Fashion Brand Dickies to Move HQ to Southern California

Amid the great “California exodus” when major companies like Chevron, AECOM, CBRE and all of Elon Musk’s biggest businesses are moving their headquarters from the Golden State to Texas, workwear brand Dickies is opting for the exact opposite. 

The brand, owned by parent company VF Corporation (VFC), will move its base of operations from 500 Taylor Street in Fort Worth to the offices of fellow VFC brand Vans at 1588 South Coast Drive in Costa Mesa, Calif. The move will affect about 120 employees, according to the Orange County Business Journals.

Dickies moved to 500 Taylor Street just last year after signing an 84,000-square-foot lease, and said at the time that it was planning a $2.5 million renovation of the space. But plans have clearly changed since then, with the company’s move to the West Coast set for May of 2025. It wasn’t immediately clear how big its new headquarters space in Costa Mesa will be in terms of square footage, or if Dickies will keep the Fort Worth space. 

“This move allows VF to further consolidate its U.S. real estate portfolio as part of its stated business turnaround strategy,” a Dickies spokesperson told Commercial Observer via email. The spokesperson added that the company will maintain a “strong employment presence” in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

Revenue for Dickies was down 11 percent this past quarter compared to the same period last year, according to VFC’s latest earnings report. Bracken Darrell, VFC’s president and CEO, told investors during the call that Dickies is currently undergoing a “stabilization period,” but that “getting it back to growth is a different story.”

Since 1922, Dickies has produced and sold a line of affordable sturdy jeans, overalls, shirts and jackets that are commonly seen on construction sites. Dickies also produces scrubs and other clothes for health care workers, as well as a line of children’s clothing.

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.