The company, based southeast of
“Paul was not just an entrepreneur; he was an innovator,” the company said. “Paul’s bold experiments in product design, distribution and marketing, along with his knack for numbers and efficiency turned a family shoe business into a globally recognized brand.”
Van Doren was a high school dropout who moved to
Van Doren had two decades of experience in shoe manufacturing but none in retail, he recalled.
“The first person gave me a
“But I didn’t have any money in the cash register, so I gave her the shoes,” Van Doren said. “We ended up selling 16 or 18 pair of shoes that day. You know what? I said, ‘Come back later to pay.' Every one of those people came back and paid."
Van Doren's son,
“My dad was a systems guy,”
Van Doren also allowed people to order customized shoes. He expanded the customer base by allowing various designs to be sold everywhere from surf shops to department stores.
In “Authentic,” Van Doren said the key to success was to give customers what they wanted.
“If it’s a checkerboard, if it’s bright pinks and yellows, or if it happens to be dinosaurs or a skull and crossbones, listen to their two cents’ worth about colors and designs,” he said.
The shoes, with their canvas tops and tough, diamond-patterned rubber soles, caught the fancy of skateboarders. The company, which kept a sharp eye on trends, was quick to catch on.
“Everybody else was kicking these kids out of the park, kicking them out of pools. And here’s a company listening to them, backing them, and making shoes for them," Van Doren told
The company paid professional skateboard
The brand's popularity soared after
However, knockoffs and competition ate into Vans' profits, along with misguided efforts to expand the range of its offerings with specialized shoes for football, basketball, skydiving and even breakdancing. The company was forced into bankruptcy protection in 1984 and was sold to a banking firm in 1988.
Over the years, the brand's popularity waxed and waned, losing ground to newer, high-techier kicks and regaining it when retro came back into fashion.
The firm, renamed
Today, Vans produces its shoes overseas. It continues to sell its traditional designs while also keeping an eye on trendsetters by collaborating with designers, skateboarding, BMX and surfing pros and other celebrities.
Vans racks up around
The company also has built skateparks and sponsored various events, including the Warped Tour, an annual international traveling rock festival, and the
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