"Off the wall"- Vans World HQ Visit & A Lesson in Branding

Along with nine other lucky students, I had a chance to visit the Vans World Headquarters in Costa Mesa a company visit organized by Tobias Coffman. Vans, the very loved and famous American brand, known for skateboarding shoes and related apparels, was founded in 1966. Vans is owned by the holding company VF corp. In 2019, VF Corp reported an annual revenue $13.8 billion. During the visit, we also had a chance to meet and hear from with David Gold, VP of Strategy, Vans who shared his journey, experiences and advise on what after MBA. He also spoke about how "Off the wall" came to being and shared his excitement about the Vans ComfyCush - the latest shoe launch from Vans with mesh bottom sole.

"Off the wall" - The iconic movie Lords of Dogtown based on a true story of Z-Boys narrate the tale very well on coining the phrase. A drought in 1970s Southern California got people to empty their swimming pools. A group of teen surfers from the Dogtown area of Venice Beach would sneak in with skateboards, and a new sport was born. While skating, one of the teens goes off the wall in the pool which leads to fame, fortune and misfortune and the phrase. Vans sponsored the movie, skateboard parks and more to supporting skating across the world.

For Vans, it is all about skateboarding and action sports. One of main reasons, Vans is growing at the pace is it maintains ultra focus on customer core. Vans is a brand for people who wants to stand out and enjoy great consumer experience. 

Imperfect = beloved. Beat up vans are a badge of honor.

With Monica Martinez, Beverly Ilagan, Vikash Jhunjhunwala, Tobias Coffman, Ian Landgreen, Mary Beth Sinchai, Martin Komal, Ahmed Nagy, Brandon J. Hale

David shared his perspective on what made Vans's Stellar Success possible.

• Checkboard not checkbooks. We noticed young people would draw on their shoes. We launched a checkerboards patterns on shoes which immediately connected with the youth. We keep up with fast times and changing preferences.
• Global consistency with local relevancy - We listen to the customer. We spend tremendous amount of time to learn about our customers.
• We are hungry and humble ! - Ask yourself what would Van Dorean would do ? It starts from the top at Vans. We are asked everyday -

What are you doing to grow your team- Trickle down from top to bottom. Our management is a living embodiment of culture and values.

• Enable creativity. The next phase of Vans's transformation is to become a global icon for creative expression.

• Segmentation with focus on authenticity - Product has to feel authentic. At Vans, the further you go away from skates you have to come back to skates.

• Go after Good Stories - Loyalty is overrated. We want people to love our brand. We know they will not just be using us and will buy other brands. It's not about profitability, it’s about where we can get good stories and help our core base.
• Long term vs Short term - We focus on the ecosystem and not just one skew. We maintain a healthy tension between long term five year goal vs current quarter sales.

David's advice to students starting their journey in business management and leadership

• Be very customer focused in strategy.
• Think of what impact one product will have on another and are you cannibalizing a skew for another and what impact will it have on the ecosystem and customer perceptions.

Be ruthless in prioritization and authentic to your mission. Our central focus is high customer value creation.

• Spend a lot of time and researching studying your customers, environments they live in and how they experience your brand.

The last mile effort is the toughest and most crucial. Make it easier for your customers to get you.

• Self awareness and ruthless prioritization what do you care about. Leave everything and focus on them.
• Investment vs payoff - invest in the relationship and brand to get the payoff. When you want to invest in building skills. 
• Think about your personal brand. How do you want people around you to talk about? If everyone wants to work with you, that’s a problem.

It is worth the effort to be excellent. The mediocre put the same effort to avoid the work as the excellent put time to excel.

• When you find yourself in a place where you feel it’s not worth it, get the hell out of that place
• When in doubt, be nice and helpful. Small team is a great place to learn
• Get closer to the business by learning operations.

Success Mantra - It’s for everyone but not for everybody!

Company Headquarter - The company HQ is conveniently located next to the 405 freeway in Costa mesa, California and spans 18000sq feet. The vibe was young warm and welcoming like home. The courtyard in the middle of the building was unheard with prime real estate in SoCal. The building was full of sensor to convert chatters to whispers! Vans spent close to $5million putting 4000 solar panels around the building. They are probably the only company in the region with LEED (Leader in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification and have been able to reduce water consumption by 50%.

The visit ended with each one of us getting a coupon to design and order a custom Vans for free. I'm going to order my ComfyCush now tonight!