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                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.1


                                   VANS, INC.
                              EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT


               THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT ("Agreement" herein) is entered into as
of March 15, 1999, by and between VANS, INC., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), and JOSEPH GILES ("Employee").

               1. Employment and Duties. The Company hereby employs Employee as
Vice President and Chief Information Officer of the Company on the terms and
subject to the conditions contained in this Agreement. Employee shall be
responsible for managing all aspects of the Company's management information
systems department. Employee hereby accepts such employment and agrees to
perform in good faith and to the best of Employee's ability all services which
may be required of Employee hereunder, to do what is asked of him, and to be
available to render services at all times and places in accordance with such
directions, requests, rules and regulations made by the Company in connection
with Employee's employment. Employee hereby acknowledges and understands the
duties and services that are expected of him hereunder, and he hereby represents
that he has the experience and knowledge to perform such duties and services.
Employee shall, during the term hereof, devote Employee's full time and energy
to performing his duties. Employee shall report to the President and Chief
Executive Officer of the Company, or such other executive officer as may be
designated by the Company. Employee shall be based at the Company's corporate
offices. Employee understands, however, that Employee may be required to travel
within and out of the State of California to discharge his duties hereunder.

               2. Term of Employment. The term of this Agreement shall commence
as of the date hereof and shall terminate on March 14, 2002, unless sooner
terminated as provided herein. This Agreement does not give Employee any
enforceable right to employment beyond this term, and Employee agrees that he
shall have no rights hereunder thereafter. AS PROVIDED FURTHER IN PARAGRAPH 11.1
BELOW, THIS AGREEMENT CONSTITUTES AN EMPLOYMENT AT-WILL THAT MAY BE TERMINATED
AT ANY TIME BY COMPANY OR EMPLOYEE, WITH OR WITHOUT CAUSE, NOTWITHSTANDING THE
THREE - YEAR TERM OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF EMPLOYEE IS TERMINATED WITHOUT CAUSE
DURING THE TERM HEREOF, OR AFTER A "CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT OR CONTROL," AS DEFINED
IN PARAGRAPH 11.5 BELOW, OR TERMINATES THIS AGREEMENT FOR "GOOD REASON," AS
DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH 11.3 BELOW, EMPLOYEE'S SOLE REMEDY SHALL BE THE
COMPENSATION SET FORTH IN PARAGRAPH 11.4 BELOW.

Initial /s/ CEG                                               Initial /s/ JG
        ----------                                                    ----------
        Representative                                                Employee
        of the Company



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               3. Salary Compensation. As salary compensation for Employee's
services hereunder and all the rights granted hereunder by Employee to the
Company, the Company shall pay Employee a gross salary of $160,000.00 per annum
for the period March 15, 1999 to May 31, 1999. Thereafter, the Company shall pay
Employee no less than $165,000.00 per annum during the term of this Agreement.
Employee's salary shall be payable in bi-weekly increments in accordance with
the Company's payroll practices for salaried employees, upon the condition that
Employee fully and faithfully performs Employee's services hereunder in
accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The Company shall
deduct and withhold from the compensation payable to Employee hereunder any and
all amounts required to be deducted or withheld by the Company under the
provisions of any statute, regulation, ordinance, or order and any and all
amendments hereinafter enacted requiring the withholding or deducting from
compensation payable to employees.

               4. Expense Reimbursement. Employee shall be reimbursed by the
Company for all traveling, hotel, entertainment and other expenses that are
properly and necessarily incurred by Employee, pursuant to the Company's
policies on the same.

               5. Death or Disability of Employee.

                      5.1 General. In the event of Employee's death or
"disability" (as such term is defined in Paragraph 5.2 hereof) while in the
employ of the Company, this Agreement, and the compensation due to Employee
pursuant to Paragraph 3 hereof, shall terminate upon the date of death or
disability and the Company shall thereafter be required to make payments only to
Employee, as provided in Paragraph 11.2 hereof. If Employee shall recover from
such disability prior to the expiration date of the Agreement, this Agreement
and Employee's employment hereunder shall be reinstated for the balance of the
term of this Agreement.

                      5.2 Definition of Disability. Employee shall be deemed
disabled if, in the sole opinion of the Company, Employee is unable to
substantially perform the services required of Employee hereunder for a period
in excess of 60 consecutive work days or 60 work days during any 90 work day
period. In such event, Employee shall be deemed disabled as of such 60th
workday.

