During a time where California-based companies like Tesla and SpaceX have made Texas their playground, the $10 billion Texas brand Dickies is running the other way. Dickies was founded 102 years ago in Fort Worth for the “American Worker.” Now, it’s leaving to “revitalize” its brand.
The move is quick and sudden. City leaders were “blindsided by the announcement” with “no opportunity to try to change the company’s mind,” according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Per The Orange County Register, Dickies will share headquarters space with Vans, also owned by VF Corp, and move into the company’s Orange County offices by May 2025.
While Dickies officials say the biggest reason for the move is to save money, VF spokeswoman Ashley McCormack also emphasized executives are looking to create a campus oasis where “creativity and best practice sharing can thrive through great collaboration and connections,” McCormack told The Orange County Register.
VF Corp’s website lists its multiple recognitions as a progressive company, including a 2024 honor from Ethisphere for being one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies and a 2023 recognition by Seramount as the Best Companies for Multicultural Women. In the company’s 2023 Environmental and Social Responsibility Report, CEO Bracken Darrell described inclusion, diversity, equity, and action as a “strategic business priority globally and an essential element of our success” touting the company’s increased percentage of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in VF leadership.
Those values are in direct contrast to what Texas’ elected leaders deem important: Officials have banned DEI at public universities in the state, offered up land to help inhumanely deport people of color, stripped away women’s rights, and continuously imposed policies hostile to trans and LGBTQ Texans.
Read more at The Orange County Register.
