Vera Bradley Inc's Business Segments

Vera Bradley is a leading designer of women’s handbags and accessories, luggage and travel items, eyewear, and stationery and gifts. Founded in 1982 by friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller, the brand’s innovative designs, iconic patterns and versatile styles offer women of all ages a colorful way to accessorize every look.
Vera Bradley offers a unique, multi-channel sales model, as well as a focus on service and a high level of customer engagement. The Company sells its products through two reportable segments: Direct and Indirect. The Direct business consists of sales of Vera Bradley products through the Company’s full-line and factory outlet stores in the United States, verabradley.com, direct-to-consumer eBay sales, and the Company’s annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As of January 30, 2016, the Company operated 110 full-line stores and 40 factory outlet stores. The Indirect business consists of sales of Vera Bradley products to approximately 2,600 specialty retail locations, substantially all of which are located in the United States, as well as department stores, national accounts, third party e-commerce sites, the Companys wholesale business in Japan, and third party inventory liquidators.

We introduce new collections approximately eight times per year. Each launch typically consists of two to five signature cotton-quilted patterns that coordinate with smaller prints in the cotton-quilted fabric, as well as other fabrications including microfiber, leather, faux leather, and Preppy Poly and patterns in Streeterville and Lighten-Up, many of which are also available in solid colors. These signature patterns, coordinating patterns, and solids are incorporated into the designs of a wide range of products, including bags, accessories, and travel items, that are part of the core collection release. These collections typically include classic styles, updates to existing designs, and new product introductions.

To keep our assortment current and fresh, and to focus our inventory investments on our best performers, we discontinue patterns and fabrications as necessary. We sell our remaining inventory of retired products primarily through our website, factory outlet stores, our annual outlet sale and third party liquidators.

Accessories. Accessories include fashion accessories such as wallets, wristlets, eyeglass cases, jewelry, and scarves and various technology accessories. Our accessories are attractively priced and allow the consumer to include some color in her wardrobe, even if tucked into another bag. Our product development team consistently updates the accessories assortment based on consumer demand and fashion trends.

Travel. Our travel product category includes rolling luggage, cosmetics, travel and packing accessories, and travel bags which includes our iconic duffel and weekend bags. The first Vera Bradley product offering included duffel bags, which consistently have been a strong performer. We believe their popularity, as well as the appeal of our other travel items, results from our vibrant designs, functional styles, and lightweight fabrications.

Home. Our home category includes textiles, including throw blankets, beach towels, and comforters, wellness and beauty, as well as items such as mugs and tumblers.