“The North Face loves New York.”
That was the declaration made by Caroline Brown, global brand president of the outdoor brand, as she prepared to open the doors to the company’s largest global flagship on Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street Friday morning.
The two-story, 21,000-square-foot flagship replaces a smaller unit across the street that opened in 2016 and sports a design that is intended to transform the traditional shopping experience into an explorer’s journey, the company said.
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Key to that experience is a suspended staircase that serves as the centerpiece of the space and a two-and-a-half story LED screen showing films of North Face athletes exploring some of the farthest reaches of the earth. The inaugural film, “Expedition Style Approach,” is around an hour and 20 minutes long and was directed and shot by climber, filmmaker and North Face athlete Renan Ozturk on glaciers in Iceland.
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“New York is such an important market for us, and always has been,” Brown said. “One of the unique things that we know about The North Face is that we have this reach that is really rooted in the beauty of city life. New York City has been such an important place for starting a culture and trends and The North Face from the very beginning has been a part of culture, so it makes perfect sense that we put down roots in this city.”
With around 1,700 stores globally — some 1,000 of which are in China — The North Face has large flagships in other cities as well, including London and Shanghai, she said, and has been adding units in large cities around the world. But New York continues to be special.
Last year the company also opened a store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, “so we’re really committed to how big the opportunity is here,” Brown said.
“This city is a great example of how style adopts the inspiration of performance and works it into every day,” she added. “I think we’re past a point in fashion where people are willing to be uncomfortable. People want to look great, they want to feel on trend, but they also want to be functional. They want to be comfortable. That’s one of the great elements of taking performance into a lifestyle lens. Whether you’re running through a city street or through a nature trail, the spirit of performance is so modern.”
The store was designed to be an immersive experience, a term that is often bandied about among retailers. But in this case, it’s accurate.
“We want to bring folks off the sidewalk and into the out of doors,” said Paul Kangas-Miller, global creative director of advanced concepts and brand environments for The North Face. He said the “motif” for the space is to create an illusion of being above or below the tree line.
What that translates into on the ground floor — which is below the tree line — is darker terrazzo floors and walls made from faceted gray cork panels. “The idea is that it feels like being under a canopy,” said Kangas-Miller.
He pointed to the cracks in the wall — or climbing crags — that are actual diagrams of climbing routes around the world “with significance to TNF with geographic details called out.”
The ground floor also features two expedition tents that show off new product but also serve to highlight some of The North Face’s “heritage stories,” such as the 1992 Nuptse jacket and other brand icons.
“There’s a sense of discovery,” he said, adding that shoppers are able to experience “something unexpected” at various spots around the space.
The ground floor is more focused on men’s and women’s performance product and includes a space in the back dedicated to the brand’s Summit Series advanced performance collection of apparel and equipment. A glass case showcases expedition product used by David Goettler, who climbed Nanga Parbat in Pakistan and includes his ax, gloves and full Advanced Mountain Kit.
Dennis Seydel, The North Face’s chief marketing officer, added that this is only the second season the Advanced Mountain Kit product has been offered and it marks the introduction of women’s-specific pieces.
The fitting rooms offer storytelling opportunities with vignettes highlighting specific pieces from the collection and the athletes who wore them in earth-defying situations.
Shoppers climbing the staircase to the second floor can’t miss the films that will be playing on the screens that “really place the visitor on an athlete expedition,” Kangas-Miller said. He admitted the addition of the films was an “experiment, but it’s surprisingly successful.” Seydel added: “It’s almost like a portal into places where folks are not usually able to go.”
Not only do shoppers feel like they’re perched on a glacier, the film also serves to showcase the brand’s pinnacle product — available for sale in the store — in action.
The films will be changed seasonally to highlight expeditions in different spots around the world and the product used to conquer the elements.
The second floor — which is designed to replicate being above the treeline — offers more lifestyle product. It is brighter, with exposed aggregate terrazzo and experiential cairns to evoke a “bolder, more alpine feeling,” Kangas-Miller said.
At the top of the stairs is what Kangas-Miller described as “a flexible initiation zone. This is designed to basically be deployable. You can take it down in a matter of minutes and then host different events.”
The store launched with an installation for the Red Box, its elevated, vintage-inspired lifestyle collection.
The company’s footwear, including its popular Base Camp collection, is also highlighted here. Base Camp is the brand’s most insulated footwear that was created for “tent living,” with its rugged outsoles but is also appropriate for “New York City slush,” Seydel said.
The rear of the floor is full of backpacks and other bags of all shapes and sizes.
The store will feature the brand’s popular collaboration products, such as the latest with Aimé Leon Dore. “That sold out immediately,” Seydel said, “but for whatever’s coming next, this store will definitely be a destination to find it.”
The fitting rooms on the second floor also feature vignettes with “athlete insights,” vintage rugs and benches made from the brand’s duffel bag material.
The North Face, which was founded in 1966 as a mountain equipment company, remains one of the crown jewels of its parent company, VF Corp., with sales in the recently released second quarter rising 6 percent to $1.16 billion. In 2024, the brand had sales of more than $3.5 billion.