Paul Van Doren
| Paul Van Doren | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 12, 1930 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. |
Paul Van Doren (June 12, 1930 – May 6, 2021) was one of the founders of Vans, a shoe company in the United States.
Early life
Van Doren was one of the two children of Johnson and Rena Van Doren. His father was an inventor while his mother was a seamstress.
Van Doren dropped out of school at the age of 14, when he was in the eighth grade. Interested in horses, he went to the race tracks every day; there, he became known as 'Dutch the Clutch.'[1] His mother then insisted that he get a job in a shoe factory.
Van Doren Rubber Company
In 1966, Van Doren, his brother James Van Doren, and their friends Gordon, Ryan Emmert and Serge D’Elia became partners in opening the first Vans. It took a year to build and set up the factory at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim. They offered only 3 different styles of shoes when they first opened; their prices ranged from $2.49 to $4.99. The Van Dorens would sometimes even go to local swap meets to sell their shoes.[2] When half of their initial 10 stores did not turn a profit, they were advised by their accountants to shut them down. Yet Van Doren did the opposite and opened more stores. He figured the more shoes he made, the more the cost to make them would go down, and in turn, keep the stores afloat. And it worked. Vans had about 70 stores in California by the end of the 1970s.[3] Van Doren ran the company until 1976, when his brother James took over.
Personal life
Van Doren had five children: Paul Jr., Steve, Cheryl, Taffy, and Janie. Steve became the vice president of events and promotions of Vans, while Cheryl served as its vice president of human resources.[4]
Van Doren died on May 6, 2021, at the age of 90.[4][5] His memoir, Authentic, was published nine days before his death.[4][6]
References
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