Vans and North Face Christmas presents might not arrive in time for the holiday

• The owners of brands, including Vans and The North Face, suffered a cyberattack last week.
• VF Corporation said the disruption has affected its ability to to fulfill e-commerce orders.
• It's the latest challenge in an already difficult quarter for the company.

A cyberattack is wreaking havoc on footwear and apparel company VF Corporation as the holiday shopping season reaches its peak.

The owner of brands, including Vans, The North Face, Timberland, and Dickies, notified investors Monday about "unauthorized occurrences" on its computer network in which an attacker encrypted some systems and stole data.

"Consumers are able to place orders on most of the brand e-commerce sites globally, however, the Company's ability to fulfill orders is currently impacted," the company said.

It's unlikely that orders will be flown out individually via helicopter, as The North Face recently did in a viral marketing stunt.

VF added that the incident continues to have a "material impact" on its operations as it works to contain the damage.

The incident follows an already painful quarter for the company, marked by activist investor pressure, a round of layoffs of 500 workers, a $300 million cost-cutting plan, and the delay of a hoped-for sales turnaround.

The company said it does not know yet what impact this episode will have on its financial situation.