2. #14 VF
In China, where there is not a strong tradition of outdoor participation, The North Face® is
creating one. More than 70 percent of the brand’s 2010 marketing budget there was invested
in events that encouraged consumers to get outside — in one such initiative the brand used
social media and an online contest to recruit for an expedition to climb China’s legendary
Haba Mountain. In its mission to get the Chinese outside, VF may receive aid from just-
acquired Timberland (No. 17) and Vans, which opened
149+ new stores and shop-in-shops in China in 2010,
bringing its retail presence there to 260. Speaking of The North Face’s Double-Track
that marketing budget, a decision in 2010 to invest an running shoe can easily transition
from pavement to trail. Photo
additional $100 million in marketing to drive top-line courtesy of The North Face.
growth in its highest profit markets and opportunities
benefited nearly every brand in VF’s vast portfolio, but The North Face® (named a 2011
Apparel Sustainability All Star) and Vans® brands received the lion’s share (more than
half), and the investment paid off, as revenues rose 7 percent to $7.7 billion and gross
margins reached an all-time high of 46.7 percent, with Outdoor & Action Sports
accounting for 42 percent of total revenues, up from only 22 percent five years ago.
Photo Courtesy of Vans.

3. THE TOP A ranking of U.S. publicly traded apparel companies with at least $100M+
in annual sales by profit margins for their most recent fiscal years.
SALES NET INCOME % %
1
Last
2011 Year’s
RANK Rank
4
Company 50
lululemon athletica
FY
Feb.
Most
Recent
FY
$711.7
Previous
FY
$452.9
%
Change
Sales
57.14
Most
Recent
FY
121.80
Previous
FY
$58.3
%
Change
Net
Income
108.92
Profit
Margin,
Most
Recent FY
17.11
Profit
Margin,
Previous
FY
12.87
2 3 The Buckle Jan. $949.8 $898.3 5.73 134.70 $127.3 5.81 14.18 14.17
3 43 Oxford Industries Jan. $603.9 $585.3 3.18 $78.7 $14.6 439.04 13.03 2.49
4 6 Urban Outfitters Jan. $2,274.1 $1,937.8 17.35 $273.0 $219.9 24.15 12.00 11.35
5 2 True Religion Apparel Dec. $363.7 $311.0 16.95 43.50 $47.3 (8.03) 11.96 15.21
6 5 Guess? Jan. $2,487.3 $2,128.5 16.86 $289.5 $242.8 19.23 11.64 11.41
7 14 Nike May $19,014.0 $19,176.0 (0.84) $1,907.0 $1,486.7 28.27 10.03 7.75
7 9 Polo Ralph Lauren Feb. $5,660.3 $4,978.9 13.69 $567.6 $479.5 18.37 10.03 9.63
8 10 Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Jan. $858.1 $770.3 11.40 $85.8 $71.2 20.51 10.00 9.24
9 7 Aeropostale Jan. $2,400.4 $2,230.1 7.64 $231.3 $229.5 0.78 9.64 10.29
10 17 Carter’s Jan. $1,749.3 $1,589.7 10.04 $146.5 $115.6 26.73 8.37 7.27
10 26 Limited Brands Jan. $9,613.0 $8,632.0 11.36 $805.0 $448.0 79.69 8.37 5.19
11 13 Gap Jan. $14,664.0 $14,197.0 3.29 $1,204.0 $1,102.0 9.26 8.21 7.76
12 11 Maidenform Brands Jan. $556.7 $466.3 19.39 $45.3 $37.0 22.43 8.14 7.93
13 16 UniFirst Aug. $1,025.9 $1,013.4 1.23 $76.4 $75.9 0.66 7.45 7.49
14 19 VF Jan. $7,702.6 $7,220.3 6.68 $571.4 $461.3 23.87 7.42 6.39
15 12 J. Crew Jan. $1,722.2 $1,578.0 9.14 $121.5 $123.4 (1.54) 7.05 7.82
16 15 Volcom Dec. $323.2 $280.6 15.18 $22.3 $21.7 2.76 6.90 7.73
