At the Reuter’s consumer and retail conference in New York, VF Corp. Chairman and CEO Mackey McDonald said that the company is ready to pursue more acquisitions and focus on outdoor and sportswear brands that cater to the women’s market.  Besides finding brands catering to women, VF Corp. is also looking for brands with international exposure. About 25% of VF's revenue currently comes from overseas, but McDonald said he is aiming to increase that to 30% by 2009. VFC has already completed two acquisitions this year – Eagle Creek and Majestic Athletic.


In the women’s sportswear arena, there are several potential acquisition targets for VFC, including two vertically integrated retailers – lucy and Title Nine.


Aside from its “clear focus on acquisitions,” McDonald said the company was also looking to grow through overseas expansion for its current stable of brands and by opening its own single-brand retail stores.


VF's Vans brand currently operates about 140 retail stores. VF is also building more stores to sell its North Face, Reef, Kipling, Napapijri and John Varvatos brands. “We will have close to 900 of our own retail outlets by the end of 2009,” McDonald said, up from about 600 at present.


In other VFC news, the company’s Reef brand will be launching its first “head to toe” women’s line this year with the introduction of women’s apparel. The first shipments are expected to hit retail in late 2007. The spring 2008 line will debut at the upcoming Miami Swim Show, followed by ASR and Surf Expo. It is the first major category extension since the women’s sandal line debuted in 1998 and the men’s apparel line in 2003.