Vans Product Chief Marissa Pardini to Exit Brand as VF Corp. Challenges Continue
The turnover at VF Corp. continues.
Marissa Pardini, chief product and merchandising officer at Vans, has confirmed with FN that she will be leaving the brand at the end of March. The news was first reported by Shop Eat Surf (SES).
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What’s more, SES reported high-level Vans employees were laid off in several departments.
Vans declined FN’s request for comment.
The VF-owned skate brand hired Pardini in September 2022 for its chief product and merchandising officer role, which she assumed months later in December. Before assuming the role, Pardini previously spent 10 years at Vans before joining sister company The North Face for almost three years.
Pardini was hired during a period of struggle for Vans and was part of a revamped leadership team tasked with turning things around. That team included the return of Kevin Bailey, who assumed the global brand president role in April 2022. Bailey’s on-and-off career with Vans began in 2002 — before the VF acquisition — which included his first term as president that lasted from 2009 to 2016.
Since then, both Bailey and Pardini have left Vans. (VF announced in October 2023 that Bailey was stepping down from his role and would remain as a part of VF’s executive leadership team reporting to CEO and president Bracken Darrell.)
VF’s struggles have resulted in several rounds of layoffs across the company in recent years.
In November 2023, VF said it had laid off roughly 500 employees as part of its plan to restructure its business and improve operations globally. VF said the job cuts took place across all its brands, corporate functions and geographies.
And in August 2022, VF confirmed is was cutting 600 office-based roles, impacting 300 current workers and 300 open roles.
About the Author
Peter Verry is the Senior News and Features Editor for Athletic and Outdoor at Footwear News. He oversees coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets, which includes conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders and writing stories on sneakers and outdoor shoes. He is a lifelong sneaker addict (and shares his newest purchases via @peterverry on Instagram) and spends most of his free time on a trail. He holds an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University and can be reached at [email protected].
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