owned by Apple Inc.
AirPods
Owned by Apple Inc.
Apple's wireless earbuds and audio products providing seamless connectivity and audio experience across Apple devices.
Apple Inc.
American multinational technology corporation designing and selling consumer electronics, software, and digital services, headquartered in Cupertino, California.
15 brands in portfolio
Procter & Gamble
Multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.
33 brands in portfolio
Unilever plc
British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company and one of the world's largest FMCG companies, owning Dove, Hellmann's, Lipton, Axe, Knorr, Ben & Jerry's, and over 400 brands sold in 190 countries.
38 brands in portfolio