VF Corporation has reached an agreement to offload its Dickies workwear label to Bluestar Alliance in a transaction valued at $600 million, the company confirmed Monday.
The all-cash deal is expected to close before year-end, pending regulatory clearance and standard closing conditions.
Dickies has faced declining sales in recent years, though VF noted that performance showed signs of stabilisation in the latest quarter.
The move comes as VF continues to streamline its brand portfolio and reduce debt.
The company has spent the past several years pruning its holdings, beginning with the 2018 spin-off of Wrangler and Lee, followed by the sale of nine other workwear lines.
While VF made headlines with its $2.1 billion acquisition of streetwear label Supreme in 2020, it later sold that brand for $1.5 billion in July 2024, a divestment aimed at shoring up its balance sheet.
Analysts at Needham, led by Tom Nikic, described the Dickies sale as largely anticipated when speaking to Retail Dive. “The company is not losing much EBITDA, but is taking a healthy chunk out of the debt balance, improving the debt leverage by about half a turn,” Nikic wrote, adding that the deal aligns with CEO Bracken Darrell’s strategy of prioritising debt reduction and growth in VF’s core brands: The North Face, Vans, and Timberland.
Darrell reinforced the focus in a statement: “As I’ve said before, we continuously evaluate our portfolio and this transaction will enable us to bring our net debt level down and will be accretive to our growth on a pro-forma basis.”
VF’s most recent earnings report showed revenue holding steady at $1.8 billion year over year, with Timberland and The North Face continuing to lead results.
For Bluestar Alliance, Dickies adds another high-profile acquisition to its roster. In recent years, the brand management firm has scooped up Palm Angels, Off-White, and Scotch & Soda, alongside other labels including Hurley, Tahari, Kensie, and Justice.
Bluestar CEO Joseph Gabbay praised Dickies’ heritage and signalled plans to expand on its potential: “We have followed the [Dickies] brand for many years and have a deep appreciation for its history and legacy, which VF Corporation has successfully begun to rebuild over the past few years.
“We are committed to supporting the Dickies brand’s growth by leveraging our consumer insights and operational excellence to unlock its full value for all stakeholders.”
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