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TNF history
TNF company history timeline
When they launched in 1964, even with a small store, they went all out.
Started as a small retail and mail order operation, The North Face was founded by Doug and Susie Tompkins in 1964, only a few years prior to establishing Esprit.
North Face was founded in 1965 by outdoor enthusiasts retailing premium-grade backpacking and climbing equipment.
With only $5,000, the couple initially provided good quality rock climbing and camping equipment and opened their first store on 26th October 1966.
Named for the most challenging side of the mountain, The North Face has equipped explorers since 1966 to reach their dreams.
In 1966, a young climber named Doug Tompkins used his savings to start a revolution.
So, in 1968, he sold his share to Kenneth Klopp for just $50,000.
North Face began to wholesale and manufacture backpacking equipment in 1968.
Under Klopp, the brand began manufacturing its own line and in 1971 the ‘Half Dome’ logo was designed by David Alcorn.
Their first products were backpacks and the company offered only one coat, the Sierra Parka, with the first tent designed and produced in 1974.
In 1975 North Face introduced a benchmark in the outdoor equipment industry with its geodesic dome tent.
With their popularity ever-growing, the brand persisted with committed research and innovation and in 1975 it created its revolutionary geodesic dome tent.
Pennica D, Hayflick JS, Bringman TS, Palladino MA, Goeddel DV (1985) Cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of the cDNA for murine tumor necrosis factor.
Dinarello CA, Cannon JG, Wolff SM, Bernheim HA, Beutler B, Cerami A, Figari IS, Palladino MA, Jr, O’Connor JV (1986) Tumor necrosis factor (cachectin) is an endogenous pyrogen and induces production of interleukin 1.
Aggarwal BB, Aiyer RA, Pennica D, Gray PW, Goeddel DV (1987) Human tumour necrosis factors: structure and receptor interactions.
Tracey KJ, Fong Y, Hesse DG, Manogue KR, Lee AT, Kuo GC, Lowry SF, Cerami A (1987) Anticachectin/TNF monoclonal antibodies prevent septic shock during lethal bacteraemia.
In May 1988, Odyssey Holdings, Inc. (OHI) acquired the company, known at that time as North Face Corporation.
Kriegler M, Perez C, DeFay K, Albert I, Lu SD (1988) A novel form of TNF/cachectin is a cell surface cytotoxic transmembrane protein: ramifications for the complex physiology of TNF. Cell 53: 45–53
Seckinger P, Isaaz S, Dayer JM (1988) A human inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor alpha.
Folks TM, Clouse KA, Justement J, Rabson A, Duh E, Kehrl JH, Fauci AS (1989) Tumor necrosis factor alpha induces expression of human immunodeficiency virus in a chronically infected T-cell clone.
Smith CA, Davis T, Anderson D, Solam L, Beckmann MP, Jerzy R, Dower SK, Cosman D, Goodwin RG (1990) A receptor for tumor necrosis factor defines an unusual family of cellular and viral proteins.
The 1990 team of six travelled more than 3,700 miles within 220 days in a mission to spread the awareness of global climate change and in doing so they successfully completed the first ever non-mechanized crossing of Antarctica.
Lesslauer W, Tabuchi H, Gentz R, Brockhaus M, Schlaeger EJ, Grau G, Piguet PF, Pointaire P, Vassalli P, Loetscher H (1991) Recombinant soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor proteins protect mice from lipopolysaccharide-induced lethality.
Piguet PF, Grau GE, Vesin C, Loetscher H, Gentz R, Lesslauer W (1992) Evolution of collagen arthritis in mice is arrested by treatment with anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) antibody or a recombinant soluble TNF receptor.
Named after the mountain that lies only 2km from Mount Everest, the Nuptse puffer jacket first came out in 1992.
In January 1993, a new executive staff was recruited to make needed changes in North Face's operations.
Moreira AL, Sampaio EP, Zmuidzinas A, Frindt P, Smith KA, Kaplan G (1993) Thalidomide exerts its inhibitory action on tumor necrosis factor alpha by enhancing mRNA degradation.
Knight DM, Trinh H, Le J, Siegel S, Shealy D, McDonough M, Scallon B, Moore MA, Vilcek J, Daddona P et al (1993) Construction and initial characterization of a mouse-human chimeric anti-TNF antibody.
However, in 1993 the parent company, OHI, filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
Jacobs CA, Sims JE, Mohler KM, Dower S, Giri JG, Smith CA, Mullarkey MF (1994) Soluble cytokine receptors as potential therapeutic antagonists.
Beck JT, Hsu SM, Wijdenes J, Bataille R, Klein B, Vesole D, Hayden K, Jagannath S, Barlogie B (1994) Brief report: alleviation of systemic manifestations of Castleman’s disease by monoclonal anti-interleukin-6 antibody.
A Dramatic Turnaround Beginning in 1994
Arend WP, Dayer JM (1995) Inhibition of the production and effects of interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor alpha in rheumatoid arthritis.
Scallon BJ, Moore MA, Trinh H, Knight DM, Ghrayeb J (1995) Chimeric anti-TNF-alpha monoclonal antibody cA2 binds recombinant transmembrane TNF-alpha and activates immune effector functions.
