never stop exploring type subsidiary industry retail founded 1968 ; 48 years ago 1968 founder douglas tompkins headquarters alameda california u.s. area served north & south america europe & asia pacific products clothing outdoor gear parent vf corporation website thenorthface.com this article is about the company . for the book see the north face novel . for other uses see north face disambiguation . 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 . contents 1 history 2 rise in popularity 3 stores 4 references 5 external links history the north face store the north face inc. clothing tops 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 . 1 it was acquired two years later by kenneth hap klopp . 1 2 3 the idea of the north face originated after a hiking trip on the eagle mountain in minnesota . 4 the north face of a mountain in the northern hemisphere is generally the coldest iciest and most formidable route to climb . 5 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 . 6 it is headquartered in alameda california co located with its corporate sibling jansport . 7 in 2007 jansport was the world s largest backpack maker ; combined the two manufactured nearly half of all small backpacks sold in the united states . 7 participating in an eco fair in new york 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 . 5 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 . 8 rise in popularity north face attire has grown in popularity . 9 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 . 10 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 . 11 after the court ordered mediation in the case the parties reached a closed settlement agreement on april 1 2010 ; 12 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 . 13 stores the north face hiking shoe . 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 14 19 locations in the united kingdom 15 and many others worldwide . references a b finz stacey april 8 2012 . business booming for once troubled north face . sf gate . san francisco chronicle . retrieved 10 december 2015 . about the north face . backcountry . retrieved 10 december 2015 . bruce b. johnson s history of gear webpage . source needed a b thenorthface.com vf corporation vf in the news a b horovitz bruce 2007 08 20 . new badge of cool high tech high fashion backpacks . usa today . p. 1a . retrieved 2009 09 01 . lizzyhawker.com szabo julia 1997 03 09 . geared for the grocery or mount everest . new york times . retrieved 2012 06 27 . suspects nabbed in jacket car robberies . the washington times . 14 february 2005 . p. 2 . frankel todd c. 2009 12 15 . the north face is suing the south butt international clothing company accuses teen s ladue based operation of trademark infringement . stltoday.com . retrieved 2012 10 20 . billhartz gregorian cynthia 2010 04 03 . north face south butt reach agreement . stltoday.com . retrieved 2011 12 08 . south butt clothing falls off a cliff . couthouse news service . 17 october 2012 . retrieved 2012 10 22 . www.thenorthface.com en us north face store locator the north face stores in the uk external links wikimedia commons has media related to the north face . 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 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title the north face & oldid 743699396 categories clothing companies of the united statesoutdoor clothing brandscompanies based in san franciscocamping equipment manufacturersmountaineering equipment manufacturerscompanies established in 1968companies based in san leandro california2000s fashion2010s fashionclothing brands of the united states1968 establishments in californiahidden categories wikipedia pages semi protected against vandalismcommons category with page title same as on wikidataofficial website different in wikidata and wikipedia navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read view source view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages e tinadeutschespa olfran aisgalego italianonederlands edit links this page was last modified on 10 october 2016 at 19 43 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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