The Timberland Company

In 1918, Nathan Swartz, a Jewish-born shoemaker from Odesa, Ukraine, started his shoe making career.Him and his family eventually moved to Boston, before World War 1. Nearby, the Abington Shoe Company was founded in 1933 in South Boston. Swartz bought half-interest in the company in 1952, and he and his sons eventually acquired the remaining shares. Through the 1960s the company specialized in making private-label boots and shoes for other brands. In 1969, Abington moved to Newmarket, New Hampshire, and focused on producing waterproof boots made with injection molding, capable of withstanding the winters of the region.

The Timberland boot was introduced in 1973. Its popularity grew, prompting the Swartzes to discontinue manufacturing for others and concentrate on expanding its own brand. The Abington Shoe Company was renamed The Timberland Company and incorporated in 1978.

Jeffrey Swartz, grandson of founder Nathan Swartz, joined the company in 1986. The following year the family took the company public. Herman Swartz led the company until he retired in 1986. He was succeeded as CEO by his brother Sidney, who retired in 1998. Jeffrey Swartz succeeded him to become Chief Executive Officer of the company. In June 2011, Timberland signed a definitive takeover agreement with VF Corporation at $43 per share or approximately $2 billion.

The company is primarily known for its footwear. Notable examples:

The "Yellow Boot" is the company's best-known model, now considered iconic.

Timberland PRO industrial boots

Footwear made with recycled, organic, and renewable materials.

Controversy

In a 1993 The New York Times article about "outdoor" clothing brands' cross-over appeal to Black and Hispanic inner-city youth, Jeffrey Swartz downplayed the importance of the urban youth market in Timberland's success, saying that the company concentrated its advertising on its core customers, "honest working people", adding that the urban market was not "sustainable". Though Swartz denied any plan to distance his company's name from young Black and Hispanic consumers to maintain its image, his comments led to a backlash among some Black artists who publicly dropped the brand. In an editorial in The Amsterdam News, Swartz denied the charges of racism and met with Black cultural leaders to explain Timberland's position. The company began more publicly to embrace the urban youth market. In the end, the controversy had little effect on sales.