Two giants of the global shoe industry have merged, as VF Corp. announced it has completed its acquisition of long-time partner firm Supreme, a streetwear company that has collaborated with VF on its North Face, Vans, Timberland and Dickies brands.
Supreme, a private company, will now become a wholly-owned subsidiary of VF in what the company calls a “$1 billion global opportunity over time through International and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) expansion, core pillars of VF’s 2024 strategy.”
VF also says the Supreme brand’s DTC model, brand loyalty and global footprint complements the ‘street-inspired’ aspects of VF’s Vans, The North Face, Timberland and Dickies brands, and demonstrates VF’s commitment to active portfolio management. The Supreme brand is expected to add modestly to the company’s bottom line in 2021, but VF projects The Supreme brand will contribute at least $500 million of revenue and $0.20 of adjusted EPS in fiscal 2022.
Supreme sells apparel, accessories and footwear under its namesake brand globally through direct-to-consumer channels, primarily digital. The Supreme brand’s founder, James Jebbia and the senior leadership team of the brand will remain with the company, headquartered in New York City, New York.
“We are thrilled to welcome Supreme to the VF family and to build on our decades-long relationship as we create value for all of our stakeholders. VF is the ideal steward to honor the authentic heritage of this cultural lifestyle brand while providing the opportunity to leverage our scale and expertise to enable sustainable long-term growth,” said Steve Rendle, VF’s Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. “The acquisition of the Supreme brand is further validation of our vision and strategy to further evolve our portfolio of brands to align with the total addressable market opportunities we see driving the apparel and footwear sector. The Supreme brand will further accelerate VF’s hyper-digital business model transformation and will be a meaningful driver of VF’s commitment to top quartile total shareholder return and long-term value creation.”
Jebbia said he is pleased by the acquisition, as Supreme will continue to do the things that made it successful since its founding. “We are proud to join VF, a world-class company that is home to great brands we’ve worked with for years, including The North Face, Vans, and Timberland,” said Jebbia. “This partnership will maintain our unique culture and independence, while allowing us to grow on the same path we’ve been on since 1994.”