               6. Restrictive Covenant. During the term of this Agreement,
Employee shall (i) devote his full time and energy solely and exclusively to the
performance of his duties described herein; (ii) not directly or indirectly
provide services to or through any company or firm except the Company unless
otherwise instructed by the Company; (iii) not directly or indirectly own,
manage, operate, join, control, contribute to, or participate in the ownership,
management, operation or control of or be employed by or connected in any manner
with any enterprise which is engaged in any business competitive with or similar
to that of the Company; and (iv) not render any services of any kind or
character for Employee's own account of for any other person, firm or



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corporation without first obtaining the Company's consent in writing; provided,
however, Employee shall have the right to perform such incidental services as
are necessary in connection with Employee's (a) private passive investments
where he is not obligated or required to, and shall not in fact, devote any
managerial efforts, as long as such investments are not in companies which are
in competition in any way with the Company; or (b) charitable or community
activities, or in trade or professional organizations, provided that such
incidental services do not interfere with the performance of Employee's services
hereunder.

               7. Non-Solicitation. Employee shall not, during the full term of
this Agreement and for a period of one (1) year thereafter, for himself or on
behalf of any other person, partnership, corporation or entity, directly or
indirectly, or by action in concert with others, solicit, induce, suggest or
encourage any person known to him to be an employee of the Company or any
affiliate of the Company to terminate his or her employment or other contractual
relationship with the Company or any of its affiliates.

               8.  Trade Secrets and Related Matters

                      8.1 Definitions. For purpose of this Section 8:

                             (a) "Records" means files, accounts, records, log
books, documents, drawings, sketches, designs, diagrams, models, plans,
blueprints, specifications, manuals, books, forms, notes, reports, memoranda,
studies, surveys, software, flow charts, data, computer programs, listing of
source code, calculations, recordings, catalogues, compilations of information,
correspondence, confidential data of customers and all copies, abstracts or
summaries of the foregoing in any storage medium, as well as instruments, tools,
storage devices, disks, equipment and all other physical items related to the
business of the Company (other than merely personal items of a general
professional nature), whether of a public nature or not, and whether prepared by
Employee or not.

                             (b) "Trade Secrets" means confidential business or
technical information or trade secrets of the Company which Employee acquires
while employed by the Company, whether or not conceived of, developed or
prepared by Employee or at his direction and includes:

                                    (i) Any information or compilation of
information concerning the Company's financial position, financing, purchasing,
accounting, marketing, merchandising, sales, salaries, pricing, investments,
costs, profits, plans for future development, employees, prospective employees,
research, development, formulae, patterns, inventions, plans, specifications,
devices, products, procedures, processes, operations, techniques, software,
computer programs or data;



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                                    (ii) Any information or compilation of
information concerning the identity, plans, requirements, preferences, practices
and methods of doing business on specific customers, suppliers, prospective
customers and prospective suppliers of the Company;

                                    (iii) Any other information or "know how"
which is related to any product, process, service, business or research of the
Company; and

                                    (iv) Any information which the Company
acquires from another party and treats as its proprietary information or
designates as "Confidential," whether or not owned or developed by the Company.

        Notwithstanding the foregoing, "Trade Secrets" do not include any of the
following:

                                    (i) Information which is publicly known or
which is generally employed by the trade, whether on or after the date that
Employee first acquires the information;

                                    (ii) General information or knowledge which
Employee would have learned in the course of similar work elsewhere in the
trade; or

                                    (iii) Information which Employee can prove
was known by Employee before the commencement of Employee's engagement by the
Company;

                      8.2 Acknowledgments. Employee acknowledges that:

                             (a) Employee's relationship with the Company will
be a confidential relationship in which Employee will have access to and may
create Trade Secrets.

                             (b) The Company uses the Trade Secrets in its
business to obtain a competitive advantage over its competitors who do not know
or use that information.

                             (c) The protection of the Trade Secrets against
unauthorized disclosure or use is of critical importance in maintaining the
competitive position of the Company.

                      8.3 Protection of Trade Secrets. Employee shall not at any
time, without the prior written consent of the Company, which may be withheld by
it in its sole and absolute discretion, disclose any Trade Secret in any way
except to employees of the Company, and shall not use any Trade Secret in any
way except in connection with his or her duties to the Company.



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                      8.4 Records.

                             (a) Ownership. All Records are and shall remain the
exclusive property of the Company.

                             (b) Return of Records. At the termination of this
Agreement, Employee shall promptly return to the Company all records in
Employee's possession or over which Employee has control.

                      8.5 Prohibited Use of Trade Secrets. During the term of
this Agreement and for 12 months following termination of this Agreement,
Employee shall not undertake any employment or consulting relationship (the "New
Activity") if the loyal and complete fulfillment of his or her duties in the New
Activity would inherently call upon Employee to reveal any Trade Secret.

