ABOUT VANS INC.

Vans, Inc. is a premier manufacturer of shoes and apparel for a target group of young and
active consumers. Vans snowboarding boots and skateboarding sneakers are specifically
designed for today's extreme sports culture and are the footwear of choice among elite
athletes worldwide. Through event sponsorships and a chain of skateboarding parks, Vans has
forged a unique niche in the booming youth sportswear market. The company's unflagging
commitment to tracking the latest trends has put it in an excellent position to grab an even
larger market share as it heads into the 21st century.

Following is the detailed research on this company according to the 4Ps of marketing.

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 PLACE
1966
Paul Van Doren gained experience manufacturing shoes on
the East Coast in the early 1960s. By 1965, Van Doren had
developed the idea to start up his own plant. But instead of
selling his shoes to retailers, Van Doren decided to take on
retailing activities as well and to sell the shoes he
manufactured directly to the public.

Van Doren, together with partners Serge D'Elia, an investor based in Japan, and Gordy Lee,
who also had shoe manufacturing experience, moved to southern California, building a factory
and opening a first 400-square-foot retail store in Anaheim in March 1966. The company was
incorporated as the Van Doren Rubber Company, and Van Doren's shoes came to be known
simply as Vans.

Later, Van Doren's younger brother, James Van Doren, joined the company. Paul Van Doren
and D'Elia owned the majority of the company; James Van Doren and Gordy Lee each were
given a 10 per cent stake.

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Over the next year, the company opened a new retail store almost every week. A pattern
developed in which Paul Van Doren scouted locations on Monday, signed a lease on Tuesday,
remodelled on Wednesday, added shoe racks on Thursday and displays on Friday, hired a store
manager on Saturday, and trained staff on Sunday. Retail operations would generate the bulk
of Van Doren's early sales; the stores also enabled the company to get close to its public.

PRODUCT
As the company itself tells it, the opening of its first store was inauspicious. Vans offered
three styles, priced from $2.49 to $4.99, but on the day the store opened for business, the
company had only made display models. The store racks were filled with empty boxes.
Nevertheless, 12 customers came into the store and chose the colours and styles they wanted.
The customers were asked to come back in the afternoon, while Van Doren and Lee rushed to
the factory to make their shoes. When the customers returned to pick up the shoes, Van Doren
and Lee realized that they had neglected to have money available to make a change. The
customers were given the shoes and asked to return the next day to pay for them. All 12
customers did.

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 VANS #44 DECK SHOES, NOW KNOWN AS
THE AUTHENTIC, ARE BORN.

EARLY 1970'S
The name House of Vans is coined Early 70s Skateboarders who like
Vans' rugged make-up and sticky sole are seen sporting for the first
time and is showcased on the windows of the Anaheim location.

Complaints about the early design of the company's rubber soles, which featured a diamond
pattern that cracked too easily along the ball of the outsole, led to the addition of vertical
lines to the ball area. The new design was patented as Vans' waffle sole.

A new type of customer boosted the company's fortunes in the early 1970s. The skateboarding
craze, an outgrowth of California's surfing culture, provided an opportunity for Van Doren to
prove its flexibility.

When skateboarders began requesting new colours and patterns, the company responded by
offering The Vans #95, now known as the Era, a red-and-blue shoe, with a padded collar and
different colour combinations, which was designed by Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta and
became the shoe of choice for a generation of skateboarders. Vans quickly became the

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 skateboard shoe of choice, beginning the company's
long, and devoted, association with the sport. Many
more colour combinations and patterns were added
in the 1970s.

VANS' "OFF THE WALL" LOGO

MAKES ITS DEBUT.

1977

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Vans #36, the Old Skool, debuted with the now
famous Vans Sidestripe. The Old Skool is Vans'
first skate shoe that incorporated leather panels
for increased durability. What started as a random
doodle by Paul Van Doren was originally referred
to as the "jazz stripe" and has become the

unmistakable hallmark of the Vans brand.

The Vans #98 was also introduced and with the help
of skateboarders and BMX riders, Vans Classic Slip-
Ons became the rage in Southern California and came
to be the original Slip-On silhouette that is known as
an icon for generations.

BY THE END OF THE 70S, VANS HAS 70 STORES IN CALIFORNIA

AND SELLS THROUGH DEALERS BOTH NATIONALLY AND
INTERNATIONALLY.

1978
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The Sk8-Hi was introduced in 1978 as "Style 38," and showcased the now-iconic Vans
Sidestripe on yet another innovative silhouette. As only the second model featuring the
recognizable marker formerly known as the "jazz stripe," the Sk8-Hi took skate functionality
to the next level, above the ankle, where skateboarders used and abused their lower
extremities the most. The Sk8-Hi not only shielded bones from skateboards catapulted at
them but also brought a whole new look to the park.

