How VF Brand Leaders Are Transforming Vans, Timberland, and The North Face
Transformation is one of the most overused words in business, but at VF Corporation, it has taken on real meaning.
During a leadership discussion featuring three of VF's most iconic brands, Nina Flood of Timberland, Sun Choe of Vans, and Caroline Brown of The North Face shared how they are leading deep, holistic change across their organizations. The conversation was moderated by Mindy Grossman, VF board member and former CEO of WW International, with context set around VF's broader turnaround under CEO Bracken Darrell.
Rather than cosmetic updates, these leaders described transformation as a fundamental reset of focus, culture, product, and organizational alignment.
VF Corporation's Brand Turnaround Strategy
VF Corporation is home to some of the most recognizable names in apparel and footwear, including Vans, Timberland, and The North Face.
Over the past several years, the company has undergone a dynamic turnaround, introducing new leadership at the enterprise and brand levels, restructuring how teams work, and recommitting to performance that reflects how deeply these brands are loved by consumers.
The responsibility for delivering that turnaround ultimately rests with the brand presidents, each tasked with leading transformation suited to their brand's heritage, consumer, and cultural role.
Nina Flood on Reigniting the Timberland Brand
For Nina Flood, Global Brand President of Timberland, transformation started with mindset.
She described true transformation as comprehensive and far reaching, requiring leaders to challenge sacred objects, legacy processes, and long held assumptions. When Flood stepped into the role, she identified the need to overhaul organizational structure, go to market processes, planning, and global brand architecture.
But the most important shift was cultural.
Flood emphasized that Timberland is a deeply loved brand with a powerful emotional connection that transcends age, gender, geography, and culture. Her goal was to reignite internal belief and external energy by anchoring teams around the brand's core purpose.
That focus led to an always on icon strategy centered on Timberland's original boot. Collaborations with cultural figures such as Spike Lee, Naomi Campbell, and Teddy Swims, along with partnerships with brands like Louis Vuitton and Telfar, helped reassert Timberland's relevance across fashion, street culture, and heritage.
The results include increased brand search, strong resale demand, and growing engagement from younger consumers discovering the brand for the first time.
Sun Choe on Dimensionalizing Vans
Sun Choe, Global Brand President of Vans, described the brand's transformation as being in earlier innings, but grounded in clarity and focus.
Her first priority was dimensionalizing Vans. Rather than allowing the brand to be siloed as purely skate or action sports, Choe refocused Vans on the intersection of action sports, California culture, art, and music, all unified by the Off The Wall mindset.
Product excellence became the proof point. Choe emphasized fewer, better products that create desire, rather than over assorting for volume. Innovation in footwear uppers, materials, and expressive design helped differentiate Vans in a crowded sneaker market, with products like the viral Souvenir shoe earning industry recognition.
Apparel and women's products were positioned as accelerators, not distractions. By designing intentionally for women and viewing apparel as complementary to footwear, Vans strengthened its relevance and reach.
Choe also stressed resilience, noting that results often lag behind decisions and leaders must stay confident and committed through the turnaround process.
Caroline Brown on Refocusing The North Face
Caroline Brown, Global Brand President of The North Face, entered a brand with extraordinary assets.
She highlighted deep internal and external passion, a powerful heritage rooted in mountain sports, and a highly committed global team. The challenge was not relevance, but focus.
Over time, The North Face had expanded into areas where it lacked a clear right to win. Brown led a strategic refocus on three core categories where the brand has authentic authority: snow, climb, and trail.
That decision influenced every part of the organization, from structure and product to marketing, retail, and wholesale execution.
Brown reinforced that while The North Face serves a broad and democratic consumer base, performance remains the foundation. Iconic products like the Nuptse jacket, originally designed for Everest, succeed in everyday wear because the brand consistently reinforces its performance credibility through athletes and mountain culture.
Culture, Product, and Performance as Growth Drivers
Across all three brands, several common themes emerged.
Transformation requires resilience, organizational alignment, and clarity of purpose. Product must serve as the ultimate expression of the brand. Culture, whether through athletes, creators, or community, must be authentic and lived, not manufactured.
Retail stores are evolving into hubs for engagement and interaction, while digital channels are being used to react quickly to cultural moments and consumer conversations.
Each leader emphasized the importance of listening, staying focused, and executing consistently, even when transformation is uncomfortable.
What Brand Transformation Really Requires
The VF leadership discussion offered a clear lesson for retail executives.
True brand transformation is not about new logos or slogans. It is about focus, culture, and disciplined execution anchored in what made the brand matter in the first place.
By recommitting to their core identities while evolving how they connect with consumers, Vans, Timberland, and The North Face are demonstrating how legacy brands can reignite growth in a rapidly changing retail landscape.
For retail leaders navigating their own transformations, the message is clear. Be bold, stay focused, and build from authentic brand foundations.
