The North Face


The North Face is an American outdoor recreation product company. The North Face produces clothing, footwear, and outdoor equipment.
The company is headquartered in Alameda, California, co-located with its corporate sibling, JanSport. By summer of 2020, the company's headquarter will be relocating to Denver, Colorado.

History

The North Face began in 1966 as a climbing equipment retail store in San Francisco, founded by Douglas Tompkins and his wife, Susie Tompkins. It was acquired two years later by Kenneth "Hap" Klopp.
The North Face takes its company logo from a stylised drawing of Half Dome, in Yosemite National Park.
In 2000, The North Face was acquired by VF Corporation in a deal worth $25.4 million and became a wholly owned subsidiary.
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 US$65,000, an amount that will be reduced by US$1,000 for every month of compliance.
In May 2019, Leo Burnett Tailor Made, a marketing agency for The North Face Brazil, revealed that they had surreptitiously replaced photos of popular outdoor destinations on Wikipedia with photos featuring North Face products in an attempt to get these products to appear more prominently in search engine results. Following widespread media coverage and criticism from the Wikimedia Foundation, The North Face apologized for the campaign, ended it, and the product placement was undone.

Fashion

By 1997, purchasers of North Face attire had expanded beyond those looking for technical clothing for skiing, climbing, and other outdoor pursuits to rappers in New York City, but remained only a small part of the company's business.
In 2005, wearers of the North Face attire became the targets of robbery in Prince George County, Virginia. A similar trend occurred in South Korea in the early 2010s where it became a status symbol, resulting in children being bullied or having their North Face apparel stolen.