Vans Parent CEO Departs as Company Predicts Weakening Sales

Clothing maker VF Corporation has projected a gloomier 2023 sales outlook, citing waning consumer demand.

The Denver company — parent to brands such as Vans, Timberland, Dickies and The North Face — made this forecast Monday (Dec. 5) while also announcing the retirement of CEO Steve Rendle.

Rendle, who has been chief executive for six years and with the company since 1999, will be replaced by Benno Dorer, lead independent director of the VF board, in the interim, the company said in a news release.

Meanwhile, the company has revised its outlook for the next fiscal year to “reflect the impact of weaker than anticipated consumer demand across its categories, primarily in North America.”

This has led to a “more elevated than expected promotional environment as well as order cancellations in the wholesale channel to manage trade inventories,” said VF, whose stock is down 56% for the year.

This is happening at a moment when promotions loom large in the consumer’s mind, as recent research by PYMNTS has found.

In the latest installment of “New Reality Check: The Paycheck-To-Paycheck Report: The Holiday Shopping Edition,” a collaboration between PYMNTS and LendingClub, more consumers reported they will consider sales and prices when choosing where to shop compared to any other factors.

Our research showed that promotions and discounts will end up influencing 60% of consumers, while 40% say it is the chief factor.

Another factor, albeit to a lesser degree, is the impact of inflation on consumer spending in Europe, VF said. These comments came as the European Union released a report showing a decline in retail sales in nearly every European country from September to October.

VF adjusted its quarterly outlook in October citing some of the same factors it listed Monday, including “heightened inventory levels and increased promotional activity in the marketplace.”

“While consumer health remains relatively intact across most of our markets, we continue to see global trends result in more choiceful and cautious spending behavior,” Rendle said at the time.

For all PYMNTS retail coverage, subscribe to the daily Retail Newsletter.