VF Corporation Could Be Selling Supreme

It looks like Supreme may be parting ways with VF Corporation in the near future. WWD has recently reported that the parent company has been shopping the luxury streetwear brand around for potential buyers. VF Corporation originally acquired Supreme for $2.1 billion USD in 2020 and it is now enlisting Goldman Sachs to review its portfolio at large.

This does not come as a major surprise as VF Corp. has long been open about wanting to to spin off parts of its portfolio, though it was never specifically targeted at Supreme. WWD shared a statement from a VF spokesperson who said, “As a matter of policy, we don’t comment on market rumors or speculation,” while Goldman Sachs has declined to comment at this time.

Supreme has been at the top of culture for many years, specifically in the high streetwear market. When private equity firm Carlyle invested in the business when it was at $1 billion USD valuation in 2017 and then subsequently doubled its money following the VF Corp. deal, all eyes were on Supreme on becoming buzzier and bigger than ever. However, as time went on, it seems like the Supreme brand does not have as much gravitas as it used to. An investment banker working in the fashion realm told WWD, “The brand got too big to continue to be cool.” In recent years, Supreme has garnered some negative press, from supply chain issues in 2022 to the hiring and leaving of ex-creative director Tremaine Emory due to “system racial issues.”

While that may have been the case, the company continues to expand globally, recently opening stores in Seoul and Shanghai. VF reports annual sales of almost $11 billion USD. Besides Supreme, it owns Vans, Timberland, Altra, Smartwool, Icebreaker, The North Face, Napapijri, Dickies, Kipling, Eastpak and Jansport. A major player in the fashion industry for years, it has been more active in selling off its brands that no longer fit their forward moving vision. New CEO Bracken Darrell joined the company in hopes to trim down the VF portfolio to ensure that it stays back on track and it appears that Supreme might be collateral. Stay tuned for more information and whether or not the sale will go through.