vans

{{Infobox company

| name = Vans

| logo = Vans (brand) logo.svg

| image = Vans - Store (51395753693).jpg

| image_caption = Vans store in Midtown Manhattan

| former_name = The Van Doren Rubber Company

| type = Subsidiary

| defunct =

| area_served = Worldwide

| key_people =

| industry = Fashion

| genre =

| products = {{hlist|Footwear|clothing|accessories}}

| brands =

| services =

| revenue =

| operating_income =

| net_income =

| assets =

| equity =

| founders = {{ubl|Paul Van Doren|James Van Doren|Gordon Lee{{Cite web|url=https://www.vans.com/history.html#1966|title = History}}}}

| num_employees =

| parent = VF Outdoor

| divisions =

| subsid =

| foundation = {{start date and age|1966|3|16}} in Anaheim, California

| location = Costa Mesa, California, U.S.

| locations =

| website = {{URL|https://www.vans.com/|vans.com}}

| footnotes = {{cite web|url=http://www.vfc.com/index.php/news/press-releases?nws_id=48E9C0EE-B5BE-2ECF-E040-0A0A580069C5|title=VF Outdoor Completes Acquisition of Eagle Creek, Inc.|access-date=December 8, 2009|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402094616/http://www.vfc.com/index.php/news/press-releases?nws_id=48E9C0EE-B5BE-2ECF-E040-0A0A580069C5|url-status=dead}}

}}

Vans (originally called the Van Doren Rubber Company) is an American apparel, accessories, and skateboarding shoes brand, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams.{{cite web |title=Home |url=http://www.vans.com/|work=Vans.com|publisher=Vans, A VF Company|access-date=August 25, 2013|date=August 2013}} From 1996 to 2019, and beginning again in 2025, the brand has been a primary sponsor of the annual Warped Tour music festival.

History

=Founding and early history=

File:Vans in King of Prussia Mall.jpeg mall in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania]]

Paul Van Doren, his brother James, and Gordon C. Lee opened the first Vans store as "The Van Doren Rubber Company" on March 16, 1966, at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim, California.{{cite news|last1=Connelly|first1=Laylan|title=Happy 50th, Vans: How the iconic shoe brand born in Anaheim has kept on surviving|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/vans-707801-shoe-company.html|access-date=March 12, 2016|newspaper=The Orange County Register|date=March 11, 2016}} The business manufactured shoes and sold them directly to the public. Upon opening, twelve customers purchased Vans deck shoes (now called "Authentic"), similar to those manufactured by Keds but with a thicker sole. The store had display models of three styles of shoes, priced between US$2.49 and $4.99, but did not have any inventory ready to sell and Paul Van Doren did not have change to give customers; customers took their shoes home and came back the next day to pay.{{cite web|title=Vans, Inc. History|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/vans-inc-history/|work=Funding Universe|access-date=August 25, 2013|year=2012}}

=Middle history=

The original Vans skateboard logo was designed in Costa Mesa, California, in the 1970s by Mark Van Doren, son of then-President and co-owner James Van Doren, at age 13; Mark's design was a stencil, allowing the logo to be spray-painted onto his skateboards. The design was incorporated into the heel tab on Style 95, an early Vans skateboard shoe. Mark's interest in skateboarding is what led Vans to manufacture skateboarding shoes.{{Cite web|last=Senn|first=Evan|date=January 12, 2019|title=Off the Walls of Greatness: Vans, an Orange County Icon|url=https://irvineweekly.com/off-the-walls-of-greatness-vans-an-orange-county-icon/|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=Irvine Weekly|language=en-US}}

In 1976, Vans began using its "Off The Wall" motto, a slang phrase used by skateboarders while doing tricks in empty pools. Around this time, Vans released its Vans Side-stripe and Vans #36, also known as the "Old Skool" design.{{Cite web|last=Lee|first=Allen|date=August 12, 2020|title=The History and Story Behind the Vans Logo|url=https://moneyinc.com/vans-logo/|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=Money Inc|language=en-US}}

In 1984, facing heavy competition and a market flooded with Vans counterfeits, Vans lowered its prices and eventually filed for bankruptcy protection. In 1988, Van Doren and Lee sold the company to banking firm McCown De Leeuw & Co. for US$74.4 million. In 1989, many Vans counterfeiters were apprehended by the U.S. and Mexican governments and ordered to cease production.

By 1991, the company's shoes were highly desired due to high demand and low supply. The company expanded internationally; released new models, including snowboard shoes; and was renamed Vans, Inc. to reflect its customers calling the shoes "Vans" for short. The same year, Vans went public at US$14 per share on NASDAQ.

=Recent history=

In 2004, Vans merged with North Carolina–based VF Corporation.{{cite web|url=http://www.grindtv.com/surf/vf-corp-to-buy-vans-for-396-million-dollars/#JC1RLmmeBORmuemj|title=VF Corp To Buy Vans For $396-Million Dollars|date=April 27, 2004|website=GrindTV|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710124119/http://www.grindtv.com/surf/vf-corp-to-buy-vans-for-396-million-dollars/|archive-date=July 10, 2017|access-date=October 12, 2019}} In 2016, in celebration of its 50th anniversary, Vans released a new logo and launched a campaign to target a wider audience. In 2022, Vans launched the new VR3 product line where 30% of the product is renewable, recycled or regenerative. VF Corporation will expand the VR3 product collection to more footwear and apparel categories.{{Cite web |last=Zwieglinska |first=Zofia |date=2022-12-20 |title=Inside VF Corp's plans for The North Face, Supreme and a circular economy |url=https://www.glossy.co/fashion/how-vf-corp-is-solidifying-its-circularity-efforts-for-2023/ |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=Glossy |language=en}}

