Vans skate shoes are the very first ones to ever be created or sold. They have been around for over 40 years, but have seen many ups and downs. Let's take a quick look at the history of this famous skate shoe company.
It was March in the year 1966, and the original Vans shoes were produced in a tiny mom-and-pop store in Anaheim, California called The Van Doren Rubber Company. That day, Paul Van Doren and three acquaintances sold 12 pairs of what are now called the Authentics today. The sneakers were ordered by the customer, produced, and sold all in the same day. This was just the start of the famous Vans Footwear company and nobody ever thought their popularity to surge so quickly.
By the next decade, Vans was creating more than just skateboard footwear, and started reaching out into the bike market. During the 1970s, Vans Footwear added a couple of other sneakers to their list, including shoes called the #95s and #44s. Today they are recognized as the Eras and Slip-ons. The Era sneakers proved to be a big success thanks to the help of pro skaters Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta who helped design them. As the decade came to a close, Vans opened up 70 shops in California and became a household name.
Since they did so well in the 1970s, the owners of Vans decided to reach out to wakeboarding and motocross sports with their sneakers and apparel. However, things did not fare so well for them. They ended up having to file for bankruptcy after wasting so much money on so many new products that weren't selling as fast as they had anticipated.
Even though things look bad for a while, Vans came back a few years later after successfully getting out of debt with their creditors. Vans Footwear traded hands and got sold a number of times over the next 20 years. The most recent buy-out was from co-founder Paul Van Doren's son, Steve Van Doren, for an estimated $396 million.
These days, Vans is still recognized by several people--regardless of if they skateboard or not--to be among the most affordable, durable and comfortable skate shoes available. Vans definitely had some bad years, but they have shown over and over that they are a force that shouldn't be reckoned with, and they are here to stay.
Tips on Buying Cheap Laptops and Netbooks
In this article you will learn about some very effective ways of finding cheap, affordable laptops computers, notebooks, netbooks and tablet PCs.
Buying BMX Bikes for Kids
Finding a good BMX bike for your son or daughter is not always as easy as it sounds. On one hand, you have so many different models and brands of bikes to choose from; but then again, with so many to pick between, how can you determine which ones are the best and which ones are not good investments?
BMX Bikes - How to Buy the Best
There are many important things to keep in mind if you are going to buy a BMX bike. It may sound like an easy thing to shop for, but it can indeed be quite tricky, especially if you are new to the whole experience and aren’t sure what to look for.