               9. Ownership of Material and Ideas. Employee agrees that all
material, ideas, and inventions pertaining to the business of the Company or of
any client of the Company, including but not limited to, all patents and
copyrights thereon and renewals and extensions thereof, trademarks and trade
names, and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of customers, distributors
and sales representatives of the Company, belong solely to the Company. Employee
hereby assigns any rights he may have to any such property to the Company, and
agrees to execute and deliver any documents which evidence such assignment.

               10. Employee Plans, etc. Employee shall be entitled to
participate, to the same extent as most other officers of the Company, in any
bonus compensation plan, stock purchase or stock option plan, group life
insurance plan, group medical insurance plan and other compensation or employee
benefit plans (collectively, "Plans") which are generally available to a
majority of the other officers of the Company during the term hereof and for
which Employee shall qualify, including specifically the Company's annual bonus
plan for executive officers pursuant to which Employee shall have the
opportunity to earn an annual bonus equal to thirty percent (30%) of his salary
compensation, subject to the terms and conditions of the plan. Employee further
understands, however, that the Board of Directors, or such committee or person
or persons designated by the Board of Directors, shall determine in its sole
discretion (i) whether any Plans are made available to a majority of the
officers of the Company; (ii) whether one or more Plans are adopted solely for
the Chief Executive Officer and/or one or more (but not a majority) of the
officers of the Company; (iii) whether one or more Plans are made available to a
majority of the officers; and (iv) the amounts payable or the benefits provided
thereunder to each participant in whole or in part. Employee agrees and
acknowledges that he has no vested interest in the continuance of any Plan, and
that no Plan in existence on the date of the Agreement has acted as a material
inducement to Employee in entering into this Agreement.



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               11. Termination.

                      11.1 "At Will" Employment. This Agreement, and Employee's
employment, is at will, and the Company may, with or without notice, terminate
this Agreement and all of the Company's obligations hereunder with or without
"Cause." Employee may also terminate this Agreement at any time, for any reason,
upon the giving of thirty (30) days' written notice to the Company; provided,
however, the Company may waive all or any portion of such notice period in its
sole and absolute discretion. Termination by the Company for "Cause" means
termination due to (i) Employee's conviction of a felony ( which, through the
lapse of time or otherwise is not subject to appeal); (ii) Employee's material
refusal, failure or neglect without proper cause to perform adequately his
obligations under this Agreement or follow the instructions of his
supervisor(s); (iii) any negligence or willful misconduct by Employee; (iv)
Employee's material breach of any of his fiduciary obligations as an executive
officer of the Company; (v) Employee's material failure to adhere to the code of
conduct and rules set forth in the Company's Employee Handbook, as amended or in
existence from time to time; (vi) the death or disability of Employee; or (vii)
the voluntary termination by Employee of his employment, except for "Good
Reason" (as defined in Paragraph 11.3 hereof).

                      11.2 Termination for Cause. Upon termination for Cause,
the Company shall only be required to pay Employee (i) accrued salary
compensation due to Employee as compensation for services rendered hereunder and
not previously paid; (ii) accrued vacation pay; and (iii) any appropriate
business expenses incurred by Employee in connection with his duties hereunder
and approved pursuant to Section 4 hereof, all through the date of termination.
Employee shall not be entitled to any severance compensation; bonus
compensation, whether "vested" or unvested; or any other compensation, benefits
or reimbursement of any kind.

                      11.3 Termination for "Good Reason." Employee may terminate
this Agreement for "Good Reason" (as hereinafter defined) upon thirty (30) days
written notice to the Company. The term "Good Reason" means (i) Employee is not
appointed or is removed from the position of Vice President and Chief
Information Officer without Cause during the term of this Agreement; or (ii)
without Employee's consent, a majority of the duties defined in Section 1 hereof
are removed from Employee's responsibilities. The term Good Reason does not
include a situation where certain of the duties defined in Section 1 hereof are
removed from Employee's responsibilities and are replaced with duties which have
greater responsibility and/or authority than the duties which are removed.
Unless Employee terminates this Agreement within thirty (30) days of learning
from any source that the Company has acted so as to provide Good Reason for
Employee to terminate this Agreement, and gives thirty (30) days' written notice
of such termination, Employee's right to receive severance compensation pursuant
to Paragraph 11.4 for such event shall be forever lost.