Partnerships

Since 1999, Vans has sponsored and supported Warped Tour, the longest-running touring music festival to date in North America.Hiatt, Brian. "Rock & Roll: Punk-Rock Circus-How the No Frills Warped Tour Grew into America's Most Successful Festival." Rolling Stone 14 July 2005: 28. Print. In 2001, Warped Tour was rebranded as Vans Warped Tour.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vans.com/history.html#1993|title = History}}

Vans became the title sponsor of the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California, in 2014,{{cite news|last1=Bell|first1=Jennie|title=Vans Renews US Open of Surfing Sponsorship Through 2018|url=http://footwearnews.com/2016/focus/athletic-outdoor/vans-us-open-of-surfing-sponsorship-renewal-213581/|access-date=September 3, 2016|work=Footwear News|date=April 20, 2016}} and in 2010, the company sponsored the Duct Tape Invitational.{{Cite web |url=https://ilovesurfing.org/longboard-competition-duct-tape-invitational/ |title=Story of the Duct Tape Invitational |access-date=April 13, 2018 |archive-date=April 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413191131/https://ilovesurfing.org/longboard-competition-duct-tape-invitational/ |url-status=dead }}[https://www.vans.com/duct.html Vans Duct Tape festival]

In 2022, to commence the US Open of Surfing period, Vans hosted the BMX Waffle Cup, a freestyle BMX invitational tournament. Their Huntington Beach skate park's course was modified by BMX riders for the tournament, and was themed after the US Open.{{cite web |last1=Raineri |first1=JP |title=Surf, Skate, BMX fans flock to Vans U.S. Open |url=https://myvalleynews.com/blog/2022/08/22/surf-skate-bmx-fans-flock-to-vans-u-s-open/ |website=Valley News |date=August 22, 2022 |publisher=Reedermedia, Inc. |access-date=4 December 2022}}

Public skate parks

File:Skating in Sesimbra.jpg

Vans opened its first skate park in 1998 at The Outlets at Orange, in Orange, California. It features a {{Convert|20,000|sqft|adj=on}} indoor street course, {{Convert|12|ft}} deep combo pool, area for amateurs, mini ramps, outdoor street course, and arcade. The park was updated in 2009.{{Cite web|date=May 8, 1998|title=Vans Inc. to Build Skate Park at Mall in Orange|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-may-08-fi-47516-story.html|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} It has remained closed since March 2020, when BMX rider Tyler Kanarr died after sustaining major injuries in the park.{{cite web |title=Huntington Beach BMX Rider Tyler Kanarr Dies After Freak Accident At Vans Skatepark In Orange |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/tyler-kanarr-dead-vans-skatepark-orange-closed/ |website=CBS News |date=March 6, 2020 |publisher=CBS Interactive Inc. |access-date=4 December 2022}}

The company built its second skate park in Huntington Beach, California, which opened to the public in 2010. It includes a {{convert|17,500|sqft|adj=on}} skate bowl and a {{Convert|25,000|sqft|adj=on}} skate plaza. The park is {{convert|42,500|sqft}}, and Vans pays the city US$1 per year for its 20-year lease.{{cite news|last=Fletcher|first=Jaimee Lynn|title=H.B. OKs lease for first free Vans skate park|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/park-337460-skate-city.html|newspaper=The Orange County Register|date=January 28, 2012|page=Local 7}}{{cite news|last=Fletcher|first=Jaimee Lynn|title=Vans to open free skatepark in H.B. Saturday|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/vans-606467-park-doren.html|access-date=March 22, 2014|newspaper=The Orange County Register|date=March 22, 2014| page=Local 2}}

There is a skate park in London, in The Old Vic Tunnels, called House of Vans.{{cite web |url= http://weburbanist.com/2014/08/25/under-london-disused-tunnel-now-a-subterranean-skate-park/ |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150827042657/http://weburbanist.com/2014/08/25/under-london-disused-tunnel-now-a-subterranean-skate-park/ |archive-date = August 27, 2015 |title= Under London: Disused Tunnel Now a Subterranean Skate Park |date= August 25, 2014 |publisher= Webist Media |url-status= dead}}

In pop culture

File:Curtomized Vans for baseball by pitcher Michael Lorenzen (52803412583) (cropped).jpg pitcher Michael Lorenzen plays baseball with customized Vans instead of baseball shoes.]]

Vans' shoes have often been customized cosmetically by wearers, with many of their painting and drawing patterns being adopted by the company for their official models. Most notably, the checkerboard pattern, popular in ska and punk culture, was adopted after the company noticed skateboarders drawing it on their shoes.{{cite web |last1=Baylis |first1=Morgan |title=Checkered Vans: A Brief History |url=https://stockx.com/news/checkered-vans-a-brief-history/ |website=StockX |date=May 15, 2020 |access-date=4 December 2022}}

Vans reached nationwide popularity when, in 1982, Sean Penn wore a pair of Vans checkerboard slip-ons as character Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

In 2016, the internet meme "Damn Daniel", featuring California teen Daniel Lara wearing Vans, went viral. In appreciation, the company gave Lara a lifetime supply of Vans shoes.{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/michelleregna/damn-daniel-was-on-ellen#.gswR11LRr|title='Damn Daniel' Was Back At It Again With The White Vans On 'Ellen'|website=BuzzFeed|date=February 24, 2016 |access-date=2016-03-09}}

The Major League Baseball pitcher Michael Lorenzen grew up skateboarding with Vans. {{As of|2023}}, he plays baseball wearing customized Vans UltraRange Exos with cleats, rather than traditional baseball shoes.{{Cite Q|Q121391600|access-date=2023-08-13}} On August 9, 2023, Lorenzen became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Vans; the Vans will be displayed in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.