Vans traces its beginnings in Boston because that city is where originator Paul Van Doren was born, in 1930. Paul’s first job was setup by his mother who, despairing over his absence of scholarly instincts, found him a position at the shoe manufacturing plant where she was working. This is where Paul found out about shoes.. Paul and the shoe industry got along very well and through hard work became Executive Vice President of Boston shoe firm Randy’s. 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. Paul was a good businessman and immediately saw the difference between the profit margins of factory and shop, 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 witnessed a time period of financial growth for the business maily because of new designs being developed and introduced to the market including rubber mukluks (for the US Government) and wool lined canvas shoes.Skateboarders loved Vans, because they greatly regarded the longevity of the shoe and enjoyed 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. The Era featured a padded collar and a range of color combinations and quickly became the shoe of choice for a whole generation of skateboarders. The ubiquitous Vans Slip-on was introduced in 1979. It was in fact incredibly popular with BMX riders and skaters. This continuous introduction of very successful shoes delivered the enterprise much success and subsequently the company boasted close to 70 retail outlets in California by the end of the 1970s. This was the period when Vans went first national and then international, opening retail outlets and working with distributors..

Many changes came to the company during the decade of the 80s.. To compete with the larger and more well know competitors and brands Vans continued to introduce new products and additionally ventured into new market segments customers who demanded tough trainers. Such markets included moto-cross and surfing. Vans Slip-ons became incredibly popular, gaining sales all over the world.

During this period Paul Van Doren stepped-back from over-all day-to-day contribution.

The company itself became something of a victim of this success, which ultimately led to a cash-flow problem. The situation reached a climax when the company filed for bankruptcy in 1983. It took Vans three years to get back on its feet, though it did pay-off its creditors. The original founders sold the business to an investment firm: the business proceeded to be sold several times.

Vans came out of the 80s stronger, which led to success in the 1990s. Strategically things changed. 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 the company began sponsoring events such as the ‘Inaugural Triple Crown’ series which ended-up changing its title to the ‘Vans Triple Crown’ series, along with 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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