Vans of the wall, also commonly known as Vans, is an American brand producing apparel and shoes for skateboarding lovers. The company was founded in 1966 by the two brothers Paul and James Van Doren, along with partners Gordon Lee and Serge D’Elia. The company initially started with the name “The Van Doren Rubber Company” and made thick sole shoes in three different styles on made to sell basis. Here, let’s know about Van’s SWOT Analysis.
Paul took inspiration for the logo from his son Mark’s spray-painted logo, which he stenciled on his skateboard. They later added “off the wall” to the logo as a slang word used by skateboarders. Love for skateboarding had started to emerge during this time, and there weren’t any skateboarding shoe producers at the time. This helped the company grow. In 1988 Paul and his partners sold the company to McCown De Leeuw & Co, and they went public in 1991. In 2004 it was acquired by VF Corporation.
Today Vans stands as one of the best skateboarding shoe producers in the world. It has stores in 70 countries across the world, 470 stores in the US, and also offers its products online. It also has its own skate parks. The first one was built in Orange, California, the second one in Huntington Beach, California, and one in London. Today people wear the brand either because of their love for skateboarders or because of their beauty.
Vans Competitors
The brand has very diverse customer groups as its shoes are not only worn by skateboarders but also for fashion purposes. Based on the type of customer segmentation, the competitors can be divided into three groups.
For skateboarding
Customers who use the brand because they love skateboarding have several other options besides vans, and rivals in this specific realm can be described as Competitors in the skateboarding niche. They are
Converse
Founded in 1908, this American brand is one of the earliest footwear producers in the industry. Their product line includes casual footwear and apparel, skating shoes, and other accessories. It was later acquired by Nike in the year 2003. The company sells its products in more than 160 countries worldwide and has its official retail store in 85 countries. In 2019, the brand generated $1.91 billion worth of revenue.
DC
DCSHOECOUSA, also commonly known as DC shoes, is an American brand that was founded in 1994. The brand is dedicated to producing apparel, bags, accessories, and footwear exclusively for sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding. The brand had sponsored professional skateboarders such as Chris Cole, Caine Gayle, Rick Howard, Rudy, and Scott Johnson in the past and now has new professional skateboarders as its representatives. The brand’s net worth is estimated to be over $1 billion.
Element
Element Skateboards, also commonly referred to as element, is an American brand founded by Johnny Schillereff in 1992. The brand makes products such as skateboard decks, apparel, and footwear exclusively for skateboarding. The brand offers its products worldwide and has ten offices in major cities such as New York, Paris, Madrid, London, and Sydney. The brand currently has sponsored several professional skateboarders across continents such as Bam Margera, Tom Schaar, Madars Apse, and others from the States Guillaume Mocquin, Kieran Shaw, Ross McGouran from Europe, and Bjorn Johnston, Alex Lawton, Corbin Harris from Australia.
For fashion
Customers who use the brand for fashion purposes also have several options besides vans, and these competitors focus on providing beautiful and comfortable casual footwear. Competitors in this realm are
Sketchers
Sketchers are one of the most commonly worn shoes because of their exceptional comfort because of their memory form (developed by NASA) in the shoe soles. The American brand is widely known for its comfort. Founded in 1992, the brand gradually made its way to become one of the top footwear producers in the industry. It has over 4,000 stores worldwide and has some models that are considered as one of the most comfortable shoes in the world.
ALDO
Founded in 1972, this Canadian brand produces footwear and accessories for both men and women. Its affordable pricing and wide variety of options make it one of the most commonly worn brands. The company operates in 100 countries across the globe and has around 3000 stores worldwide. As of 2019, the brand generated $1.9 billion worth of sales.
Hushpuppies
Introduced in 1958, this American brand only produces footwear for men, women, and children. The brand produces casual footwear that is known for its comfort. It has stores in 120 countries worldwide and is mostly bought for everyday activities such as running errands. Though there is some contention as to whether the shoes are beautiful or not, some even call them dad shoes. However, either for fashion or comfort, several celebrities have been spotted wearing the brand casually.
