North Face 2012 Annual Report Download - page 22

Performance Product Adds Power
to Nautica
The Nautica® brand launched a raft of new products
with a water-oriented performance dimension to
differentiate the brand and provide new value
to consumers. Features such as moisture wicking,
water repellence and breathability were introduced
across a wide range of products, including Nautica’s
signature Deck Shirt, outerwear, swimwear, shirts,
pants and knits. Fashion and function apparel
that blends style and performance now accounts
for 35 percent of the brand’s assortment.
LICENSED SPORTS GROUP (LSG)
First and Fashion
Once upon a time, the philosophy of women’s
licensed sports apparel was “shrink it and pink it.”
Today, VF designs National Football League
apparel that balances fashion and fanwear. The
result is a big win: VF’s new “First and Fashion”
women‘s line led to double-digit sales gains in 2012.
Brompton Road, London
The Kipling® brand brought together its design
teams from North America, Europe and Asia to
create a new global retail concept. After the new
design was installed, the brand conducted two
weeks of consumer intercepts at point-of-sale to
gain real-time feedback that will be used to refine
the design.
Rock & Republic: Exclusive for Kohl’s
VF is constantly strengthening its relationships
with customers by understanding what’s important
to them and bringing them brands and products
that no other company can offer. The Rock &
Republic® brand, exclusively for Kohl’s, is the
latest example. VF acquired the Rock & Republic®
brand, one of the original premium L.A. lifestyle
denim brands, in 2011. In February 2012, the Rock
& Republic® brand launched at 1,100 Kohl’s stores
and at Kohls.com. The launch has already
significantly exceeded plans — and other major
retail customers have already approached VF to
create similar partnerships.
May the Best Bag Win
Young consumers carry world-changing ideas and
ambitions in their Eastpak® brand bags.
“Bag in Town”— an online design competition in
collaboration with the Instituto Europeo de Design
(IED) — gave them the opportunity to focus their
creative energies on the bag itself. Designers in 40
countries submitted 400 ideas for new bags. Six
were selected to be made into prototypes and
60,000 votes were cast online to choose the
best design. The winning design, called AW2B,
features built-in padding that can be inflated to
provide extra protection for laptops, tablets and
cameras, or deflated for extra storage capacity.
The AW2B bag will be part of the Eastpak® brand‘s
2013 collection and marketed worldwide. It will be
the first time the brand has ever sold a product
created by one of its consumers.
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