Vans



Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, based in Santa Ana, California and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. Since 1996, the company has been the primary sponsor of the annual Vans Warped Tour traveling rock festival.

History
In 1944, Paul Van Doren dropped out of intermediate school in 8th Grade at age fourteen when he realized he didn’t like school. He had a strong passion for horses and found his way to the race track where he earned the nickname “Dutch the Clutch”, and for just one dollar he would give you the odds of the race. Paul’s mother, Rena, did not enjoy the idea of Paul being without a job and not in school, so she insisted he get a job at Randy’s, a shoe manufacturer. His job entailed sweeping the floors and making shoes. Paul eventually worked his way up the ladder and became the executive vice president at just 34 years old. Randy’s became one of the biggest shoe manufacturers in the US From Van Doren’s quick success in Massachusetts, he was ordered to turn around a failing Randy’s factory in Garden Grove, California that was losing close to a million dollars each month. Paul and his brother Jim moved their families and settled in Anaheim to help the factory. After just eight months of being in Garden Grove, the factory was functioning better than the one in Massachusetts. Three months after trying to have the Garden Grove factory, Paul decided he wanted to start his own shoe brand.

On March 16, 1966, at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim, California, brothers Paul Van Doren and James Van Doren and Gordon C. Lee opened the first Vans store under the name The Van Doren Rubber Company. The business manufactured shoes and sold them directly to the public. On that first morning, twelve customers purchased Vans deck shoes, which are now known as "Authentic". The company displayed three styles of shoes, which were priced between US$2.49 and US$4.99, but on the opening day, the company had only manufactured display models without any inventory ready to sell—the store rack boxes were actually empty.

Nevertheless, the twelve customers selected the colors and styles they desired, and were asked to return later in the afternoon to pick up their purchases. Paul Van Doren and Lee then rushed to the factory to manufacture the selected shoes. When the customers returned that afternoon to pick up their shoes, Paul Van Doren and Gordon C. Lee realized that they had forgotten to maintain a cash reserve to provide change to customers. The customers were therefore given the shoes and asked to return the following day with their payments. All twelve of the customers returned the following day to pay for their items.

The original version of the Vans skateboard logo was designed in Costa Mesa, California in the 1970s by Mark Van Doren at the age of 13. The son of then President and co-owner James Van Doren, Mark designed the logo as a stencil to be spray painted on his skateboards. Initially introduced for the heel tab on an early Vans’ skateboard shoe, the Style 95, this original Vans skateboard logo is an important part of Vans history.”

In 1988, Paul Van Doren and Gordon C. Lee sold the Vans company to the banking firm McCown De Leeuw & Co. for US$74.4 million. In 1989, many manufacturers of counterfeit Vans shoes were apprehended by the US and Mexican officials and ordered to cease production.

In 2004, Vans announced it would merge into North Carolina-based VF Corporation.

Event sponsorship
Vans has sponsored and supported the Warped Tour since 1996. Returning in 2017, the tour is taking on a new element asking fans to complete a survey requesting which acts they should book. Kevin Lyman, the founder of the Vans Warped Tour, announced the 23rd installment in 2018 will be the last one.

Vans became the title sponsor of the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California in 2014. and In 2010, the company sponsored the Duct Tape Invitational.

Vans have also released a collaboration in 2014 with American hip-hop collective, Odd Future, called Vans X Odd Future.

Public skate parks
The first skate park was opened in 1998 at the Outlets of Orange. It features a 20,000 sqft indoor street course, a combi pool, which is 12 ft deep, an area for amateurs, mini ramps, an outdoor street course, and an arcade. The park was updated in 2009.

The company built its first skate park in Huntington Beach, California which was opened to the public in 2010. It includes a 17,500 sqft skate bowl and a 25,000 sqft skate plaza. The park is 42,500 sqft and Vans pays the city US$1 per year for the 20-year lease.

There is also a skate park in London, in The Old Vic Tunnels called House of Vans.

 In film 

In the 1982 coming of age film, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, surfer dude, Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) is seen prominently wearing Vans Checkered Slip Ons throughout the film and also in the film poster.