Vans Inc., the leading worldwide brand for Core Sports(TM), today announced that it has been selected by Forbes as one of its “Best 200 Small Companies of 2001” for the second year in a row.
Vans ranked number 179 on the Forbes list, which is featured in the Oct. 29 issue and available on newsstands now. Vans is one of just 83 companies to repeat from last year, when the company was ranked number 191.
“We are very pleased with our accomplishments throughout the year,” stated Gary H. Schoenfeld, president and chief executive officer of Vans. “In light of the disruptions that we are all experiencing since Sept. 11, the recognition from Forbes is a great boost to our team and a terrific acknowledgement of what we have achieved so far.”
Making Forbes’ roster of the “Best 200 Small Companies” meant that Vans had to maintain a strict criteria that included a minimum five percent growth in sales and earnings over each of the last five years.
According to the editors of Forbes, “There is no doubt that Forbes’ ‘200 Best Small Companies in America’ are the premier publicly traded up and coming outfits. First, all of these companies have stellar track records – over both the long and short term – in growth and profitability.”
Additionally, Promo Magazine named Vans as one of the “Top 50 Best-Promoted Brands” in their October issue, a recognition that Vans shares with the likes of BMW, Budweiser, Disney and Taco Bell. Vans was selected because few companies are better tapped into the youthful “Generation Y” audience. The brand is able to appeal to its audience of 12- to 29-year olds through products and events such as the Vans Triple Crown(TM) Series, comprised of 21 Core Sports events throughout North America including Skateboarding, Snowboarding, Surfing, BMX, Supercross, Freestyle Motocross and Wakeboarding. The Vans Triple Crown Series has helped put Core Sports on the mainstream map and attracted marketing partners such as Mountain Dew, Xbox, Ford Ranger, Right Guard Xtreme Sport, G-Shock, Transworld Media, Fox Sports Net and NBC Sports.
In addition, Vans owns a majority of the Vans Warped Tour ®, which has brought music and Core Sports together every summer for North America’s longest running lifestyle festival and concert and has savvy Gen Y audiences accepting and embracing its corporate sponsorship tie-ins. Vans also operates nine large-scale Vans Skateparks and retail stores, which are visited by millions of teens annually, and keep the brand close to its core demographic.
“We don’t sit around trying to get teens to do something,” said Vans’ vice president of marketing Chris Strain. “We try to find ways we can share their lives with them.”
