Revenue at Vans fell 9.8% to $547 million during the fiscal second quarter, but parent VF Corp. says the skate shoe retailer is showing signs of a turnaround fueled by new products and celebrity collaborations.
Chief Executive Bracken Darrell insisted that brand enthusiasm has rebounded, with global direct-to-consumer sales growing for the first time in nearly five years.
“Our plan to reignite Vans is working,” Darrell said in a statement, adding that strong wholesale orders point to improvement in the second half of the fiscal year.
Darrell credited the recovery to a product strategy that introduces new designs in small batches online and through select partners before expanding into Vans stores and, eventually, wholesale channels.
“In fact, this turnaround is primarily driven by our focus on product,” Darrell told analysts. “We are refreshing our icons and offering new silhouettes.”
He pointed to renewed demand for classic Old Skool sneakers and newer styles such as Pearlized and Souvenir.
Vans also has generated buzz through collaborations with musicians SZA, Hayley Williams of Paramore and Travis Barker.
At October’s ComplexCon, the brand relaunched a sneaker collaboration associated with Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym of Bitcoin’s anonymous creator. Darrell said the launch briefly shut down the Vans booth, while a subsequent limited online release sold out in five minutes.
“You can feel throughout our organization that Vans is getting its mojo back,” Darrell told analysts. “There is beginning to be a swagger in Costa Mesa that was missing for some time.”
Darrell expects Vans’ revenue to decline 2% or less in the second half of the fiscal year.
Xponential Investor Proposes Private Deal
One of Xponential Fitness Inc.’s largest shareholders has proposed taking the boutique fitness franchisor private in a deal valued at $5.61 to $7 per share.
Fund 1 Investments, which owns 9.9% of Xponential (NYSE: XPOF), submitted a letter to the company’s board proposing to acquire the entire business or a majority stake alongside other investors.
The proposed price, submitted Oct. 30, represents a premium of 50% to 87% over Xponential’s Oct. 29 closing price of $3.74. Fund 1, a subsidiary of Puerto Rico-based Pleasant Lake Partners LLC, cited its involvement in the privatizations of beauty retailer L’Occitane in 2024 and Tile Shop Holdings in 2025 as evidence of the potential benefits of taking the company private.
“As a private company, Xponential could focus on rebuilding studio-level demand, generating free cash flow and strengthening its balance sheet, without the pressure of quarterly reporting and the demands of public market investors,” Fund 1 stated.
Raymond James analyst Joseph Altobello called the proposal a “meaningful development” that could establish a valuation benchmark and attract other bidders.
However, he described a potential takeover as a “wildcard,” citing the board’s pending response and a recently adopted shareholder rights plan designed to discourage unwanted acquisitions.
No formal acquisition agreement has been announced.
The proposal comes as Xponential’s board continues a strategic review launched in April to explore alternatives, including a potential sale or merger.
Several months later, Fund 1 acquired 4.17 million shares for approximately $25.9 million. Xponential subsequently reached an agreement limiting Fund 1’s ownership to 19.9%.