It all began in California in 1966 where brothers Paul van Doren and Jim van Doren,along with their partners Gordon Lee and Serge Delia,opened The van Doren Rubber Company on March 16. Their first ever shoe was the Vans #44 deck shoes and they manufactured custom shoes for the skate and surf community in Southern California. The shoes simply known as Vans became popular among outdoor athletes in the region and sold for $2.49 to $4.99 in three different styles. Experiencing immediate initial success,the company was opening a new retail location nearly every week. Due to the stickiness of the soles on the bottoms of the shoes,it became quick favourite of skateboarders because of the ability to perform more sophisticated tricks with a better…show more content… Domestic production became a problematic source for Vans because their sales had declined so much that their stock bottomed out at $3 per share and they eventually laid off 1,000 employees and closed their Orange,CA plant. They began manufacturing operations in South
Korea in order to compete in the shoe market with a cheaper product line. Sales steadily bounced back and their shares were worth $11 in 1996. The company was now “focused on producing what would sell rather than selling what it produced. In 2004,the V.F Corporation bought Vans for $400million. Vans has been a huge success for the V.F Corporation especially in overseas markets like China and Mexico where the shoes brand is growing in popularity. In 2011,sales for Vans rose 20% compared to the previous year and V.F Corporation is now believed to be a $2billion company in…show more content… A striver customer is motivated by achivements but has less access to resources. In essence,they strive to be what their heroes are and what they have accomplished but do not have access to certain things because of their lower financial income. Due to their high interest in emulating their heroes,style is of utmost importance and they have attempt to look like them at any cost. An Experiencer customer is the youngest VAL group with a median age of 25. They are motivated by self-expression and are very active in sports. They spend a lot of money on clothes,shoes,food,and activites. And are usually the first group to but new