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 PROMOTION
In 1976, ownership of the company was equalized
among the four original partners, and James Van
Doren was given control of the company's direction.
The younger Van Doren set out to expand the
company. He was helped by the latest sports craze
sweeping California, the BMX bicycle: Vans became
the shoe of choice among the young BMXers. But it
was a movie that gave Vans a national market.

From Dude to Dud in the 1980s

The 1982 hit film Fast Times at Ridgemont High featured the California surfer dude Jeff
Spicoli, played by Sean Penn, wearing a pair of Vans checkerboard slip-ons. The film made a
star of Penn and launched Vans nationwide, bringing the company's shoes into department
stores and independent retailers. With sales skyrocketing, James Van Doren boosted
production capacity, moving the company to a new 175,000-square-foot plant in Orange,
California, in 1984 and raising the number of employees to more than 1,000. The Vans slip-
on craze spawned a variety of licensing agreements, including items such as sunglasses and
notebooks. Van Doren also pushed the company deeper into speciality sports footwear,
developing baseball, football, umpiring, basketball, soccer, wrestling, boxing, and skydiving
shoes. Most companies had already begun to move to manufacture to Asia, where labour costs
were lower and environmental regulations were less restrictive, but Vans remained dedicated

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to domestic production while expanding product offerings to include widths from EEEE to
AAAA.

Vans products have always been intended for a younger demographic. Since they are widely
known as an outdoor, extreme sports brand, their main customers are young men who enjoy
skating, surfing, and biking. Vans has introduced other product lines to include babies and
toddlers as well as women’s shoes, which have become especially popular with the surge of
women’s action sports. Typically, a person that would buy Vans shoes are athletic, leaning
towards more extreme sports like the ones mentioned previously, but they have expanded into
snowboard boots as well which proved to be hugely successful overseas and in Europe. These
customers are also very loyal and brand conscious. They understand the utility of a well-
crafted shoe for athletic sports and cling to a brand that can offer them good value with
comparable aesthetics. Young people also enjoy the idea of creating something unique. Vans
allow them the opportunity to create custom sneakers that will help them stand out from the
crowd. The shoes can be viewed as a talking point among friends who view the person wearing
the shoes as unique and creative as the shoe itself. People in the extreme skate culture have
a reputation for being loud and ostentatious. Vans shoes have been a sponsor of the touring
music festival known as Warped Tour for over 15 years. This festival is home to hardcore,
punk, and metal bands and their fans are generally young and enjoy loud, hard, and fast music.
Vans partnered with the Warped Tour because they understood that their demographic was
young, hard, fast, and loud as well. The skate and surf culture is very stylish and the people
that wear Vans like to appear as though they are a part of the community as a whole.
Secondary and tertiary customers would be young parents who are interested in having their
children wear unique shoes and clothing similar to their own tastes and women who are
involved in action sports. These two groups are smaller than the primary target demographic

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but are growing tremendously especially due to their increased recognition in overseas
markets.
Doug Palladini, Vice President of Marketing for Vans recognizes that it is also about
remaining authentic. Noticing that young kids and adult want to appear cool and hip, he offers
this acknowledgement, “It is that Southern California culture of music, art, action sports,
street culture all wrapped together around this basic-looking shoe. That is really what it
is…You know, at the end of the day, what you're doing is you're capturing cool” (Ryssdal,
2009).

OVERALL MARKETING STRATEGIES

1. Vans uses a wide array of marketing strategies to publicize their brand. The main
objective for a brand like Vans is to remain consumer focused and listen to the needs
of loyal customers. For that reason, they have tapped into social media (Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram) where they know their target market spends a lot of time. Within
these online social venues, they can indirectly campaign to different markets by
separating them into social, gender, and age clusters.
Vans also does a fair share of direct marketing like magazine ads, billboards, and TV
commercials, but they have a good footing in the social media arena. They understand
that teens congregate on social media and use it to their advantage by offering deals
to followers. If a young person likes Vans’ posts on Facebook, it is likely that that will
influence others who are friends with that person.

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2. Vans also sponsors athletes similar to other major brands like Nike and Adidas except
with more extreme skate, surf, and BMX athletes. They have former professional
skateboarders like Steve Caballero and Tony Alva as well as new professionals like
Dakota Roche and Daniel Sandoval. These professionals have a wide reach among
their peers and have a lot of influence over what their fans wear. Therefore, it is
beneficial for Vans to sponsor icons in the extreme sports community as well as up
and coming talent.

