VF Corporation, parent company of brands like Jansport, Eastpak, North Face, Vans, Supreme and more, announced that it plans to sell the occupational and workwear segment of its business as it transitions to focus on retail. Those brands include Red Kap, VF Solutions, Bulwark, Workrite, Walls, Terra, Kodiak, Work Authority and Horace Small, according to Just-Style.
Several of these brands are more niche, such as Horace Small and Bulwark, which produce uniforms for first responders. Others are full-service uniform providers. Red Kap, for example, does decorated workwear and uniforms for customers in the automotive, food service, transportation, health care and manufacturing industries.
Notably, Dickies, a major name in workwear, is not included in the sale. VF Corporation will retain the Dickies brand.
“The sale of our occupational work brands reflects our continued focus on transforming VF into more consumer-minded and retail-centric enterprise, while further simplifying our portfolio and operating model,” VF chairman, president and CEO Steve Rendle said, according to Just-Style. “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Redwood Capital Investments. They are an ideal owner to guide these brands and businesses into their next phase of growth.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the first fiscal quarter of 2022.
VF Corporation also recently announced that it plans to eliminate single-use plastics from its brands by 2025, including single-use packaging like polybags and more.
