Company History

VF’s 120+ Year History

1899

The company is established in Pennsylvania as the Reading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company by John Barbey and a group of investors.

1920

The company is renamed Vanity Fair Silk Mills, Inc. when it expands into silk lingerie.

1940s

The company drops the word “silk” in its name due to an embargo on this material during World War II.

1951

Vanity Fair Mills goes public trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

1969

The company enters the denim category with the acquisition of the H.D. Lee Company (now the Lee® brand) and renames itself VF Corporation.

1986

VF acquires Blue Bell, which includes the Wrangler®, JanSport® and Red Kap® brands – doubling its size and creating the world’s largest publicly traded apparel company.

1998

VF moves its corporate headquarters from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania to Greensboro, North Carolina, home to the Wrangler® brand.

VF acquires the Bulwark® brand.

2000s

VF acquires The North Face® and Vans® brands – its two largest today – laying the foundation for the company’s portfolio of activity-based lifestyle brands.


VF ACQUIRES:

  • 2000 - the Eastpak® brand
  • 2003 - the Nautica® brand
  • 2004 - the Kipling® brand
  • 2004 - the Napapijri® brand
  • 2005 - the Reef® brand

2007

VF divests its namesake brand, Vanity Fair, when it sells the intimate apparel business.

VF ACQUIRES:

  • the 7 For All Mankind® brand
  • the Eagle Creek® brand

2008

VF acquires the Splendid® and Ella Moss® brands, adding to its group of Contemporary Brands.

2011

VF acquires the Timberland® and Smartwool® brands, doubling the size of its global footwear business.

2016

VF divests its Contemporary Brands businesses, including the 7 For All Mankind®, Splendid® and Ella Moss® brands.

2017

VF acquires Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. and its portfolio of workwear brands – including the Dickies® brand – and establishes itself as a global leader in the workwear category.

VF divests its Licensed Sports Group business, including the Majestic® brand.

2018

VF ACQUIRES:

  • the Altra® brand
  • the icebreaker® brand

VF DIVESTS:

  • the Nautica® brand
  • the Reef® brand

2019

VF completes the spinoff of its Jeans business into an independent, publicly traded company. The new company, Kontoor Brands, Inc., includes the Wrangler®, Lee® and Rock & Republic® brands, and the VF Outlet business.

VF establishes a shared global headquarters in Denver, Colorado for VF Corporate and five of its outdoor brands (The North Face, Altra, icebreaker, Smartwool and Jansport).

2020

VF acquires global streetwear leader, Supreme®

2021

VF divests Occupational Workwear brands and businesses.