In a previous article, we outlined its rout in the light of the publication of its annual results.

All the usual ingredients for disaster were present: overpaid acquisitions, squeezed margins, unreasonable debt levels, excessive management remuneration, ill-advised share buy-backs and so on.

It's worth remembering that between 2000 and 2016, VF Corp was one of the best-performing companies in the SP500. Analysts sang its praises and shareholders outperformed the index by a factor of four over this period.

But everything can change very quickly, and mistakes and headwinds quickly accumulate. VF's distributors, themselves struggling with the rise of e-commerce, forced the Group to give up margin points.

At the same time, the appointment of Steve Rendle as CEO ushered in a period of mismanagement, with, for example, a fortune spent on building a new headquarters in Colorado. This was humorously described by Engaged Capital activists as Rendle's "black star".

The Supreme acquisition was the final nail in the coffin. Not only did it lead to an explosion in debt, it was also clearly overpaid, as it caused VF to take two write-downs in just six months.

However, a new era is about to dawn for the group. Steve Rendle was dismissed last summer, and replaced by Bracken Darrell, formerly CEO of Logitech.

The Swiss computer peripherals brand was in a similarly critical situation when Mr. Darrell took over its management in 2013.

Ten years later, sales had doubled, margins had increased sixfold and the share price had risen tenfold.

VF shareholders are understandably dreaming of a similar turnaround. With a few disposals of non-strategic assets and minor cost reductions, Engaged's activists are already forecasting a tripling of the company's market value by 2026.