North Face 2009 Annual Report Download - page 18

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L E E ®
Chinese consumers’ growing desire for the gen-
uine article is a perfect fit for the Lee® brand,
which celebrated its 120th birthday in 2009.
The challenge is making sure that the brand
stays 120 years young, using all its experience
to create contemporary styles that appeal to
today’s savvy young Chinese consumer.
The Lee® brand has become especially successful
by mastering a difficult balancing act: selling an
American heritage brand with European styling to
Chinese consumers. Over the past five years, Lee®
brand revenues have grown at a compound annual
rate of more than 40% and the brand is now estab-
lished as one of the top global denim brands in the
country. Today, the Lee® brand is a case study for
other VF brands expanding in China, sharing the
lessons learned from its 15 years there.
7 F OR A L L M A N K I N D®
Even the biggest Hollywood blockbusters
sometimes need a little editing to really make
a splash overseas. The 7 For All Mankind® brand
is no different. The brand seamlessly adapts
Southern California culture and style to appeal
to upscale European tastes, all the while mak-
ing sure that nothing is lost in the translation.
Seven For All Mankind works to ensure that the
contemporary, luxurious “look and feel” of its
stores is presented properly overseas, where stores
are often located in the heart of Europe’s oldest
cities. Europe-based designers blend American
silhouettes with global trends and finishings. The
product offering is expanded by creating acces-
sories tailored specifically for European tastes.
Making sure our products remain trend-right for
European consumers not only positively impacts
sales, it also helps the brand continue to build its
reputation as a style leader in Europe.
T H E NO RT H FA CE ®
Every new market The North Face® brand enters
is a new mountain to climb, but the brand
always starts at the top. Our premier position-
ing — based on four decades of making gear
that helps elite athletes perform in the world’s
toughest outdoor conditions — is always con-
sistent no matter what the language. That
translates into premier distribution and pre-
mier product in every new market we enter,
from Russia to Poland to Slovenia.
In addition to expanding geographically, we have
also expanded the breadth and depth of our
product offerings. Today, The North Face® brand is
truly a brand for all seasons, with apparel and gear
not just for winter summit seekers, but for spring,
summer and fall adventurers as well. The brand’s
new Activity-Based Model focuses on three key
consumer activities: outdoor, action sports and
performance. This enables our product teams to
create a comprehensive product solution with the
end user in mind, rather than broad categories
such as jackets or hats. We’re also applying this
model to create a broader youth product offering
to encourage and inspire outdoor activity.
“ Chinese consumers
like to understand a
brand’s history and
origins. They want
to know that we are
producing something
that’s genuine — not
fake.”
CARMEN CHENG
Vice President/
Managing Director,
Jeanswear Asia
“ We never lose sight
of what the 7 For
All Mankind® brand
stands for. We only
incorporate trends
or design concepts
that are credible
and aspirational for
this brand.”
MART I N O S C A B B I A
GUERRINI
President, Sportswear
& Contemporary Brands
EMEA (Europe,
Middle East and Africa)
“ Everybody has their
own Mount Everest to
climb. We provide a
little bit of that magic
and aura whenever
somebody buys one of
our products.”
PATRIK FRISK
President, Outdoor &
Action Sports EMEA
(Europe, Middle East
and Africa)
In 2009, the Lee® brand
leveraged its 120-year
anniversary in a unique
marketing campaign. The
brand awarded 120 limited-
edition gold-button pairs of
Lee® jeans to 120 Chinese
consumers who were able
to match 120 online ques-
tions about the Lee® brand
and its history with 120
answers within 120 hours.
ONE CULTURE, MANY CULT U R E S :
A Culture of Local
Knowledge
“ Chinese consumers have evolved so
much in the past decade. Their
demands for better service and better
products create great opportunities,
but also great challenges. That’s
why consumer research remains
so essential.”
XIA FENG
Manager, Strategy
VF succeeds internationally because of careful
brand management that strikes a balance
between the core attributes of our global brands
and the needs of local markets. It’s both an
art and a science. The science includes sophis-
ticated research methodologies that provide us
with consumer insights for specific regions,
countries, and, in some cases, cities. The art
is the ability to analyze these insights and
apply them in ways that create excitement and
value for consumers. We believe this approach
is especially important in rapidly developing
markets such as China, where VF is building a
foundation for the sustainable, long-term growth
of our brands.