The Growth Of Timberland

The history of Timberland dates back to the early 1920s. It was at this time that Timberlands founder Nathan Swartz began his career in shoemaking. This eager Bostonian set his roots as an apprentice stitcher.

Swartz worked very hard at his craft and trade, making him one of the top shoe smiths around. Swartz always wanted to own his own shoe company so he saved up his money and in 1952 his dream came through as he purchased a half interest in the Abington Shoe Company.

At the time of purchase Abington was primarily a shoe company that was a contractor to the other major manufacturers. In 1955, Swartz decided to purchase the remaining half of the Abington Shoe Company making him the sole owner. He quickly brought his sons on board and made it a family affair.

Once the ball was rolling the company began experimenting with its own brand of shoes. In 1960, they introduced their crowning achievement in the form of a fully waterproof boot. This innovative creation quickly put them on the map and made them pretty popular.

In 1973, the company decided to change its name to the Timberland Company. They named it after their ever popular waterproof boot brand. Then, in the late 70s, after Nathan Swartz stepped down as CEO, Sydney Swartz became CEO. The company then began offering clothing and womens products to its line.

By the 1990s the Timberland brand expanded to include, backpacks, watches and even kids shoes. Thanks in part to heavy endorsements from many popular rap stars the company continued to grow in popularity, now sporting a decidedly different demographic. No longer was it rugged outerwear only, but it was also a style brand as wellto this day Timberland continues to be one of the top sellers in urban shoes and clothing, thanks due to the celebrity endorsements.

Pop Culture

Throughout the 1990s, many of raps outspoken stars began wearing Timberlands for style. Some even decided to rap about it in their songs. This led to a boom in popularity for the Boston based company, introducing a demographic that they previously had not been marketing too, the city dwellers.
No longer was their brand exclusively for hiking or outer wear, but now it was being used as a fashion statement. Celebrities were wearing Timberlands to some of societys most A List accompanied functions, quickly moving the company up the trend ladder.
Today, Timberland is more popular than ever, as the trend of being a stylish brand has continued.

Timberland Range
Timberland has branched into many different aspects of clothing. Their brands currently produce pants, shoes, boots, backpacks, watches, shirts and womens clothing.

Recently, Timberland has also branched into the skateboard footwear market, with its purchase of the popular Ipath brand. The companys vision has expanded exponentially beyond what Nathan Swartz had envisioned it to be. Branching into markets that previously would have been an afterthought, Timberlands aggressive expansion has put them on the map of popularity for many years to come.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Author:
Robert is a retailer of href="http://www.kjbeckett.com/acatalog/timberland.html">Timberland
clothing and accessories. You can find more information about
Timberland at http://www.kjbeckett.com/index.html">KJ
Beckett.