The street fashion brand Supreme has a new home!
As reported on Highsnobiety, Supreme was sold to VF Corp, the parent company of popular brands like The North Face, Timberland, Eastpak, Dickies, and Napapijri.
We welcome Supreme to our family of brands.https://t.co/ZS5caV3EdR pic.twitter.com/pXPKhXvuC4
— VF Corporation (@VFCorp) November 9, 2020
The move made sense since Supreme collaborated with VF Corp brands often. VF Corp brand purchased Supreme for over $2.1 billion. VF Corp’s Chairman, President, and CEO, Steve Rendle said, this wasn’t a competitive bidding process. He considers it “two businesses coming together and talking about an opportunity and how to unlock value for both sides.”
Highsnobiety reports, “VF Corp, bought the American cult skateboard brand from private-equity firm Carlyle Group LP, which in October 2017 purchased 50 percent of the brand for roughly $500 million, valuing the streetwear label at nearly $1 billion.” Rendle also noted that VF has had a relationship with Supreme for many years. VF Corp ultimately purchased because they see the value in streetwear and believe that it’ll grow.
“We estimate the broader streetwear market to be a roughly $50 billion global opportunity with a low double-digit growth profile, driven by a number of attractive secular trends, including casualization, social influence, and creative self-expression to name a few. Supreme sits at the epicenter of this market opportunity as the original and global category leader. The streetwear model is unique, operating with agility across design, development, marketing, and merchandising. Frequent curated drops and a constrained supply philosophy are key elements to driving continuous brand energy and strong consumer engagement. This scarcity, novelty, and strong social influence model supports meaningful pricing power resulting in best-in-class profitability.
Supreme’s founder James Jebbia said they’re proud to join VF. “This partnership will maintain our unique culture and independence, while allowing us to grow on the same path we’ve been on since 1994.”
VF Corp said the acquisition would give Supreme the “opportunities to leverage its global supply chain, international platforms, digital capabilities, and consumer understanding.” The report also says they won’t limit Supreme to strictly work VF brands, they will be able to “continue the collaboration strategy to include unorthodox partnerships as seen in recent years.”
VF reportedly expects Supreme to contribute at least $500 million of revenue in the fiscal year 2022.