The North Face

History

In 1964, Douglas Tompkins and his wife, Susie Tompkins borrowed $5,000 from a bank to found The North Face, Inc., in San Francisco, as a mail order and retail company, selling rock climbing and camping equipment. Tompkins designed tents that avoided a pole in the middle, by using bendable rods threaded through exterior sleeves instead. This widely copied design also increased the strength of the tent because the domed shape has much less wind resistance than a traditional pup tent for example.

On October 26, 1966, the first The North Face store opened at 308 Columbus Ave in San Francisco,

and the band the Grateful Dead played at its grand opening.

On November 14, 1967, for "Rite of Winter", Steve Miller Blues Band and Jesse Fuller played to celebrate the opening of the second store in the Old Stanford Barn, near the Stanford Shopping Center, near Stanford University.

In 1967, Tompkins sold out his stake to Kenneth "Hap" Klopp for $50,000, and set off on a six month road trip to climb Mount FitzRoy in the wilds of Patagonia.

Tompkins joined his wife in co-founding Esprit, a fashion house. Tompkins sold The North Face with the intention of a focus on adventure film making.

In 2000, The North Face was acquired by VF Corporation in a deal worth US$25.4 million and became a wholly owned subsidiary.{{cite web |url= https://www.vfc.com/our-company/company-history |title= VF’s 120+ Year History |author= |publisher= VF Corporation |access-date=October 22, 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20251022064922/https://www.vfc.com/our-company/company-history |archive-date=October 22, 2025 }}

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 that 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 2019, The North Face faced consumer backlash and apologized after its marketing agency surreptitiously added photos featuring its apparel to Wikipedia articles on popular outdoor destinations.

The company was previously headquartered in Alameda, California, co-located with its corporate sibling, JanSport. In 2020, the company's headquarters relocated to Denver, Colorado.

A credential stuffing attack against The North Face's website began on July 26, 2022. However, the administrators of the website discovered the "unusual activity" on August 11 and were able to stop it by August 19. The breach compromised 194,905 customer accounts.

In March 2024, The North Face began offering a 20% discount to customers who watch a four-part, one-hour "racial inclusion" course, titled the "Allyship in the Outdoors" programme which aims to "foster a deeper understanding of the unique challenges that people of colour face when accessing the outdoors". The questionnaire covers topics such as white privilege, acknowledging "lived experiences", and different types of racism. The course begins by asking the customer "How many people of color do you see on the slopes, on the hills, or on the trails?", and at the end asks the customer to become an ally to their cause. The company faced a backlash from right-wing commentators, one of whom accused the program of being "woke capitalism at its worst".

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's County, Maryland. 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.

References

References

1. "Our History".
2. "North Face Logo {{!}} Design, History and Evolution".
3. "THE NORTH FACE LOGO".
4. "The North Face".
5. (August 13, 2020). "The North Face Trademarks".
6. Face, The North. "The North Face Unveils Global Retail Strategy with Opening of New SoHo Location".
7. (April 8, 2012). "Business booming for once-troubled North Face". [[San Francisco Chronicle]].
8. Synnott, Mark M.. (December 9, 2015). "How The North Face Founder Went From High School Dropout to Millionaire Conservationist".
9. "Horsing around at the Palo Alto Stock Farm". paloaltoonline.com.
10. (August 26, 2009). "Steve Miller Band Performance History June 1967-December 1967 (Steve Miller II)".
11. (2008). "Profile : Kenneth (Hap) Klopp, founder of The North Face". Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
12. Sarah Kaplan. (December 9, 2015). "North Face co-founder turned 'eco baron' Douglas Tompkins is killed in Chile kayaking accident". [[The Washington Post]].
13. "The North Face". Bruce B. Johnson.
14. (April 10, 2000). "The North Face Acquired by VF Corp. in $25.4M Cash Deal". [[Sports Business Daily]].
15. Frankel, Todd C.. (December 15, 2009). "The North Face is suing The South Butt International clothing company accuses teen's Ladue-based operation of trademark infringement". STLtoday.com.
16. Billhartz Gregorian, Cynthia. (April 3, 2010). "North Face, South Butt reach agreement". STLtoday.com.
17. (October 17, 2012). "South Butt Clothing Falls Off a Cliff". Courthouse News Service.
18. (May 30, 2019). "North Face Apologizes for Adding Its Own Photos to Wikipedia to Promote Its Brand". [[The New York Times]].
19. Harrison, Stephen. (2019-06-14). "How Should Wikipedia Cover When Brands Manipulate Wikipedia?". Slate.
20. Horovitz, Bruce. (August 20, 2007). "New 'badge' of cool: High-tech, high-fashion backpacks". [[USA Today]].
21. (August 13, 2018). "VF Corp. To Split Into Two Independent, Publicly Traded Companies". SGB Media.
22. (September 8, 2022). "Thousands of North Face customers accounts hacked, personal data stolen".
23. (March 6, 2024). "The North Face offers 20% discount if you complete 'racial inclusion' course". [[ITV (TV network).
24. (March 5, 2024). "Gen Z–approved clothing giant The North Face is offering customers 20% off if they take a racial inclusion course". [[Fortune (magazine).
25. CHOSUNBIZ. (2025-09-17). "Park Bo-gum becomes North Face ambassador in South Korea".
26. 패션비즈. (2025-11-17). "'주말 성수 일대 마비' 노스페이스 화이트라벨, 연일 화제".
27. Szabo, Julia. (March 9, 1997). "Geared for the Grocery, or Mount Everest". [[The New York Times]].
28. (February 14, 2005). "Suspects nabbed in jacket, car robberies". The Washington Times.
29. Takanashi, Lei. (October 31, 2018). "How The North Face Took Over '90s New York".
30. Jung-yoon, Choi. (January 16, 2012). "In South Korea, North Face jackets tied to wave of bullying, theft".