For skateboarding and fashion purpose
Customers who use skateboarding and fashion purpose buy the brand because of its visual appeal and because of how comfortable and light they feel while skateboarding. The brands that produce shoes for both fashion and skateboarding purposes include
Adidas
Founded by Adolf Adi Dassler in 1924, this German brand is one of the biggest athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories producers in Europe and second to Nike. Adidas shoes are mostly worn for fashion purposes due to their visual appeal; however, the brand is also known for producing excellent skateboarding shoes. The company has over 2000 retail stores of its own and thousands of mono-branded franchises and wholesale stores worldwide. It is famous among both fashion and skateboard lovers.
Nike
Nike SB abbreviation for Nike Skateboarding is the name given to the brand Nike’s line that is focused on producing skateboarding products exclusively. Nike is the biggest athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories producer in the world. Due to the immense love and passion people have for Skateboarding, Nike dedicated a separate line for it in 2009. As soon as Nike launched the Nike SB line, it starts sponsoring professional skateboarders from around the world such as Paul Rodriguez, Shane O’Neill, Nyjah Huston, Eric Koston, Sean Malto, Alex Olson, Omar Salazar, Youness Amrani as a part of its professional team.
Puma
Elder brother to the founder of Adidas, Rudolf Rudi Dassler had founded Puma in 1974. After having some contention, the two brothers decided to part ways. Puma is currently the third-largest athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories producer in the world, with more than 100 outlets throughout the world. Though people usually wear the brand for fashion or sports, It also produces shoes, especially for skateboard lovers.
New balance
New Balance has been producing athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories for the past 115 years. It offers products in several categories such as Basketball shoes, Football shoes, skating shoes, baseball shoes, running shoes, and casual sneakers. The brand has sponsored several athletes and celebrities such as NBA star Kawhi Leonard, actor Jaden Smith, IU (celebrity from south Kore), and US Olympic sprinter Sydney McLaughlin as its representatives. The brand has 4000 retail stores worldwide and recently generated $4.4 billion worth of revenue.
SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis is a commonly used tool to give a brief analysis of the subject’s greatest strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, threat it may face in the future. Vans had entered the market when most of the major had either already started or were just starting on their shoe business. Compared to other compared to its competitors, Vans has some strengths and weaknesses. As the world keeps evolving, there is always room for new opportunities and threats. Let’s take a look at Vans SWOT analysis
Strengths
- Vans has a solid position in the market position, It has been in the market for many years, and its customers trust it.
- Its affordable prices, excellent quality, and a wide variety to choose from makes it stand out the most and are the reason most people opt for it.
Weaknesses
- It produces products exclusively for skateboarding. Though the products can be used for fashion or casual wear, they are made on the skater lifestyle theme.
- Vans has a very good position in the US market. However, it hasn’t made its way into the markets that are emerging in countries such as India and China like its rivals Adidas and Nike have.
Opportunities
- Making its way into the newly emerging markets in Asia would help that brand grow exponentially. As most of the world’s population resides in these continents, the brand would have a much bigger audience to serve.
- The customers are loyal and see value in the brand; therefore, expanding their product line is an amazing opportunity for it. Most of its competitors have already extended their products into analogous fields and are seeing massive growth.
Threats
- One major threat to the brand’s reputation is from replicas and copies that damage its image. Replicas and copies of the original make the customers believe that the products are low quality and have no value, which taints the brand image.
- Threats from the macro-environment are inevitable. Changes in political, economic, social, and government conditions affect the production and pricing strategies. Another major is threat is from suppliers; any increases in prices from the supplier or changes in the contract can have serious effects on the pricing process and also affect the current/ future projects.
Conclusions
Vans, an American brand producing apparel and footwear for skateboard lovers, was founded in 1966 by the two brothers Paul and James Van Doren, along with two other partners. In 2004 they sold the brand to VF Corporation. The brand has a decent reputation in the market due to its affordable prices, comfort, and large array to choose from. Some people wear the brand for fashion, some wear it for skateboarding, and some for both. And the brand has competitors in each of these categories. One of the major competitors includes Nike, Adidas, Puma, DC, converse, and New Balance.
One of the brand’s biggest strengths is that it has a solid standing in the market due to its years of service, which makes it a trusted brand. The weakness is that the brand only produces products for skateboarding while its competitors produce products in several similar lines. One big opportunity that awaits Vans is that it has yet to tap into the newly emerging market where it would find a much bigger audience. One major threat that vans would face like any other producer is the threat from the macro environment, which is inevitable.
