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Famous Vans - A Brief Recollection

Vans founder Paul Van Doren was born in Boston in 1930. His first job was at the shoe factory where his mother worked, where he was hired to clean the floors and assist on the production lines. Paul did well in the shoe business in due course becoming Vice President of Randy’s, a distinguished shoe business in Boston.. Paul decided to go directly into the shoe business along with three partners who formed the Van Doren Rubber Company, setting-up the factory in California in 1966. He noted the lack of profit margin for the manufacturer but also saw the huge profits made by the retailer, so he opened a retail outlet and, on opening day 16th March 1966, he sold twelve pairs of Vans deck shoes (known in the future as Authentic).

The 1970s experienced a time period of expansion for the firm maily because of new designs being developed and introduced to the market including large contracts for the US Air Force - rubber mukluks and wool lined canvas shoes.Vans were a big hit with skateboarders, who treasured the longevity of the shoe and cherished the sticky sole. Vans were very popular in California throughout this period.

The Vans Era was released in 1975, although at the time it was known as the Vans #95. Skateboarders enjoyed this trainer, revelling in the big selection of impressive designs, the padded collar. The ubiquitous Vans Slip-on was introduced in 1979. It was in fact extremely desired by BMX riders and skaters. The regular development of hugely successful trainers created the business lots of success and consequently the company had more than seventy stores in California towards the end of the 1970s. Around this period Vans went first national and then international, opening retail outlets and working with distributors..

The 80s saw many changes for the company.. To compete with the larger and more well know competitors and brands Vans continued to develop new products and additionally ventured into new market segments markets which had a demand for robust footwear. Such markets included moto-cross and surfing. Vans Slip-ons became incredibly popular, gaining sales all over the world.

This period witnessed Paul taking a step-back from total involvement in the daily running of the business.

Vans became something of a victim of this success, which ultimately led to a cash-flow problem. The situation came to a head and Vans filed for bankruptcy in 1983. Vans eventually got back on its feet over a three year period and even managed to pay-off its creditors. The original founders sold the business to an investment firm: the company proceeded to be sold several times.

Vans came out of the 80s stronger, which led to success in the 1990s. There was still a lot of change, for example the company moved manufacturing out of the USA, which unfortunately meant that the company’s manufacturing history in California came to an end as . Continuing to move forward Vans started to get behind and sponsor events such as the ‘Inaugural Triple Crown’ series which eventually became the ‘Vans Triple Crown’ series, and also the ‘Warped Tour’ music festival. Skate parks bearing the company’s name and branding were opened in 1998, in Orange County and in 2002 in Orlando, further entrenching the company in the skateboarder market. Naming rights are also important and Vans has, for example, the naming rights to Australia’s internationally famous Bowl-a-Rama location.

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