In a statement emailed to FN, Red Wing Shoe Co. cited the dramatic changes to the market, "particularly over the last several years," as the reason for its sunsetting of Vasque and its outdoor business.
"What consumers seek and how they want to both shop and buy has changed dramatically," the statement read. "These changes have forced us to re-evaluate our business proposition and opportunity."
The statement continued, "This is not a decision that we took lightly. In fact, we evaluated many possible strategic paths. In the end, however, we do not believe that there is a viable path forward. With limited resources, we believe it is best for us to focus on the incredible opportunities we see in our core business and brands at Red Wing Shoe Company."
With recent years hampered by inventory woes and a product range with far too many SKUs, Vasque -- which the Red Wing Shoe Co. launched in 1964 -- had worked to right the ship. Those efforts began in September 2020, when company veteran Bryce Wernsman was named president of the American hiking boot brand. Several other key hires were made along the way, including Scott Kendall as its product designer in June 2021, Jessica Sandrin as product in July 2022 and Brandon Gough as the North American sales manager in September 2022.
Speaking with FN in October 2022, Wernsman revealed Vasque's game plan to both become relevant with today's outdoor consumer and fix the problems that have long plagued the brand. This included the release of a modernized iteration of its popular Breeze hiker and the reduction of its SKU total by 60 percent.
"We knew that we had too many products in the portfolio," Wernsman said at the time. "We were somewhere around 150-plus styles and it was just too many. We were extending equity on really good products to try to sell new products that just weren't really hitting."
In September 2023, Wernsman once again spoke with FN, and offered an update on what he called a "multiyear reset" for Vasque.
The exec said at the time that Vasque had made "tremendous progress on a variety of fronts" and stated "We've got the best product pipeline the brand's ever had." What's more, Wernsman stated Vasque had opened more than 300 new wholesale accounts in North America in 2023, including large national accounts that the brand had not historically done business with, as well as outdoor specialty stores and the family sit-and-fit channel.
Wernsman, however, also admitted orders were not where Vasque would like them to be.
"We launched our newest, most innovative, most differentiated product in the height of an industry reset," he said. "When you look at the fall '23 sell-in numbers, all of our partners are still sitting on inventory, so preseason orders were lower than usual."
He continued, "We're happy with a slow, strategic start if it means we're building a strong foundation and building for the future. We suspect that will happen. Ultimately, everybody suffered with orders this fall, but we'll get through that like everybody else."
Red Wing Shoe Co. did not immediately share the projected timeline for shuttering Vasque and its outdoor business.
"The outdoor industry has always been a family - one that thrives on shared experiences and the love of the outdoors," Red Wing Shoe Co. stated. "We have been honored to be a part of so many retailers' footwear assortments, as well as the community at large. While we will no longer be a stand-alone brand within the industry, we will forever be a champion of it from the sidelines."