17 30 Timberland Dec. $1,429.5 $1,285.9 11.17 $96.6 $56.6 70.67 6.76 4.40
18 New Express Jan. $1,905.8 $1,721.1 10.73 $127.4 $75.3 69.19 6.68 4.38
19 25 Nordstrom Jan. $9,310.0 $8,258.0 12.74 $613.0 $441.0 39.00 6.58 5.34
20 22 Under Armour Dec. $1,063.9 $856.4 24.23 $68.5 $46.8 46.37 6.44 5.46
21 27 Cato Jan. $925.5 $884.0 4.69 $57.8 $45.8 26.20 6.25 5.18
22 20 Cintas May $3,547.3 $3,774.7 (6.02) $215.6 $226.4 (4.77) 6.08 6.00
23 32 Chico’s FAS Jan. $1,905.0 $1,713.2 11.20 $115.4 $69.7 65.57 6.06 4.07
24 28 The Warnaco Group Jan. $2,295.8 $2,019.6 13.68 $138.6 $96.0 44.38 6.04 4.75
25 29 The Ascena Retail Group July $2,374.6 $1,494.2 58.92 $133.4 $66.6 100.30 5.62 4.46
26 33 G-III Apparel Group Jan. $1,063.4 $800.9 32.78 $56.7 $31.7 78.86 5.33 3.96
27 23 Columbia Sportswear Dec. $1,483.5 $1,244.0 19.25 $77.0 $67.0 14.93 5.19 5.39
28 37 Zumiez Jan. $478.8 $407.6 17.47 $24.2 $9.1 165.93 5.05 2.23
29 New Ever-Glory International Group Dec. $134.1 $89.9 49.17 $6.7 $4.4 52.27 5.00 4.89
30 24 The Children’s Place Jan. $1,674.0 $1,643.6 1.85 $83.1 $88.4 (6.00) 4.96 5.38
31 47 Hanesbrands Jan. $4,326.7 $3,891.3 11.19 $211.3 $51.3 311.89 4.88 1.32
32 31 rue21 Jan. $634.7 $525.6 20.76 $30.2 $22.0 37.27 4.76 4.19
33 21 American Eagle Outfitters Jan. $2,967.6 $2,940.3 0.93 $140.6 $169.0 (16.80) 4.74 5.75
34 50 Abercrombie & Fitch Jan. $3,468.8 $2,928.6 18.45 $150.3 $0.3 50000.00 4.33 0.01
35 41 Stein Mart Jan. $1,181.5 $1,219.1 (3.08) $48.8 $23.6 106.78 4.13 1.94
36 46 Casual Male Retail Group Jan. $393.6 $395.2 (0.40) $15.4 $6.1 152.46 3.91 1.54
37 Back Ann (formerly Ann Taylor Stores) Jan. $1,980.2 $1,828.5 8.30 $73.4 ($18.2) 503.30 3.71 (1.00)
38 40 Superior Uniform Group Dec. $105.9 $102.8 3.02 $3.8 $2.0 90.00 3.59 1.95
39 New G&K Services July $833.6 $936.0 (10.94) $28.6 ($72.5) 139.45 3.43 (7.75)
40 34 Levi Strauss Nov. $4,410.6 $4,105.8 7.42 $149.4 $151.9 (1.65) 3.39 3.70
41 35 Citi Trends Jan. $622.5 $551.9 12.79 $20.9 $19.7 6.09 3.36 3.57
42 36 The Men’s Wearhouse Jan. $2,102.7 $1,909.6 10.11 $67.7 $46.2 46.54 3.22 2.42
43 Back Destination Maternity Corp. Sept. $531.2 $531.3 (0.02) $16.8 ($40.7) 141.28 3.16 (7.66)
44 44 Perry Ellis International Jan. $790.3 $754.2 4.79 $24.5 $13.5 81.48 3.10 1.79
45 42 Delta Apparel July $424.4 $355.2 19.48 $12.2 $6.5 87.69 2.87 1.83
46 39 Stage Stores Jan. $1,470.6 $1,431.9 2.70 $37.6 $28.7 31.01 2.56 2.00
47 1 Wet Seal Jan. $581.2 $560.9 3.62 $12.6 $86.9 (85.50) 2.17 15.49
48 Back Jones Group Dec. $3,642.7 $3,327.4 9.48 $54.4 ($86.3) 163.04 1.49 (2.59)
NOTES: New = The company is appearing in the Apparel Top 50 for the first time. Back = The company has been ranked in the Apparel Top 50 in previous years but was not ranked last
year because of its performance, because it was not publicly traded, because its sales were not large enough, etc. Dollar amounts are in millions of U.S. dollars. Levi Strauss & Co.
is a privately held company that releases financial data publicly. Apparel does not include department stores in its Top 50 rankings (see separate chart). Nordstrom files with the SEC
under “Retail – Family Clothing Stores” (SIC code 5651).