The US clothing company VF Corporation is still in crisis. The parent company of brands such as Vans, The North Face and Timberland also suffered significant losses in sales and a loss of millions in the third quarter of the 2023/24 financial year. This emerges from current figures that the company presented on Tuesday evening.
CEO Bracken Darrell admitted that sales performance in the last quarter was “disappointing”. However, he was confident that the group would “stabilize” through the reforms introduced last year and then return to growth. As part of the package of measures, a “deep strategic review” of the brand portfolio has now been initiated, the group announced.
In America, quarterly sales fell by almost a quarter
In the most recent quarter, which ended on December 30, consolidated sales were 2.96 billion US dollars (2.75 billion euros). This corresponded to a decline of 16 percent (-17 percent adjusted for currency effects) compared to the same period last year.
The main reason for this was weak demand in America: sales there fell by 24 percent (-25 percent adjusted for currency effects) to 1.59 billion US dollars. In the EMEA region, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa, sales fell by seven percent (-12 percent at constant currency) to $912.3 million. At least there was an upward trend in the Asia-Pacific region, where revenues of $461.6 million exceeded the previous year’s level by two percent (+3 percent adjusted for currency effects).
Vans’ crisis continues
All major Group brands suffered significant losses in sales in the past quarter. The long-struggling label Vans suffered a decline of 28 percent (-29 percent at constant currency) to 668.2 million US dollars, while The North Face’s sales fell by ten percent (-11 percent at constant currencies) to 1.19 billion US dollars -Dollar.
At Timberland, sales fell by 21 percent (-22 percent at constant currencies) to $473.0 million, at Dickies by 16 percent (-17 percent at constant currencies) to $147.9 million. The other brands in the group came to a total of 479.1 million US dollars, missing the level of the previous year’s quarter by six percent (-7 percent adjusted for currency effects).
The net loss is around $42 million
Despite a higher gross margin, the group slipped into the red, not least due to high write-downs on the Timberland and Dickies brands. The operating loss amounted to $32.2 million, compared to an operating profit of $516.0 million in the same period last year. The bottom line was a net loss of 42.5 million US dollars (39.4 million euros). In the third quarter of the previous year, the company posted a surplus of $507.9 million.
In the first nine months of the current year, consolidated sales were $8.87 billion, nine percent (-10 percent adjusted for currency effects) below the corresponding previous year’s level. The net loss reached $550.6 million.