The North Face - Fashion Company Profile
The North Face is the outdoor brand founded in San Francisco's North Beach in 1966 - named for the coldest, most unforgiving side of a mountain, maker of expedition-grade apparel and equipment, and a VF Corporation brand since 2000.
Company Snapshot
- Status
- Operating - the world's leading outdoor brand and the largest brand by revenue of VF Corporation, its owner since 2000
- Type
- Brand and division of VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC)
- Headquarters
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- Founded
- 1966, in San Francisco, California, by Douglas Tompkins and Susie Tompkins Buell
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Company Profile
Current products are on The North Face website, linked above; the shop box covers The North Face products sold through Amazon and eBay. The brand's position has only strengthened since the long record on the history page was written: it is today VF Corporation's largest brand by revenue, headquartered with VF in Denver, Colorado, selling athlete-tested, expedition-proven apparel, footwear and equipment under the Never Stop Exploring line. The fuller record - the 1966 beachside shop, the Sierra parka and the geodesic dome tents, and the year-by-year expedition list running from 1972 into the 2000s - is kept in full on the history page.
In 1968 The North Face moved across San Francisco Bay to Berkeley and began designing and manufacturing its own brand of technical mountaineering apparel and equipment, with a few sewing machines making the first gear in the back of the store. The Sierra parka hit the market in 1969 and became a classic in down outerwear, and the Berkeley factory opened in 1970. Through the 1970s the brand cherished a following among avid outdoor athletes and began sponsoring expeditions to far-flung corners of the globe, launching the tradition that reinforces the mantra the filing repeats throughout: Never Stop Exploring.
The North Face History
The earlier record for this company - its history, past brand line-ups, figures and photographs from the periods described - is kept on a separate page for historical reference.
The North Face History & Historical Profile →Common Questions
Who owns The North Face?
VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC), which has owned the brand since 2000. The North Face is VF's largest brand by revenue, alongside Vans, Timberland and Dickies in the VF portfolio.
When was The North Face founded?
In 1966, in San Francisco's North Beach neighbourhood, by hiking enthusiasts Douglas Tompkins and Susie Tompkins Buell, as a small retail shop; it began designing and manufacturing its own technical gear after moving to Berkeley in 1968.
What does the name The North Face mean?
The north face of a mountain - in the Northern Hemisphere its coldest, iciest and most technically demanding side to climb, and the standard the brand says its gear is built to meet.
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