 | |
| Formerly | Vanity Fair Mills |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| Industry | |
| Founded | October 1899; 125 years ago (1899-10) (asReading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company) inReading, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Founder | John Barbey |
| Headquarters | Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
Key people | Bracken Darrell (CEO) |
| Products | Footwear &apparel |
| Revenue |  US$10.45 billion (2024) |
| US$−34 million (2024) | |
| US$−969 million (2024) | |
| Total assets | US$11.61 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | US$1.658 billion (2024) |
| Owner | Barbey family trusts (16.58%)[1] |
Number of employees | 30,000 (2024) |
| Subsidiaries | Altra Running Dickies Eastpak JanSport Icebreaker Kipling Napapijri The North Face SmartWool Timberland Vans |
| Website | vfc |
| Footnotes / references [2] | |
VF Corporation (formerlyVanity Fair Mills until 1969) is an American globalapparel andfootwear company founded in 1899 by John Barbey and headquartered inDenver, Colorado.[3] The company's 11 brands are organized into three categories: Outdoor, Active and Work.[4] In 2015, the company controlled 55% of the U.S. backpack market with theJanSport,Eastpak,Timberland, andThe North Face brands.[5]
In October 1899, John Barbey and a group of investors established the company asReading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company (or simplyThe Reading Glove) inReading, Pennsylvania.[6][7] Incorporated on December 4 later that year, they began with $11,000 in a 320-square-foot (30 m2) factory that was leased for $60/month.[citation needed]
Expanding intosilk lingerie in 1913, The Reading Glove was renamedSchuylkill Silk Manufacturing, branding its lingerie line asVanity Fair. Soon thereafter, the company name changed in turn toVanity Fair Mills, eventually going public in 1951.[6]
In 1969, theH.D. Lee Company (nowLee) was acquired, accompanied by Vanity Fair Mills changing to VF Corporation. By 1982 VF posted profits of $15.5 million on sales of $184 million.[7] Acquiring Blue Bell Inc. for US$762 million in 1986, VF addedWrangler,JanSport, Rustler,Jantzen, andRed Kap to its portfolio, effectively doubling its size and making it the largestpublicly-held clothing company. VF would also become one of the two largest jeans makers in the world, making up 25% of the market.[6]
In 1998, VF moved its headquarters fromWyomissing, Pennsylvania, toGreensboro, North Carolina, to be closer to more of its operations.[8] Also in the 1990s, VF would acquire theBulwark Apparel brand.[6]
In the early2000s, VF's acquisitions includedThe North Face andEastpak in 2000;[9] andKipling,[10]Napapijri, andVans in 2004. The company sold its 'Vanity Fair Intimates'lingerie business toFruit of the Loom for US$350 million in cash on January 23, 2007.[11] Later that month, VF acquiredEagle Creek. Also in 2007, VF acquiredMajestic Athletic on February 28, followed by a $885-million purchase of7 for all Mankind andLucy Activewear on July 26.[12]
Eric C. Wiseman became president, CEO, and chairman in 2008,[13] the same year that VF would acquire Mo Industries Holdings, parent company of sportswear brands Splendid andElla Moss.[14]
In 2011, VF Corporation announced its intention to purchaseTimberland for $2.2 billion,[15] a deal that would close in September that year.[16] On 21 December 2012, VF Imagewear was awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to provide uniforms and insignia forU.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.[17] In February 2013, Imagewear was awarded a $50 million contract to manufacture uniforms forTransportation Security Administration officers.[18]
Effective January 1, 2017, Steve Rendle took over CEO and President responsibilities.[19] In 2017, VF acquiredWilliamson-Dickie’s brands, including Dickies, Workrite, Kodiak, Terra, and Walls.[6] The next year, VF would acquireIcebreaker, complementing itsSmartwool brand, as both featuremerino wool in its clothing and accessories.[6] In 2020, VF acquired streetwear brandSupreme for US$2.1 billion.[20][21]
In 2021, VF announced a definitive agreement to sell a portion of its Occupational Work segment to a subsidiary of Redwood Capital Investments, LLC.[22] On June 28, 2021, the sale was finalized, and the 11 divested brands became part of a new standalone company, Workwear Outfitters.[23]
In September 2021, it was announced that the former president of emerging brands of VF Corporation, Travis Campbell, would acquire the Eagle Creek brand.[24]
In June 2023, formerLogitech CEO Bracken Darrell became CEO.[25]
In July 2024, VF announced the sale of the streetwear brand Supreme toEssilorLuxottica for US$1.5 billion.[26]
In August 2018, it was announced that VF would be splitting into two separate companies. The jeans and outlet stores would bespun off asKontoor Brands. VF kept the sports apparel and footwear businesses, and moved its corporate headquarters (and around 800 employees) to Denver, Colorado. An 11-story office building at 1551 Wewatta Street nearDenver Union Station became VF's new corporate headquarters.[27] All brands which until 2018 had maintained separate divisional headquarters (e.g., Jansport) were also consolidated into VF's new Denver headquarters.
Kontoor Brands Inc. became a separate company with the stock symbol KTB in May 2019. Kontoor includesLee,Wrangler,Rock & Republic and VF Outlets. The company had 17,000 employees.[28]
Date of acquisition or merger in parentheses.
In 1970, it was the suggestion of M.O. Lee, then President of VF Corporation, that established theVF Outlet business. Surplus products from VF sources including Berkshire International and Vanity Fair were sold to the public from a 5,000 square foot factory store, with only a drop cloth separating it from the company's manufacturing facility.[33] In doing so, VF Corporation created a brand-new retail industry, theoutlet mall. The first VF Outlet factory store opened inReading, Pennsylvania. The outlet mall, located in Vanity Fair's old manufacturing mills, was dubbed the official "Outlet Capital of the World."[34] The corporate name was changed from VF Outlet Village to VF Outlet Center in 2008. Today, the VF Outlet Center is owned and operated by VF Outlet, Inc. with over 1,000,000 square feet of retail space and more than 20 stores.[35] The VF Outlet location in Reading, Pennsylvania, closed on December 24, 2020.[36]
VF Outlet stores offered everyday apparel including brand namejeans,intimate apparel,activewear, andswimwear. The company as of June 2015 operated 79 stores in 31 states nationwide.[37] As of 2025, thehttp://vfoutlet.com/ website redirects to the Kontoor Brands' Wrangler website with some of the former locations now operating under the Lee and Wrangler brands. The website as of 2025[38] no longer lists any VF Outlets. It appears that the outlets closed during the pandemic[39] and only reopened briefly at the end of 2020 to liquidate their inventory.
In October 2013, VF Outlet launched their e-commerce store.[40]
The VF Outlet business moved to Kontoor Brands Inc, established as a separate company in May 2019.[28]
In 2025, VF Corporation signed a brand letter of intent calling on the Australian wool industry to end the practice ofmulesing.[41]
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