More than a dozen senior-level Vans employees were laid off last week as the company’s head of product and merchandising also gave notice of her departure.
Staff at Vans were told by VF Corp. President and CEO Bracken Darrell Chief Product & Merchandising officer Marissa Pardini plans to step down from the company at the end of the month.
Darrell informed employees in an internal announcement reviewed by Vernon Proper the company’s product team will place “further emphasis on our key strategic priority of elevating our product design and innovation” and that, “With this change, Marissa Pardini has made the difficult personal decision to step away from her role at Vans.”
Pardini was tapped to oversee product and merchandising for Vans, joining in November 2022 after serving as vice president and general manager of The North Face’s Americas region. The North Face is also owned by VF Corp.
Ashley Ahwah, currently VP of global product management, was named chief merchandising officer once Pardini departs. The company is also looking to hire a chief design and innovation officer.
The changes are among several that have taken place at the struggling Vans business, which has weighed heavily on the overall results for VF as one of its largest divisions.
Darrell joined VF in July, tasked with placing the organization back on a growth path. In October, Vans Global Brand President Kevin Bailey stepped away from leading the footwear brand for an executive position within VF.
Along the way, executives have emphasized the need for a turnaround strategy focused on not just product, but the brand regaining relevance among consumers through style newness and marketing.
Elevating Vans Product
The company’s latest collaboration could offer signs of where it hopes to take the Vans brand.
Just a week before the management shakeup, Vans revealed its new partnership and first collaboration with the artist Sterling Ruby and his clothing and accessories label S.R. STUDIO. LA. CA based in Vernon, Calif.
A skateable installation was built in downtown Los Angeles to celebrate the collaboration, which was revealed to the public Feb. 28.
In the lead up to the reveal, the company hosted a dinner on Feb. 26 and party the following day for the collaboration, which ties the design DNA of Vans’ Old Skool 36, Authentic, Mid-Skool 77 and Sk8-Hi into the new “Clash the Wall” sneaker. The shoe’s neon green and orange colorways are references to Ruby’s work.
A second drop is set for release at the end of this year, with additional collaborations in footwear and apparel expected in future years under the partnership.
The OTW by Vans x S.R. STUDIO. LA. CA launch offers a glimpse of where the footwear company hopes to align its brand and product.
“OTW takes Vans’ roots in skateboarding and design history to inform new interpretations of what Vans can be,” Ian Ginoza, vice president and creative director of Pinnacle, OTW by Vans, said in a statement on the collaboration.
For S.R. STUDIO. LA. CA, the shoe marks its first-ever collaboration.
“Vans feels right to us. It defines West Coast history,” Ruby said in a statement. “The company started in 1966 and has run in tandem to so many skaters, bands and movements that have been influential to me, my art and how my studio runs as a whole.”
Be First to Comment