RETAIL : Van Doren Take Giant Leap With Vans Shoes Line
If the Van Doren Rubber Co. has its way, Vans Shoes will be stepping out--and making tracks all over the country.
The Orange-based maker of the canvas sneakers made popular in the movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” has big plans to double its current annual sales of $60 million by May, 1992, said Jerry Gross, executive vice president at Van Doren. To do that, Van Doren is gearing up for a national expansion of Vans Shoes, its line of classic and custom tennis shoes.
Right now, about 35% to 40% of sales are through 57 Vans stores in Southern California, with a small amount of shoes sold through independent retailers, Gross said. A third of total sales are in Mexico, with the rest sold through 7,000 store locations--ranging from Nordstrom to mom-and-pop retailers--across the United States and in Western Europe.
“The real opportunity for growth is to develop markets outside Southern California,” said Gross, who added that Van Doren hopes that the expansion will shift sales so that at least 50% are outside California.
To aid the national expansion, Van Doren recently told Ripley-Woodbury of Cerritos to take a hike and handed its $3-million advertising account over to Eisaman, Johns & Laws/L.A.
“We felt a larger agency with more national presence could help us get to the $100-million level more effectively than Ripley could have,” Gross said.
