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When VF Corp acquired Vans the company was an afterthought. Since it’s acquisition however it has grown, “From just over $300 million in sales to $3 billion now, from mediocre gross margins to greater than 60% gross margins, from essentially no operating profit to over $700 million in operating profit.” Primarily on the strength of strong direct to consumer sales. I don’t want to climb into the numbers and I know the title is a bit clickbait-ish, but in the last three years specifically in 2017, ” …VANS brand increased revenues by a whopping 39 percent in the Americas and 38 percent in EMEA during Q4 (reported). This marks a global revenue increase of 35 percent for VANS during Q4, far ahead of VF’s second top brand, The North Face, with 6 percent. VANS digital sales also grew 50 percent.”
Why though? What have they done differently? I mentioned the growth in DTC, but when you look at the discussion points on growth Vans isn’t checking the box on many of the things I say are important. One of my biggest arguments in favor of growth is that brands have to innovate. Innovation happens within the technical side of footwear which is performance based. It is a known fact that performance is down and retro is hot, but I’ve made the claim that a brand has to innovate to continue attracting consumers.
I’ve also made the statement that because of shoe manufacturing all shoes have elements of performance built in so the definition needs to change.
The shoe above looks like a classic Vans shoe, but it is one of the first technical updates to the models, ComfyCush. This update comes after the incredible growth of the company so why is Vans seeing growth without any “innovation” and a very limited product selection?
Here comes the click bait. Last year in 2018 while I was working on my book I sold shoes via StockX. In previous years I was on Amazon. There wasn’t any point from 2011 to 2017 where I sold a pair of Vans. On StockX in 2018 I sold through at least five size runs of Vans at above retail. I wrote a few years ago that resale indicates brand heat and in this instance the comparison to the growth of Vans and the ability for the shoes that were not collabs to be sold above retail told a story that was stunning. I didn’t cover this in the book, but I should have. I live in one of the biggest black cities in the U.S. Memphis is right at 70% black. In 2017 local stores began carrying Vans. My son plays in a local high school music program. During their big summer performance in 2016 the kids had to wear red shoes. The stage was covered in Vans. The following year was the same. In 2018 I expected it, but it hit me. Kids in Memphis, a notoriously Nike town, had switched over.
During retail dives at the mall here in the city the demographics at the Vans store had changed. I didn’t work with Vans, but I was in the mall almost three times a week and I took note of the people leaving the mall and the feet around me, but what happened? Why were Black kids wearing a California skate brand when none of them really went to the local skate park. Vans found a way to crossover, which is critical for brands to grow.
Brands don’t have to crossover to Black people, but they have to grow a new segment and Vans didn’t pander or throw a ton of money at Black influencers, Vans stayed completely true to its core in skate, surf and snow. Black kids simply gravitated towards the brand because of one thing in my opinion, simplicity.
As Nike and adidas became bolder and wilder in their pursuit of tech and fashion, Black kids shifted to less constructed footwear that was simple and able to coordinate without screaming for attention. Vans are perfectly colorblocked and the logo pops in white or black almost on every model. The shoe isn’t as bulky as the Air Force 1 or the Stan Smith or Superstar, but it accomplishes the same look and it’s cost effective.
Even in more of its daring styles the shoe carries the same simple, clean lines. More important the canvas and suede uppers can take a beating and still be cleaned up and ready to go for a trip to the movies or even dressed up. There is a message here for every brand and it’s not my clickbaity “find a way to sell to Black kids.” The message is one of staying consistent in storytelling. You don’t have to become something you aren’t to crossover. You simply have to create and find a way to increase margins. Vans took a road to profitability via slow growth and continuity. If there is a secret… it’s that.