US’ VF Corporation, the parent company of popular brands such as The North Face and Vans, has reported a challenging first quarter in fiscal 2025 (Q1 FY25), with revenue falling to $1.9 billion, down 9 per cent (8 per cent in constant dollars) from the same period last year.

The North Face brand saw a 3 per cent decline in revenue (2 per cent in constant dollars), although its global direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales increased by 6 per cent (8 per cent in constant dollars), driven by broad-based growth across all regions. This growth, however, was not enough to offset the decline in US wholesale, VF Corporation said in a press release.

Vans experienced a significant revenue drop of 21 per cent, though this represents a slight improvement from the previous quarter.

The company's gross margin decreased by 80 basis points to 52 per cent. The operating margin was down 1,220 basis points to negative 12.6 per cent, while the adjusted operating margin decreased by 360 basis points to negative 4.0 per cent. The adjusted operating margin reflects approximately 280 basis points of deleverage and 80 basis points of unfavourable gross margin impact.

VF Corporation reported a loss per share of $0.67, compared to a loss of $0.15 in Q1 FY24. The adjusted loss per share was $0.33, also compared to a loss of $0.15 in the same period last year.

"We are on track to deliver our targeted cost savings and we have addressed one of our top financial priorities to strengthen the balance sheet with the announced sale of Supreme. Together with the first-class leadership team I have built, we are confident we will continue to make progress to return to growth and drive strong, sustainable value creation at VF," said Bracken Darrell, president and CEO.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)