VF Corporation to acquire workwear manufacturer Williamson Dickie

VF acquisition of Williamson Dickie : American worldwide apparel and footwear giant VF Corporation has signed an agreement to acquire workwear manufacturer Williamson-Dickie in an all-cash deal worth around $820 million.

VF Corporation says that the Williamson Dickie acquisition aligns with its commitment to active portfolio while boosting its growing workwear platform further.

The subsequent combination of the Greensboro, North Carolina-based VF Corporation and Williamson Dickie is expected to form a top global workwear manufacturing company that would enjoy annual revenues of about $1.7 billion.

Founded in 1918, Williamson Dickie is the owner of the highly popular Dickies workwear brand along with the Workrite, Walls, Terra and Kodiak workwear brands. After merger, they will be joining Wrangler RIGGS Workwear, Timberland PRO, Horace Small, Red Kap and Bulwark workwear brands of VF Corporation.

Dickies Workwear brand owned by Williamson Dickie. Photo courtesy of Dickies.

VF also owns well-known lifestyle brands like Lee, Wrangler, Vans, The North Face and Timberland.

Commenting on the VF acquisition of Williamson Dickie, the apparel and footwear giant’s president and CEO Steve Rendle said: “When we introduced our 2021 global business strategy earlier this year, reshaping our portfolio to accelerate growth was our highest priority.

“The acquisition of Williamson-Dickie is another meaningful step that delivers on that commitment and further demonstrates our focus on being an active portfolio manager to drive transformative growth for VF and value creation for our shareholders.”

After merger is done, the workwear manufacturer Williamson Dickie will be part of VF’s Imagewear coalition. Its present CEO Philip Williamson will continue with the company which will keep its headquarters in Fort Worth in Texas.

Commenting on Williamson Dickie acquisition by VF Corporation, Philip Williamson stated: “Today’s announcement is an authentic and natural next step as we look to combine the strengths of our two companies to create significant opportunities for our employees, vendors, retail partners and ultimately our customers.

“We expect that under VF’s leadership, we’ll be able to experience the next wave of growth and better meet the needs of workers everywhere.”

Following the merger which is slated to be completed in Q4 2017, the parties say that VF Corporation will welcome the 7,000 employees of the workwear manufacturer Williamson Dickie.