Released in 1995 to combat the climates of the Alaskan National Park it is named after, it remains a popular piece today and is sported by the likes of Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber.
Lorenz HM, Antoni C, Valerius T, Repp R, Grunke M, Schwerdtner N, Nusslein H, Woody J, Kalden JR, Manger B (1996) In vivo blockade of TNF-alpha by intravenous infusion of a chimeric monoclonal TNF-alpha antibody in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Shortly after going public in 1996, North Face began to face a series of problems that nearly led to its demise.
Targan SR, Hanauer SB, van Deventer SJ, Mayer L, Present DH, Braakman T, DeWoody KL, Schaible TF, Rutgeerts PJ (1997) A short-term study of chimeric monoclonal antibody cA2 to tumor necrosis factor alpha for Crohn’s disease.
Butler DM, Malfait AM, Mason LJ, Warden PJ, Kollias G, Maini RN, Feldmann M, Brennan FM (1997) DBA/1 mice expressing the human TNF-alpha transgene develop a severe, erosive arthritis: characterization of the cytokine cascade and cellular composition.
Sales and earnings had also been overstated in 1997.
Moreland LW (1998) Soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor (p75) fusion protein (ENBREL) as a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.
In 1998, James Fifield took over as CEO. He moved company headquarters to Carbondale, Colorado, which was near his home in Aspen.
The company released its new figures which revealed that 1998 sales had been overstated by six percent, or $16 million, and earnings had been inflated by 42 percent.
Asadullah K, Docke WD, Ebeling M, Friedrich M, Belbe G, Audring H, Volk HD, Sterry W (1999) Interleukin 10 treatment of psoriasis: clinical results of a phase 2 trial.
Leckie MJ, ten Brinke A, Khan J, Diamant Z, O’Connor BJ, Walls CM, Mathur AK, Cowley HC, Chung KF, Djukanovic R et al (2000) Effects of an interleukin-5 blocking monoclonal antibody on eosinophils, airway hyper-responsiveness, and the late asthmatic response.
In 2000, The North Face had told its shareholders sales were $238 million when, in reality, there had been a net loss of $100 million.
van den Berg WB (2001) Anti-cytokine therapy in chronic destructive arthritis.
Locksley RM, Killeen N, Lenardo MJ (2001) The TNF and TNF receptor superfamilies: integrating mammalian biology.
Sandborn WJ, Hanauer SB, Katz S, Safdi M, Wolf DG, Baerg RD, Tremaine WJ, Johnson T, Diehl NN, Zinsmeister AR (2001) Etanercept for active Crohn’s disease: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Lodolce JP, Burkett PR, Koka RM, Boone DL, Ma A (2002) Regulation of lymphoid homeostasis by interleukin-15.
Haraoui B, Keystone EC, Thorne JC, Pope JE, Chen I, Asare CG, Leff JA (2004) Clinical outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis after switching from infliximab to etanercept.
Kohno T, Stevens S, Louie J (2005) Adalimumab and infliximab bind to Fc-receptor and C1q and generate immunoprecipitation: A different mechanism from etanercept. [Abstract]. J Am Acad Dermatol 52: 36
By 2005, North Face's financial problems were a thing of the past and demand for its products was strong.
Stevens, S.R., Chang, T.H. (2006). History of development of TNF inhibitors.
In 2006, there were approximately 100 Summit Shops located within retail shops in the United States There were also ten North Face retail stores scattered across California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington.
The North Face seemed profitable. It was also time to branch to other markets, so they allied with designers such as Junya Watanabe in 2006 and created regional products for Europe and Asia.
The North Face launches the Explore Fund at the 2010 Outdoor Nation Youth Summit in New York City.
A grant-giving program with an initial base of $250,000 (increased to $500,000 in 2015), the money supports nonprofit organizations seeking to create a deeper connection between people and nature.
What once was a $25.4 million-dollar purchase, averaged $2.3 billion in sales in 2016.
The North Face applies this standard, meeting RDS certification by 2016.
In 2018, Drake purchased a classic The North Face/Apple coat for $825 at an auction.
The future of exploration.2020-NowWhat exploration offers is a vehicle for personal transformation.– Conrad Anker, Team Athlete
Harking back to the 90s love affair with the duvet-like piece, the last few years have seen an astonishing rise in the demand for puffers and in 2020 Depop declared the striking The North Face Nuptse jacket to be the most searched item on the app.
If this collection wasn’t enough to spark an interest in The North Face, its 2021 collaboration with Gucci is sure to do so.
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TNF competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Up Enterprises | 1977 | $495.4M | 1,461 | 1 |
| Hub City Media | 1999 | $12.4M | 125 | - |
| Nott | - | $690,000 | 7 | 4 |
| Marco | 1973 | $460.0M | 1,170 | 82 |
| Perfecto | 2006 | $14.0M | 750 | 60 |
| ARCOS | 2006 | $7.7M | 2 | - |
| Swanson Services Corporation | 1945 | $61.0M | 300 | 13 |
| LEM Enterprises | - | - | - | 1 |
| Red Wing Software | 1979 | $25.3M | 30 | - |
| GK Holdings Inc | - | $41.0M | 1,314 | - |
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TNF may also be known as or be related to TNF and Tnf.