3. Vans also sponsors events like the music festival known as Warped Tour (which
reaches tens of thousands of kids every summer), the U.S. Open of Surfing, Shop Riot,
BMX AM Contest, and Concrete Carnival. These events pull in a large group of the
target demographic which gives them the ability to influence the influencers in their
market. With sponsorships, Vans is also able to push traffic to their website to sell
more products, encourage people to share their message, and showcase their
corporate responsibility.

4. Vans is very active with Truth, the company to stop underage smoking and Americans
for the Arts, which they have helped to raise nearly $500,000. Corporate responsibility
is important to Vans because their image in the past has not been the most honest.
They have employed illegal immigrants, been fined by the government, and have been
chastised for moving manufacturing overseas while not providing livable wages. So
with all of that bad PR, it is necessary for Vans to retain an image of loyalty and
responsibility to the youth movement.

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5. In 1999, while Vans shoes were becoming more popular and extreme sports was in its
infancy, the company attempted to break into the clothing apparel market. They
teamed up with Pacific Sunwear, a major clothing retailer, and formed VanPac. “The
marriage of the Vans name and Pacific Sunwear's extensive retail network proved to
be a fortuitous one for both companies, and the new venture was soon able to compete
for market share with such established brands as Rusty and Quiksilver” (Funding
Universe).
Strategic product placement is a huge part of Vans overall strategy. They understand
that they can sell a limited edition high end shoe to sell in an upscale boutique for
$200, but also sell a low end version for $40 in Kohl’s department store.

6. Exclusives are a big money maker for Vans, too. For example, during the 2013 Major
League baseball series, the company sold MLB exclusive shoes with the team’s logo
and had a limited supply of 12 in each store. They sold out immediately and became a
big hit. Some shoes would later end up on eBay because the demand was so high.

7. Vans have become experts at understanding their target demographic and how to
properly place their products to appeal to each group.
Psychographic Criteria First, a typical customer of Vans fits into one of two VAL
categories: Striver or Experiencer.
A Striver customer is motivated by achievements, but has less access to resources. In
essence, they strive to be what their heroes are and what they have accomplished, but
do not have access to certain things because of their lower financial income. Due to
their high interest in emulating their heroes, style is of utmost importance and they
attempt to look like them at any cost.

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 An Experiencer customer is the youngest VAL group with a median age of 25. They are
motivated by self-expression and are very active in sports. They spend a lot of money
on clothes, shoes, food, and activities and are usually the first group to buy new
products.
The target consumer is clearly young, ambitious and full of energy. Using a Rokeach
Survey, their terminal values may include self-respect, happiness, equality, freedom,
pleasure, social recognition, and an exciting life. Their instrumental values may include
ambition, imagination, independence, and intellect. Using these values, Vans can close
in on their target demographic to decide what is important to their customers.
Rokeach gives insight to what values their customers hold highest and would be useful
to implement when creating campaigns. Since most of the customers are young adults,
a creative imagination may be important to them while obedience would be last on
their list. These consumers see themselves as rebellious and forward thinking and
would scoff at the idea of being conformists who give in easily to authority. It is
important for Vans to maintain their “Off the Wall” image to appeal to a youthful,
imaginative group.
Generally speaking, Vans customers are opinionated, highly motivated and outspoken.
They share traits that are common among the skate culture, loud and in your face.
When people usually think about extreme sports, they do not picture timid kids in
pleated slacks and polo shirts. Instead, they see youthful exuberance with a flair for
the extreme.

8. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, skate culture was typified by the hit MTV show,
“Jackass.” The skaters in that show were loud, funny, imaginative, daring and willing
to do anything for a laugh. Many young people were fans of the show and tried to

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 emulate their new found heroes. This show gave way to another show, “Nitro Circus,”
which was an extreme sport show that popularized BMX, skating and other extreme
sports. The stars of these shows are archetypes of the typical Vans consumer: wild,
outrageous, fun, and creative. They are usually not very political and are open-minded,
but are very outspoken about their views.

9. Vans customers are interested in celebrity culture, music, art and anything related to
street culture. They are typically of a lower income status because they are athletes
or artists and prefer a more bohemian lifestyle. They are not concerned about making
a lot of money, but would much prefer becoming popular from their artistic or athletic
ventures.
Previous to the 1980’s you would generally find these consumers in affluent suburbs,
but now customers can be found in the most diverse markets around the world due to
Vans continued push to get their products to everyone from low-income status to high.
Consumer’s Influence on the Vans Brand Although the Vans brand name has been
around for decades, it does not necessarily mean that the older the brand becomes,
the older the clientele does too. In fact, Vans has positioned themselves as a brand for
the youthful and eccentric. Rarely will you ever see anyone over 40 years old wearing
Vans shoes and it is not for a lack of comfort? Vans has an image that has been very
carefully crafted so that the teen and young adult market remain their loyal, target
demographic. While the image of youth plays a large role in their advertising
campaigns, the real influencers come in the form of their peers. Other skater, bikers,
snowboarders, who are both professional and amateur status, generate a lot of buzz
around a brand that they endorse because of their celebrity stature. Professional

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 skaters like Steve Caballero and Chima Ferguson carry a lot of weight in their
industry and their shoes are as noticeable as the skaters themselves.

