North Face 2001 Annual Report Download - page 36

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 36 of the 2001 North Face annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 76

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76

Our diverse customers include industrial laundries, distributors and
government agencies such as U.S. Customs and the Immigration and
Naturalization Service. Corporations such as FedEx, American Airlines
and BellSouth, sports fans, and casualwear consumers all rely on VF
Imagewear’s apparel for work or play.
UNITY & ADAPTABILITY
2001 was an important transitional year for VF Imagew ear, as we
continued our consolidation efforts. We resolved a number of issues
affecting profitability and exited unprofitable businesses. M ost
importantly, we made good progress tow ard building the foundation
for our coalition’s future as a one-stop shop for customers seeking a
variety of apparel, from industrial and protective uniforms to service
apparel and casual lifestyle clothes.
The private label knitwear industry has faced falling prices and over-
capacity for some time now. In 2001 w e made an important strategic
decision: to exit our private label knitwear business, thereby allowing us
to focus on higher return and less capital intensive businesses. This will
also greatly extend our global sourcing strategies as we move to partner
with manufacturers in low er cost regions around the world.
Economic conditions have affected our w orkwear and service apparel
businesses, but improvements made over the past year in sourcing
and systems have positioned us well to take advantage of an upturn in
the economy. We also have begun to take advantage of cross-marketing
IMAGEWEAR
LEE SPORT
CHASE AUTHENTICS*
CSA
RED KAP
BULWARK PROTECTIVE
APPAREL
PENN STATE TEXTILE
NFL RED*
NFL WHITE*
HORACESMALL
APPAREL COMPANY
VF SOLUTIONS
LEE
WRANGLER HERO
JANSPORT
GITANO
THE NORTH FACE
* LICENSED BRAND
34
VF SOLUTIONS
VF Solutions receives the
SINGLE LARGEST SHARE of
U.S. Government spending for
nonmilitar y uniform purchases.
VF combined its former
Workwear and Knitwear
coalitions in 2000, creating
VF Imagewear, a powerful
base for our workwear,
service apparel, branded
casual and licensed
sports businesses.