VF Corporation CFO steps down as group revenues drop to $2.96bn

VF Corporation, owner of Vans, The North Face and Timberland brands, has reported a 16% year-on-year decline in revenues to $2.96bn (£2.34bn) for the 12 weeks ended 30 December 2023 and has announced the exit of CFO Matt Puckett after almost nine years. Puckett will stay on until the group has appointed his successor to help ensure a smooth transition. It stated that the quarter was negatively impacted by a shift in timing of wholesale deliveries, which was “most pronounced” for The North Face and the EMEA region All of its brands saw a decline in revenue, with Vans reporting a 28% decrease in sales to $66.8m (£52.8m) followed by a 21% drop in Timberland to $4.73m (£3.7m). Additionally, The North Face saw a 10% year-on-year decline in sales to $1.1bn (£87m). Globally, the group’s revenues in the Americas and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) areas also saw a decline. Sales in the Americas fell 24% year over year to $1.5bn (£1.19m), while sales in EMEA fell 7% to $9.1m (£7.2m) compared with the same period last year. However, the APAC region revenues were up 2% to $4.6m (£3.6m). VF has also revealed it has started an in-depth strategic review of the brand assets within the portfolio, in alignment with the board of directors, to ensure the company owns the brands that it believes create the “greatest long-term value”. Looking ahead, the group reaffirmed its free cash flow guidance for FY24 of approximately $600m (£475m). Bracken Darrell, president and CEO, said: "Our third quarter top-line performance was disappointing. However, we are confident the actions we are implementing as part of Reinvent will enable VF to stabilise and then grow revenue and improve operational performance across brands and regions. “We have already begun to see the impact of our efforts to right-size the company’s cost structure and improve its inventory position, resulting in stronger than expected cash flow and expanded gross margin in the quarter. This quarter marked the beginning of the next phase of our transformation plan: resetting the marketplace for Vans, reviewing our brand portfolio and continuing to build the organisation of the future. As we approach the end of this fiscal year, my confidence in VF’s future is rising."