VF Corp. plans to keep up its pace of acquisitions with a keen eye on outdoor and sportswear brands that cater to women, its chief executive said at the Reuters Consumer and Retail Summit in New York…
“We have a lot more resources behind our acquisition strategy today,” CEO Mackey McDonald said, according to Reuters. “Part of that is (because) it's tougher. Everyone is aware of the fact that it's a tough climate out there with a lot of private equity funds looking for opportunities.”
Besides finds brands catering to women, VF Corp is also looking for brands with international exposure. About 25 percent of VF's revenue currently comes from overseas, but McDonald said he is aiming to increase that to 30 percent by 2009.
McDonald, according to Reuters, said part of the reason VF is evaluating opportunities is because the pace of retail buyouts doesnt' seem to be slowingn down.
“Our focus today continues to be on the outdoor and sportswear categories, and probably with a little more emphasis on the female side,” he said.
Among its recent acquisitions over the last few years have been Vans, Reef, Kipling and Napapijri, as well as Majestic Athletic and Eagle Creek earlier this year.
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.
