Kontoor Brands NYSE: KTB outlined a five-year growth plan for Helly Hansen centered on expanding in the U.S., entering technical outdoor categories more deeply and scaling its workwear business globally.
At Helly Hansen’s 2026 Investor Day in Oslo, Kontoor President and CFO Joe Alkire said the company expects the brand to exceed $1.1 billion in revenue by 2030, representing a 10% compound annual growth rate. The plan also calls for approximately $165 million in operating profit, a mid-teens operating margin and more than $500 million in cumulative cash from operations over the period.
The figures presented for Helly Hansen were on a standalone basis and excluded Musto, according to the company.
Kontoor Positions Helly Hansen as Growth Engine
Alkire said Kontoor has reshaped its portfolio around denim, outdoor and workwear, following the announced acquisition of Helly Hansen and divestiture of Lee. He described Helly Hansen as the company’s growth engine, while Wrangler is positioned as a “balanced grower” focused on its core business, women’s direct-to-consumer operations and adjacent non-denim categories.
Kontoor expects its shared platform to support Helly Hansen through sourcing scale, finance and operations support, systems improvements and working-capital efficiency. Alkire said the company expects these capabilities, along with channel and product mix improvements, to support gross-margin and operating-margin expansion even as Helly Hansen increases investment in product, marketing and commercial capabilities.
“We think we’re at the beginning of a step change in our growth and TSR algorithm,” Alkire said.
Helly Hansen ended 2025 with $675 million in revenue, 25% of which came from direct-to-consumer channels, according to Børre Hegbom, senior vice president and global head of Helly Hansen. The company operates in 50 countries, employs roughly 1,300 people and has 115 brand stores globally, excluding China.
Hegbom said sport accounts for 75% of Helly Hansen revenue and workwear represents the remaining 25%. The company is separating the sport and workwear operations into distinct organizations, a move intended to give the workwear business more dedicated resources and accountability.
U.S. Expansion and Technical Outdoor Opportunity
Helly Hansen plans to generate 60% of its planned growth from the U.S., where the company currently has about $150 million in revenue. Hegbom said the U.S. is already Helly Hansen’s largest and fastest-growing country, with sales split approximately 55% wholesale and 45% direct-to-consumer.
The company does not intend to materially change that channel balance. Instead, it plans to expand wholesale distribution selectively, targeting 25% to 35% penetration in key accounts rather than pursuing placement in every door. It also intends to double U.S. e-commerce sales by 2030 while positioning hellyhansen.com as a premium, full-price destination.
Helly Hansen reported a 12% year-to-date increase in average unit retail within its U.S. e-commerce operation, which it attributed to protecting core franchises and reducing discounting.
Erinn Murphy, who leads finance and operations for Helly Hansen and corporate investor relations, said the company’s aided awareness in the U.S. is roughly 30%, while unaided awareness is 3%. She said Helly Hansen consumers rated the brand strongly on technical performance, trust and warmth, which management views as a foundation for broader marketing investment.
The company plans to double marketing spending through 2030 and shift its approach from predominantly performance-led spending to more brand-led marketing. In workwear, marketing investment is expected to rise from about 2% of revenue currently to 7% by 2030.
Technical outdoor—including hiking, trail running, backpacking and climbing—is expected to become a larger growth driver in the latter half of the plan. Murphy said the premium outdoor segment exceeds $60 billion, while the company sees the technical outdoor market as roughly three times the size of winter sports.
Mike Karapetian, vice president of global brand and operations finance and corporate investor relations, said Helly Hansen has only a 1% share of the U.S. premium outdoor market. He said adding one percentage point of technical outdoor market share would represent more than $400 million in incremental revenue.
Workwear Expansion Builds on Nordic Base
Patrik Falkenby, managing director of global workwear, said Helly Hansen’s workwear business has grown from $25 million to $175 million during his tenure. He described the segment as a consistent, recurring business supported by long product life cycles, safety regulations, frequent replacement demand and high customer loyalty.
Helly Hansen is focusing its workwear assortment on trades, high-visibility apparel and footwear. Falkenby said pants alone account for 40% of revenue in the company’s core workwear categories. The company intends to grow workwear revenue again by 2030, supported by a dedicated North American general manager, expanded sales and marketing resources, e-commerce investment and a new internal tender department for large contracts.
The company also plans to develop U.S.-tailored workwear products while scaling existing assortments. Its product roadmap includes a cooling garment concept scheduled for 2027 and an “industry service” collection for manufacturing, logistics, facility management and related workers planned for 2028.
Management said Helly Hansen expects its combined U.S. sport and workwear business to reach at least $500 million by 2030, implying more than 20% annual growth, while the rest of the world contributes mid-single-digit growth. The company also cited growth opportunities in the Alps, South America and Asia.
China was not included in the $1.1 billion revenue goal. Alkire said Helly Hansen’s 50/50 joint venture with Youngor in China generated about $100 million in revenue in 2025 and recorded 80% growth in the first half of the current year, according to remarks made during the event. Management said it has used prudent assumptions for the venture in its overall plan and views it as a potential source of upside.
About Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB)
Kontoor Brands, Inc is a global apparel company best known for its Wrangler and Lee denim and lifestyle brands. Established as an independent, publicly traded company in May 2019 following a spin-off from VF Corporation, Kontoor leverages a legacy that dates back to 1889 with the founding of Lee and to 1947 with the introduction of the Wrangler brand. The company focuses on designing, manufacturing and distributing premium, casual and workwear apparel, including jeans, pants, shorts, shirts, jackets and complementary accessories.
Kontoor Brands operates a diversified sales model that combines wholesale partnerships with leading retailers, distribution through e-commerce channels and select direct-to-consumer formats.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Continue following MarketBeat
Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.
Before you consider Kontoor Brands, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Kontoor Brands wasn't on the list.
While Kontoor Brands currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
The space race is growing fast, and you don’t have to have gotten in early on SpaceX to profit. This report shows seven space stocks you can buy today that may grow as rockets, satellites, defense, space internet, and new space technology become more important.
Get This Free Report
