Vans

Vans products are considered as a want. Shoes are necessary to the everyday life but shoes from the company Vans are considered as a want instead of a need since they can be more on the pricey side to some individuals and there are many options for cheaper shoes which could be considered as a need.

The general target audience that the company has decided is 12-24 year olds. Since the company started off as a brand for skateboarding, skateboarders are also part of the target audience as well as most teenagers since Vans shoes have become a fashion trend.

Pros

- More stores around the world= more consumers
- Variety of consumers
- Opportunity to earn more money
- Expansion/more recognition for the brand

Cons

- Differences with preference between different countries
- International taxes/tariffs
- Language barriers

- Cotton, rubber, canvas, suede, dye, leather, and plastic are all materials that are imported by Vans
- The company exports the finished shoes to retailers

Vans shoes are manufactured in Factories owned by the company. The processed materials are shipped to the factory and then separated between assembly lines where workers or machines then start fabricating the shoes. Each pair of shoes goes through a 5 step process.

Step 1: Rubber goes through a vulcanizing process to form the soles

Step 2: The vulcanized rubber is cut out into the shape of the soles

Step 4: The soles move to an assembly room where canvas and suede is fitted around a mould to create the general body of the shoe, then 3 rubber strips are attached along with the Vans logo

Step 5: The shoes are lacquered then put in a vulcanizing oven to harden the shoe. After that process they are shipped to the distributors.

Product: While starting off by advertising as shoes for skateboarding, they started adapting towards adventure sports such as BMX or motocross. Vans has a history of collaborating with other companies or artists like Metallica. They also have an online collection where all special edition shoes are kept like the recent Mickey Mouse collaboration design.

Place: Vans products are being sold in over 170 countries around the world whether its online or in one of the 370+ vans stores/ partner stores. By having many stores around the world, it permits the company to sell their products to a greater number of consumers.

Price: The company targets the upper middle region of population. They try to price the shoes at an affordable price however special edition shoes are priced a lot higher

Promotion: Vans takes part in sponsoring many events such as the yearly Vans Warped Tour. They also participate in sports events and the opening of skate parks to help form a brand value. They also have social media accounts to promote their products on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook,etc.

Competitive market:

Direct competition: Other skateboarding companies that sell products similar to theirs, converse is a company that sells casual shoes at the moment that are competitors of Vans since people can decide to invest in converse shoes instead of vans

Indirect competition: brands such as Journeys, Adidas, Nike, Tillys, etc can be some indirect competition for the Vans company since some have similar products and they all more or less share the same target audience

Consumer market:

Demographics: - teens/young adults
-Middle class
-Both genders

1. Materials gets transported to the manufacturers
2. Shoes get manufactured
3. They get packaged and shipped to retailers
4. The shoes are sold to consumers

Benefits

When working for vans there are many benefits that you will receive.

- gym, medical, and dental benefits are all examples out of many benefits you can receive
- there are company holidays, sick days, vacation days that you can take
- they provide insurance and sometimes health care

Work environment

The work environment for the company Vans is very welcoming and positive. Employees describe it as an opportunity for growth, friendly environment, nice and welcoming management and colleagues, and they have flexible schedules.

Ethics

The company cares a lot about their environmental impact and has lots of sustainable methods to be more environmentally friendly. They're trying to improve their animal welfare by only using cotton from non-mulesed sheep. In general they are making a start to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Annual Revenue: $262.04 million USD

Net profitability: 8.36 SEK

Profit ratio: 11.97%