Industry News
Texas-Based Company 'Dickies' Headquarters is Relocating to California
Most Texans associate clothing brand Dickies with the Lone Star state, but their headquarters is moving to California.
VF Corporation, the parent company of brands such as Vans, Timberland, and The North Face, acquired the classic workwear brand Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. (Dickies) in a $820 million deal in 2017. The company has confirmed that the Dickies headquarters will be relocating to Costa Mesa, California, affecting approximately 120 employees. This move is part of VF Corporation's broader strategy to revitalize the Dickies brand and consolidate its operations.
VF Corporation, the parent company of brands such as Vans, Timberland, and The North Face, acquired the classic workwear brand Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. (Dickies) in a $820 million deal in 2017. The company has confirmed that the Dickies headquarters will be relocating to Costa Mesa, California, affecting approximately 120 employees. This move is part of VF Corporation's broader strategy to revitalize the Dickies brand and consolidate its operations.
Dickies Belt Buckle
The relocation is expected to be completed by May 2025 and will impact approximately 120 employees. While this move is undoubtedly a significant change for Dickies and its employees, it's important to note that the brand's manufacturing operations and distribution centers will remain in place. Dickies was founded in Fort Worth in 1922.
Williamson-Dickie’s brands, including Dickies®, Workrite®, Kodiak®, Terra®, and Walls® with VF’s current workwear offerings, including Wrangler® RIGGS Workwear®, Timberland PRO®, Red Kap®, Bulwark®, and Horace Small®.
Fort Worth mayor Mattie Parker said in a statement that Dickies is a Fort Worth, Texas success story, “The company is a true Texas original — everything from its iconic, internationally-known workwear to its local legacy reflects the spirit of Fort Worth and what our city will always stand for. These qualities were undoubtedly part of what made Dickies such an attractive brand to VFC, spurring their 2017 acquisition, and Dickies is just one example of the kind of success stories that businesses find here in Fort Worth.”
While some may be disappointed by the move, others see it as an opportunity for Dickies to tap into the creative energy and fashion-forward culture of California. The company hopes that by co-locating with other VF brands like Vans, they can foster innovation and drive growth for Dickies in the years to come.
About Williamson-DickieEstablished in Texas, a state known for its grit, and founded by two cousins, Williamson-Dickie’s story began in 1918, when business partners C.N. Williamson and E.E. “Colonel” Dickie began a vehicle and harness business, creating rough and tumble equipment for horses. By 1922, the two shifted from outfitting workhorses to outfitting workers and established the Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. Since then, Williamson-Dickie has spent nearly a century crafting some of the most well-respected workwear around.
Through the 1930s, Williamson-Dickie rode out the Great Depression, expanding its workwear business while offering all-you-can-eat meals to its workers on the production line free of charge. During WWII, the company was sequestered by the U.S. government and halted its consumer business to produce more than 9 million heavy-duty twill uniforms for the war effort. By the 1950s, southern oilmen had introduced Williamson-Dickie brands, Dickies and Walls, to the oil fields of the Middle East, solidifying the company as a trusted name in international workwear.
To this day Dickies is synonymous with quality. What began as a humble workwear company grew into a worldwide force with an impressive portfolio of revered brands.
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