VF Corp sells Intimate Apparel business
VF Corp, the US apparel giant, has agreed to sell its Intimate Apparel division to Fruit of the Loom for $300 million in cash. VF is realigning its business strategy to focus on its jeanswear, outdoor, imagewear and sportswear businesses, with brands like Nautica, Vans, The North Face, Wrangler and Lee. “This marks an important chapter in VF's ongoing transformation toward becoming a higher growth, higher margin lifestyle company – another example of our willingness to take bold steps to enhance total shareholder value,” VF's chairman and chief executive Mackey J. McDonald said in a statement. The company revealed that is was targeting annual revenue growth of 8 percent, including acquisitions, and expected organic annual growth of 5 percent. Acquisitions would play an important part in its growth strategy. Last year, the intimates division generated $800 million in revenues and around $50 million in operating income globally. The business was responsible for 12 percent of VF's total revenues and 6 percent of its operating income. VF plans to use the proceeds of the sale of the business to fund the repurchase of its shares. The company's president and chief operating officer Eric Wiseman revealed to WWD that the intimate apparel business had not been “performing at a historical level. We think with the right investment, it can return to its historic rate and performance levels and we think Fruit of the Loom can do that.”
Fruit of the Loom chief executive John Holland expressed his admiration for the business his FTL is acquiring. “We are delighted at the prospect of adding such strong brands to our portfolio,” he said in a statement. “We are most impressed with the heritage, experience and innovative talent of the VF Intimates worldwide team.” The intimate apparel business will continue to operate under Fruit of the Loom as Vanity Fair Brands, a wholly owned subsidiary. Curt Holtz, president of VF's Intimates coalition, and his management team will continue directing current operations from headquarters in Alpharetta , Georgia and Igualada , Spain .
www.vfc.com
www.fruitoftheloom.com
24 January 2007
VF - Nautica Merger Close
VF Corp. has revealed it plans to close its merger with Nautica Enterprises Inc at least two months earlier than expected. The world's largest clothing company had originally planned to close the $586 million deal for the New York-headquartered firm in October or November but now expects to complete the acquisition a lot sooner.
Nautica shareholders are due to vote on the deal at a special meeting on August 27.
August 21 2003
www.vfc.com
VF Q4 sales rise six per cent
VF Corp, the manufacturer of Lee and Wrangler jeans, said on Tuesday that it swung to a fourth quarter profit as it began to reap the benefits of restructuring efforts. Sales in the fourth quarter rose six percent to 1,310.6 million USD, from 1,233.7 USD in the same period in the prior year. Including the charges, the Company reported income in 2002 of 70.3 million USD, compared with a net loss of 32.7 million USD last year.
Mackey J. McDonald, chairman and chief executive officer, said: "2002 was by no means an easy year, but our management team executed our plan extremely well and surpassed many of the targets we set for ourselves. We substantially improved our profitability, gained market share in key categories and achieved our long-term return on capital goal of 17%."
February 13, 2002
VF Corp posted bid for Fila
Italian fashion-to-media holding HdP confirmed this week that US jeans group VF Corp has shown an interest in buying its Fila sportswear unit, amid reports that it has called a board meeting for September 10 to consider the VF offer. VF Corp, the producer of Lee and Wrangler jeans, Vanity Fair lingerie and North Face outdoor clothing, was first reported to be considering a bid in June.
"There are talks for Fila underway. VF is one of the companies that has shown an interest," said a spokeswoman for HdP. HdP has also been in talks for several months with US investment fund Continental-Bain Capital and Golden Gate, a San Francisco-based private equity fund, with a view to a deal for Fila. HdP wants to sell its loss-making fashion businesses to focus on profitable media holdings.
30-08-02
VF slashes 13,000 jobs
VF Corporation from Greensboro, best known for its Wrangler and Lee jeans brands, will cut 13,000 jobs. About 18% of the US jeans and lingerie giant's employees would be laid off should that plan be implemented.
In parallel, VF announced their withdrawal from the swimwear manufacturing business Jantzen as well as from the private knitwear manufacturing label and the occupational wear division. This restructuring is expected to shave $280 million to $320 million from earnings in the fourth quarter, but it will hopefully also contribute to the company's goal of a six percent increase in annual sales. The group expects to save up to USD 11m per year by streamlining the product offering and cutting the above number of jobs.
The close-down or merger of several US manufacturing sites is also regarded as an additional potential for savings, VF would move production to lower-cost facilities abroad. The company's chairman of the board also communicated that VF planned to boost investment by 10% next year and went on to explain that the group still pursued its strategy of acquisitions. After the successful integration of The North Face, the acquisition of travel luggage manufacturers Eastpak and the purchase of H.I.S. Sportswear AG last year, the search for successful brands in the jeans, sportswear and outdoor segments was still on. In the first nine months of 2001, VF's turnover showed a slight downturn to EUR 4.75bn, while net profits remained stable at USD 250m. VF's top brands include Lee, Wrangler, Riders, Rustler, Lily of France, Bestform, Lee Sport, Healthtex, Jantzen, JanSport, Eastpak and The North Face. VF reiterated that its fourth quarter earnings will likely be down by more than 35 percent.