10. A feeling of closeness and familiarity have always pervaded Vans brand image and they
continue to foster that sentiment today. Although the skate culture is perceived to be
rough around the edges, they are a very close-knit community. It is important for them
to spread ideas and information including social and fashion trends. They often get
their fashion cues from major influencers like professional skaters, but peers can also
be a source of great influence. If a peer is a big advocate of Vans, it is likely that their
friends will become fans of the product too.
The Consumer Decision Model Vans consumers would typically be classified as
emotional buyers. They are young, somewhat fashion conscious, and are driven by
impulse. That is not to say that Vans consumers are not rational people, but they do
not adhere to the 5 step purchase process as strictly as an economic consumer. It is
safe to assume that a young person is driven by influence. When they see something
they like, they buy it based on want, not need. This can be applied to many of Vans
customers. These customers are typically loyal to their favorite brands, too. It is likely
that once a consumer buys a pair of Vans, they have already been inundated with
advertisements and marketing efforts made by the company. The tone has been set
and the image has been placed in the mind of the consumer.
Buyers see that their favorite skateboarder is wearing a pair of slip-on Vans and now
they must have them! They are listening to their favorite band that they just discovered
from the Vans Warped music tour and are driving straight to their nearest Vans retailer
in hopes of looking like their idol. They will probably ask themselves, does these make

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 me look cool? Will my friends like these colors? Will these help me fit in socially? All
these questions and more will be asked before making a purchase.

PRICE
With multiple celebrity endorsements behind them, Vans has cornered the market on extreme
athletic footwear. The skate culture is known for being a poor, working class sport that
crosses ethnic and racial barriers. There is little to no room for wealthy imitators. Vans
maintain an image of being for the loners, the misunderstood, and the poor to middle class.
Their shoes now retail for an average of $50, but as far as athletic shoes are concerned, that

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is a fairly modest price. Kids can actually afford to buy their own pair of Vans whereas
someone might have to take out a loan for a new pair of Jordan basketball shoes.

Faced with high labour and expansion costs, and the expense of maintaining the breadth and
depth of its line, Van Doren was hit by a flood of competitors selling cheap imitations and
knockoffs. In response, Van Doren was forced to drop its prices below manufacturing costs.
Adding to the company's troubles was a 1984 raid by federal immigration officials, which
resulted in the arrest of nearly 150 suspected illegal workers. Then the bottom dropped out
of the slip-on craze.
Over 21 months, Van Doren lost some $3.6 million, building up a total debt of $12 million.
When the company's bank demanded payment on a $6.7 million note in 1984, the company
was forced to declare bankruptcy. Conditions for its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization
called for the ouster of James Van Doren. Paul Van Doren returned to lead the company out
of bankruptcy, which was accomplished in 1986.

Further Reference

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● Apodaca, Patrice. "Vans Inc. to Build Skate Park at Mall in Orange," Los Angeles Times,
May 8, 1998, p. D2.
● Barron, Kelly. "Vans, Famous for Sneakers, Boosts Status with Snowboard Boots,"
Orange County Register, March 2, 1996.
● Ferguson, Tim W., "Grandpa to the Grunges," Forbes, February 12, 1996, p. 88.
● Granelli, James S., "Little Leverage in Shoemaker's Buyout," Los Angeles Times, April 4,
1989, Sec. 4, p. 9F.
● Lee, Don, "Sneaker Maker Had--Till Now--Bounced Back," Los Angeles Times, June 1,
1995, p. D1.
● Maio, Patrick J., "Kicking," Investor's Daily, January 31, 1996, p. A4.
● McAllister, Robert, "Vans Optimistic with Schoenfeld at the Helm," Footwear News,
August 9, 1993, p. 108.
● Paris, Ellen, "As the Twig Is Bent," Forbes, April 27, 1981, p. 131.

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FASHION MARKETING
RESEARCH OF MARKETING MODULE OF
A BRAND IN TERMS OF 4P’S
MARKETING
SUBMITTED TO:
MR. M ANNAJI SARMA
SUBMITTED BY:
JACQUI
LINE KUJUR
MFM-I
ROLLNO.:11

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