Ben Doster
What is Our Missison?
The mission statement of VF is “Ours is a perpetually driven culture, focused on constant innovation. Using deep research and insights, we combine the art and science of apparel to create products that excite consumers and brands that inspire loyalty. We responsibly manage the industry’s most efficient and complex supply chain, which spans multiple geographies, product categories and distribution channels”. This was easy to see in the jeans wear department that we visited today. I enjoyed how passionate the employees were about the brands and products they represented.
Who is our Customer?
VF corp. makes a clothing item for just about everyone. They have split their jeans wear department between Lee jeans for customer who enjoy a laid back casual lifestyle and Wrangler for their customers who enjoy the outdoors. The Wrangler division is split between three different categories that are basically divided up by weather you’re a full-blown cowboy, a part time cowboy or just someone who enjoys the western look. The company also owns other outdoor brands such as the North Face, Timberland, and Jansport.
What Does the Customer Value?
The average customer of VF values the quality and name behind the products that they make. Cowboys really seem to enjoy how much Wrangler embraces their lifestyle and presence and support at rodeos and country music concerts all across our nation. When a customer buys a product from the North Face or Jansport, they are expecting to get a great product that will perform properly out in the field.
What are the Results?
The results of all this are simple. The stock value of VF has increased by 69% in the past few years. That kid of growth is unheard of and according to the people at VF, can be credited to the constant expansion that the company is undergoing. They buy and sale new brands all the time, looking for a niche to be filed in the market. According to one of the VF employees in the Marketing department, this is the only way to be profitable in the fashion world. He said if you mimic a fad, you’re already too late because people will already be looking for new clothing styles.
What is our Plan?
The current plan for VF is to start expanding faster, as they are now considered to be a slow-growth company. According to the CFO, this can be accomplished by expanding their clothing lines and brands. Possible future markets that they are looking to expand into include teenagers, baby boomers, and Hispanics. It sounds hard to believe that VF is a slow-growth company when you consider how much their stock value has increased in the past few years, and it is for that reason that I do not believe that they will have any trouble expanding faster now that they are on a roll, so to speak.
Having grown up around that office, I really enjoyed our visit today. My dad retired from the VF jeans wear department just over a year ago, and I have not been back since. I have always thought a lot of VF due to how much passion they have behind their products and would love to work for a company such as this one in the future.
Follow
