| In 1966, two hiking
enthusiasts founded a small mountaineering retail store
in the heart of San Francisco's North Beach. The Company
soon became known as The North Face, a retailer of
high-performance climbing and backpacking equipment.
(The name was selected because in the Northern
Hemisphere, the north face of a mountain is generally
the coldest, iciest and most formidable to climb.) In
1968, The North Face began designing and manufacturing
its own brand of high-performance mountaineering apparel
and equipment, and in the early 1980s, extreme skiwear
was added to the product offering. By the end of the
decade, The North Face became the only supplier in the
United States to offer a comprehensive collection of
high-performance outerwear, skiwear, sleeping bags,
packs and tents. |