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                      11.4 Severance Compensation. In the event on or before
June 14, 1999 (i) Employee terminates this Agreement for Good Reason in
accordance with Paragraph 11.3 hereof; (ii) Employee is terminated for any
reason (except death or disability) upon, or within six months following, a
"Change in Management or Control (as such term is defined in Paragraph 11.5
hereof);" or (iii) Employee is terminated without Cause, the Company shall be
obligated to pay severance compensation to Employee in an amount equal to his
salary compensation (at the rate payable at the time of such termination) for a
period of three (3) months from the date of termination. Such severance
compensation shall be increased to six (6) months if any of such events occur
after June 14, 1999. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Employee is employed by a
new employer, or as a consultant after the termination of this Agreement, the
severance compensation payable to Employee hereunder shall be reduced by the
amount of compensation that Employee actually receives from the new employer, or
as a consultant. However, Employee shall have a duty to inform the Company that
he has obtained such new employment, and the failure to do so is a material
breach of this Agreement. In such event, the Company shall be entitled to (i)
cease all payments to Employee under this Paragraph 11.4; and (ii) recover any
unauthorized payments to Employee in an action for breach of contract.
Notwithstanding anything else in this Agreement to the contrary, solely in the
event of a termination upon or following a Change in Management or Control, the
amount of severance compensation paid to Employee hereunder shall not include
any amount that the Company is prohibited from deducting for federal income tax
purposes by virtue of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended, or any successor provision. In addition to the foregoing severance
compensation, the Company shall pay Employee (i) all compensation for services
rendered hereunder and not previously paid; (ii) accrued vacation pay; and (iii)
any appropriate business expenses incurred by Employee in connection with his
duties hereunder and approved pursuant to Section 4 hereof, all through the date
of termination. Employee shall not be entitled to any bonus compensation,
whether vested or unvested; or any other compensation, benefits or reimbursement
of any kind.

                      11.5 Definition of "Change in Management or Control." The
term "Change in Management or Control" means (i) the time that the Company first
determines that any person and all other persons who constitute a group (within
the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
("Exchange Act")) have acquired direct or indirect beneficial ownership (within
the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of twenty percent (20%) or
more of the Company's outstanding securities, unless a majority of the
"Continuing Directors" (as such term is hereinafter defined) approves the
acquisition not later than ten (10) business days after the Company makes that
determination, or (ii) the first day on which a majority of the members of the
Company's Board of Directors are not "Continuing Directors." The term
"Continuing Directors" means, as of any date of determination, any member of the
Board of Directors of the Company who (i) was a member of that Board of
Directors on the date of this Agreement, (iii) has been a member of that Board
of Directors for the two years immediately preceding such date of determination,
or (iv) was nominated for



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election or elected to the Board of Directors with the affirmative vote of the
greater of (x) a majority of the Continuing Directors who were members of the
Board at the time of such nomination or election, or (y) at least four
Continuing Directors.

                      11.6 Exclusive Remedy. The payments referred to in this
Section 11 shall be exclusive and shall be the only remedy available to Employee
for termination of his employment with the Company, regardless of the
circumstances, reasons or motivation for any such termination. If Employee gives
notice of termination of this Agreement, or if it becomes known that this
Agreement will otherwise terminate in accordance with its provisions, the
Company may, in its sole discretion, relieve Employee of his duties under this
Agreement or assign Employee other duties and responsibilities to be performed
until the termination becomes effective.

               12. Services Unique. It is agreed that the services to be
rendered by Employee hereunder are of a special, unique, unusual, extraordinary
and intellectual character which gives them a peculiar value, the loss of which
cannot be reasonably or adequately compensated in damages in an action at law
and that a breach by Employee of any of the provisions contained herein will
cause the Company irreparable injury and damage. Employee expressly agrees that
the Company shall be entitled to injunctive or other equitable relief to prevent
a breach hereof. Resort to any such equitable relief shall not be construed as a
waiver of any of the rights or remedies which the Company may have against
Employee for damages or otherwise.

               13. Key Man Life Insurance. During the term of this Agreement,
the Company may at any time effect insurance on Employee's life and/or health in
such amounts and in such form as the Company may in its sole discretion decide.
Employee shall not have any interest in such insurance, but shall, if the
Company requests, submit to such medical examinations, supply such information
and execute such documents as may be required in connection with, or so as to
enable the Company to effect, such insurance.

               14. Vacation. Employee shall have the right during each one year
period of the term of this Agreement to take an aggregate of three weeks of
vacation, with pay, at such times as are mutually convenient to Employee and to
the Company.

