Vans outlines 5-year growth plan

NEW YORK -- Skate shoe and clothing brand Vans said Thursday that it hopes to add $1 billion in revenues over the next five years.

The company said at an investor meeting that it expects its revenues to reach $2.2 billion by the end of 2016, which represents an annual growth rate of 13 percent. Vans is a wholly-owned subsidiary of VF Corp.

Vans has more than tripled its revenue since it was acquired by VF in 2004. It plans to invest in new products, add new markets and increase its emphasis on sales directly to consumers.

"Since 1966, we have been focused on building products that enable creative self-expression. ... Generating increasingly more powerful connections with our consumers while leveraging the substantial resources of VF will drive our growth in both established and emerging markets," Vans President Kevin Bailey said.

The company gets the bulk of its revenue from the Americas and expects the region to account for nearly half of its anticipated $1 billion revenue growth. One key element of its plan is to expand outside its core West Coast market, by focusing on other major metropolitan markets such as New York City and Mexico City, where it has already shown success.

The New York-based company plans to intensify its efforts in key overseas markets as well.

Vans unveiled a new line of shoes and said the line of five new designs will launch the last week of June at Foot Locker locations, its namesake stores and other retailers.

Shares of VF Corp., which also owns brands such as The North Face, Wrangler and Timberland, rose $1.67 to close at $139.75. Its shares were unchanged in after-hours trading.