Major outdoor brands company to move to state

DENVER — VF Corp., makers of popular outdoor apparel brands such as JanSport, The North Face, Vans and others, will move its global headquarters to Denver. The company will also move some of its brands to the state, bringing in total about 800 jobs.

VF also announced that it would spin off its denim brands, Lee and Wrangler, into a separate, publicly traded company that will remain in the company’s traditional headquarters in Greensboro, N.C.

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, announced this morning that VF’s global headquarters will join a growing number of outdoor industries in the state. The Outdoor Industries Association has its office in Boulder.

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“We are thrilled to welcome a new partner that embodies the values that define Colorado,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper in the announcement. “VF’s move underscores the critical driver that the outdoor recreation industry plays in our economy where business meets lifestyle.”

VF Corporation becomes the latest Fortune 250 to call Colorado home.

“Colorado is an area with an unrivalled heritage and culture of outdoor and activity-based lifestyles, as well as a thriving business environment,” said Steve Rendle, VF’s chairman, president and CEO. “It is a great strategic fit for our business, and we are excited to be relocating our headquarters and several brands to the metro Denver area next year. We believe that the creation of our new headquarters in the area will help us to unlock collaboration across our outdoor brands, attract and retain talent, and accelerate innovation.”

Rendle also said, “We are grateful to Colorado for the job growth tax credits that represent a long-term commitment to our company and we want to make a long-term commitment to the people of Colorado. For every dollar of job growth tax credit that we receive and use, we will match that dollar in a donation to the VF Foundation and designate those funds to support the charitable interests of the citizens of Colorado. VF’s Purpose Statement declares that we will power movements of sustainable and active lifestyles for the betterment of people and our planet. We will demonstrate that commitment to the Colorado community.”

The move of the headquarters will bring about 85 VF executives to the state, including members of the company’s U.S.-based senior leadership team. Their move will come in the spring of 2019. Over the course of the next two years, several of VF’s Outdoor brands, including The North Face, JanSport, Smartwool, Eagle Creek and Altra also will relocate to join the headquarters.

In total, approximately 800 employees across VF and its brands are expected to move into the new metro Denver area headquarters beginning in mid-2019, including about 70 from the Smartwool brand, which already calls Colorado home and is currently headquartered in Steamboat Springs.

“This project is a strong validation of the state’s role as a leading attractor of industry and it is especially heartening that it comes with VF — a company whose brands and culture align with Colorado’s core values,” said Stephanie Copeland, executive director of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

VF has nearly 70,000 employees worldwide and operations across more than 170 countries. The company’s 2017 global revenues were $11.8 billion.