               15. Notices. Any and all notices, demands or other communications
required or desired to be given hereunder by any party shall be in writing and
shall be validly given or made to another party if given by personal delivery,
telex, facsimile, telegram or if deposited in the United States mail, certified
or registered, postage prepaid, return receipt requested. If such notice, demand
or other communication is given by personal delivery, telex, facsimile or
telegram, service shall be conclusively deemed made at the time of such personal
service. If such notice, demand or other communication is given by mail, such
notice shall be conclusively deemed given forty-eight (48) hours after the
deposit thereof in the United States mail addressed to the



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party to whom such notice, demand or other communication is to be given as
hereinafter set forth:

        To the Company:  VANS, INC.
                         15700 Shoemaker Avenue
                         Santa Fe Springs, California 90670
                         Attn: General Counsel
                         562/565-8413 - facsimile

        To Employee:     Joseph Giles
                         (at the address set forth below his signature)

Any party hereto may change his or its address for the purpose of receiving
notices, demands and other communications as herein provided by a written notice
given in the manner aforesaid to the other party or parties hereto.

               16. Applicable Law and Severability. This Agreement shall, in all
respects, be governed by the laws of the State of California applicable to
agreements executed and to be wholly performed within the State of California.
Nothing contained herein shall be construed so as to require the commission of
any act contrary to law, and wherever there is any conflict between any
provision contained herein and any present or future statute, law, ordinance or
regulation contrary to which the parties have no legal right to contract, the
latter shall prevail but the provision of this Agreement which is affected shall
be curtailed and limited only to the extent necessary to bring it within the
requirements of the law.

               17. Attorneys' Fees. In the event any action is instituted by a
party to enforce any of the terms and provisions contained herein, the
prevailing party in such action shall be entitled to such reasonable attorneys'
fees, costs and expenses as may be fixed by the Court.

               18. Modifications or Amendments. No amendment, change or
modification of this Agreement shall be valid unless in writing and signed by
all of the parties hereto. Further, any amendment, change or modification of
this Agreement (including but not limited to the at-will nature of this
Agreement as set forth in Section 2 and Paragraph 11.1 hereof) must be approved
in advance by the Board of Directors of Company and reflected in the minutes of
such Board's meetings or in an action by unanimous written consent.

               19. Successors and Assigns. All of the terms and provisions
contained herein shall inure to the benefit of and shall be binding upon the
parties hereto and their respective heirs, personal representatives, successors
and assigns.



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               20. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire
understanding and agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter of
this Agreement, and any and all prior agreements, understandings or
representations are hereby terminated and canceled in their entirety and are of
no further force or effect. Employee specifically acknowledges and agrees that
the Company has not made any promises, assurances or guarantees regarding his
employment or the Company's business or future prospects, and he has not relied
on any such promises, assurances or guarantees in making his decision to become
employed by the Company and relocate his residence to Southern California.

               21. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts.

               22. Arbitration of Employment Disputes. Any dispute or
controversy arising out of this Agreement or the employment relationship between
Employee and the Company, including but not limited to, claims by Employee for
wrongful termination, race discrimination, sex discrimination, age
discrimination, discrimination based on nationality or religion, violation of
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as
amended, and the California Fair Housing and Employment Act, as amended, shall,
at any time following the termination of Employee's employment, be submitted to
final and binding arbitration that shall comply with the applicable arbitration
rules of either the American Arbitration Association or the Judicial Arbitration
and Mediation Service ("JAMS")/Endispute, and judgment upon the award rendered
by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The
cost of arbitration (including reasonable attorneys' fees) shall be borne by the
losing party. The arbitration shall occur in Los Angeles, California and the
parties hereby consent to the jurisdiction of the arbitrator and to service of
process. EMPLOYEE HEREBY UNDERSTANDS THAT, BY SIGNING THIS AGREEMENT, HE IS
AGREEING TO HAVE ANY CLAIM HEREUNDER, OR UNDER HIS EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP WITH
THE COMPANY, DECIDED BY NEUTRAL ARBITRATION AND IS GIVING UP THE RIGHT TO A JURY
OR COURT TRIAL.

               23. Survival of Certain Provisions. Sections 7,8,9, and 23 of
this Agreement shall survive the termination hereof.



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               IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have duly executed this
Agreement as of the day and year first above written.


EMPLOYEE:                               THE COMPANY:

                                        VANS, INC.,
                                        a Delaware corporation


/s/ Joseph Giles                        By: /s/ Craig E. Gosselin
--------------------------------        --------------------------------
Joseph Giles

                                        V.P. and General Counsel 
--------------------------------        --------------------------------
Address                                 Title









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