The Timberland Company

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The Timberland Company

Type	Public (NYSE: TBL)
Founded	Boston, Massachusetts (1952)
Headquarters	Stratham, New Hampshire
Key people	Sidney W. Swartz, Chairman Jeffrey B. Swartz, President/CEO Kenneth P. Pucker, Executive VP/COO
Industry	Textile
Products	Apparel
Revenue	$1,500.6 million USD (2004)
Employees	5,600 (2004)
Website	Timberland.com

Timberland (NYSE: TBL) (or more informally Timbs or Timbos) is a trademark for a number of lines of outdoors wear, primarily boots, manufactured by The Timberland Company.

Although their boots are designed for hiking and mountain climbing, they are popular as a primary element of fashion, originating from their popularity with African-American, West Indian, and Latin youths in New York City, New Jersey, and Connecticut areas. The Timberland Company also has many items for sale in the apparel market including watches, leather goods, eyeware and other goods.

1 Company History
2 Community Involvement
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Company History

In 1918, Timberland founder Nathan Swartz began his shoemaking career in Boston, Massachusetts as an apprentice stitcher.
In 1952 Swartz bought half an interest in The Abington Shoe Company in Boston, mainly doing contract work for other manufacturers.
In 1955, he bought the remaining interest and brought his sons into the company.
In the 1960 the Swartz family introduced the then innovative injection-molding technology into the footwear industry. This enabled the production of virtually waterproof boots by connecting the soles to the leather uppers without stitching.
In 1973, the brand name "Timberland" was introduced for the waterproof leather boots produced by the company. Because the boot proved to be very popular, the company name was officially changed to The Timberland Company.
In 1978 and 1979, Timberland added casual and boat shoes to its boots product line.
In the 1980s, the company expanded internationally, first into the Italian market and later to many other countries.
Sidney Swartz, one of the founder's sons, took the helm at the company (he still serves as chairman). Under his leadership, Timberland started to become a lifestyle brand and added clothing and women's shoes to its products.
Throughout the 1990s, the Timberland Company added more product lines such as backpacks, watches, and kids' footwear.
In 1998, the Timberland PRO series of "Workboots for the Professional" was launched to further expand into the lifestyle market. Jeffrey Swartz stepped up to become CEO of the company and brand his grandfather and father had started.

[edit] Community Involvement

The Timberland Company is also active in community service, mostly through its sponsorship of the Boston-based City Year (a program labeled as an “urban Peace Corps”, striving to unite young people of varied backgrounds) and its participation in the Path of Service program (which gives employees 40 hours of paid time-off to serve in their communities).

[edit] Trivia

The late Australian animal filmer Steve Irwin nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter" was known for wearing Timberland boots. [1]
The American composer and record producer Timbaland (birth name Timothy Z. Mosley) got his stage name after the Timberland boot popular in hip-hop fashion, when he was an apprentice with fellow producer DeVante Swing.
Although Timberland is a publicly traded company, the Swartz family still holds approximately 47% of the stock and 81% of the voting power according to company statements.
For many years, there was a rumor that African-Americans liked the Timberland boots although the company was alleged to be owned by the Ku Klux Klan, which is not true. [2]
In one memorable scene from the film The Departed, Jack Nicholson's character interrogates Leonardo DiCaprio's character whilst pounding on his broken hand using a Timberland classic boot.