Sneak(er) Peak Into Vans

What does this picture remind you of?

Chess? A race flag?

Well, aside from these, this design also served another important purpose.

It became the reason for Vans to become among the leading brands for shoes.

So how did this design help Vans?

Here’s how:

These pair of shoes went on to become the most iconic pair of shoes by Vans and are available for sale even to this date.

But let’s go back a little to when it all started.

In 1966 in California, 2 brothers named Paul Van Doren and James Van Doren, both of whom worked for a company named Randolph Rubber Manufacturing Company, decided to start a company of their own.

Their impetus in doing so was mainly the fact that shoe makers at the time earned a measly margin while most of the profit was lost to the retailers. They decided to disintermediate by selling their footwear directly to their consumers, thereby reducing the price of the shoes while also increasing their own margins.

“House of Vans”, their new manufacturing plant, was set up in that same year, a 400-foot retail space on the streets of Anaheim, California.

Now here’s what you ordinarily wouldn’t do if you opened a shoe store. You wouldn’t not have shoes to sell.