VF Corporation is an $11 billion apparel and footwear powerhouse, with an incredibly diverse, international portfolio of brands and products. VF corporation sells jeanswear, underwear, daypacks, and workwear. The corporate headquarters are located in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the International headquarters are located in Stabio, Switzerland.
VF’s mission is to create a leading jeans and lifestyle apparel company in North and South America by offering its consumers branded product solutions at a compelling value.
Since VF does not have its own retail stores, it distributes its jeans to large companies such as Walmart, Target, Kohls, Sears, JC Penny and tractor supply companies. From there on, Wrangler Jeans, for example, are aimed towards 40 year old men who are “old country,” “new country,” and “western inspired.” Studies show that these customers typically enjoy the outdoors, riding horses, watching nascar races and more.
The customers of VF Jeanswear value the well-fitting, low cost products as well as their durability. These jeans are marketed and made to hold through many outdoor activities, as well as to more casual events such as going to the movies or a barbecue. Therefore, the customers expect them to be flexible and to last for a long time without tearing. Usually once they try a pair of jeans, they are satisfied with the product and become loyal customers. In another example, those who buy from Northface value the high-quality of the product. The large companies value products that customers will buy. As soon as customers stop buying the brands, VF is out of a deal. There is no contract giving an exact length of time Walmart, for example, must sell its brands.
The VF website states that their result is new products that strengthen the bond between consumers and our brands. In 100 years, they have been extremely successful. Their stock was recently up 69%. Plus, they just generated revenues of over $10 billion. VF corporation is in charge of lots of popular brands such as Timberland, The Northface, Jansport, Wrangler, Lee, Kipling, Splendid, 7 for All Man Kind, and more.
VF plans to reach $17.3 Billion in revenue by 2017. The challenge is constantly how to grow revenue faster. VF is looking to move into more retail locations. It is also hoping to expand into more products such as t-shirts. Plus, VF is testing its brands (ex: Wrangler) on new target audiences such as hispanics and females.
Overall, I was really impressed and surprised that one company deals with so many popular brands (and so successfully). It’s amazing that 600,000,000 yards of fabric are produced for their products each year. I found it really interesting how the marketing team branded the Wrangler jeans. They aren’t just marketed towards men who need jeans, but to men of three different categories based on their commitment to the country lifestyle. As a marketing major, this part of the presentation was most interesting to me and it made me more excited about my major.
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