The North Face, Inc. is an American outdoor product company specializing in outerwear, fleece, coats, shirts, footwear, and equipment such as backpacks, tents, and sleeping bags.
Its clothing and equipment lines are catered towards college students, climbers, mountaineers, skiers, snowboarders, hikers, and endurance athletes.
The company sponsors professional athletes from the worlds of running, climbing, skiing and snowboarding.
History
The North Face began as a San Francisco-based climbing equipment retail store, founded in 1966 by Douglas Tompkins and his then-wife, Susie Tompkins. It was acquired two years later by Kenneth "Hap" Klopp. The north face of a mountain in the northern hemisphere is generally the coldest, iciest and most formidable route to climb.
For a time, the store offered only highly selective merchandise, targeted to climbers and backpackers. By the 1980s, skiwear was added, followed by camping equipment.
The North Face is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the VF Corporation. It is headquartered in Alameda, California, co-located with its corporate sibling, JanSport. In 2007, JanSport was the world's largest backpack manufacturer; combined, the two manufactured nearly half of all small backpacks sold in the United States.
The North Face's quarter-circle logo, produced by California designer David Alcorn in 1971, evokes Half Dome, a massive granitic monolith in Yosemite National Park. The North Face maintains strong links with the outdoor community through sponsoring athletes, including Lizzy Hawker, winner of the Ultra Trail Tour du Mont Blanc in 2005, 2008 and 2010.
Rise in popularity
North Face attire has grown in popularity. The rise in the popularity of the North Face attire has resulted in wearers of the line becoming the targets of robbery. In early 2005, a group of teenagers from Washington D.C. were arrested on charges including the armed robbery of, specifically, The North Face jackets from students on the street.
In December 2008, The North Face filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against The South Butt, its creator James A. Winkelmann, Jr., and a company which handled the firm's marketing and manufacturing. In the legal action, The North Face alleged trademark infringement and sought injunctive relief. After the court ordered mediation in the case, the parties reached a closed settlement agreement on April 1, 2010; however, in October 2012, Winkelmann admitted in court that he and his father violated the settlement agreement with The North Face and agreed to pay $65,000, an amount that will be reduced by $1,000 for every month of compliance.
Stores
In addition to selling through department stores and outdoor retailers, The North Face operates over 55 retail and 20 outlet locations in the United States, 4 retail and 2 outlet locations in Canada, 19 locations in the United Kingdom and many others worldwide.
References
External links
- Official website
- VF Corporation homepage
- Biography of Hap Klopp, founder of The North Face
- The North Face Calls On Consumers and Businesses to Act Now to Positively Affect Climate Change Policy
