VF Corp. said it’s moving Smartwool Head of Global Marketing and Creative Denise Anderson to its Dickies brand later this month.
Anderson will join Fort Worth, Texas-based Dickies as its vice president of global marketing, where she’ll lead the brand’s marketing team.
Anderson has been with Smartwool for nine years, initially as marketing director before taking on the top spot for marketing and creative in 2019, working directly with the brand’s president and CFO. Anderson has also held marketing positions at outdoor performance apparel brand GoLite and pilates equipment maker Peak Pilates.
Dickies’ marketing hire comes after what’s been a tough stretch for the business, with three straight quarters of declining sales.
Sales in Dickies’ most recent quarter, ended Dec. 30, fell 17% to $147.9 million in revenue, driven by weakness in the Americas region, pressure at discount retailers for the company’s workwear pieces, and a shift in European deliveries.
Dickies, along with the rest of the VF Corp. brand portfolio, are currently under strategic review as the company weighs its options for a potential brand sale to reduce its debt and help turn around its overall business.
S&P Global Ratings said last week it expects Dickies and VF’s three other largest brands – The North Face, Vans, and Timberland – to continue to face pressures.
Given VF’s EBITDA forecasts, S&P said the business will need to slash about $4 billion from its $6 billion debt load to hit leverage targets, which is likely to bear out in “material asset sales.”
“This (forecast) implies sizable asset sales, with potential for one or two of VF’s four big brands to be sold,” S&P said. “While this will allow the company to reduce its high debt burden faster, it also reduces its brand diversity and puts more pressure on the remaining underperforming brands to turn around.”
