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8h ago

The North Face Closes Its Last Berkeley Store

The July 12 closure cuts the brand’s final retail tie to the city where it once manufactured and headquartered, reflecting corporate consolidation, rising store thefts.

The North Face has closed its final Berkeley store after 51 years. The closure follows the 2024 departure of The North Face’s only San Francisco store, leaving the company without a retail location in either the city where it was founded or the city where it established its early headquarters and factories.
The last location of The North Face in Berkeley, where the company was once headquartered, shut down earlier this month.
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Overview

  • The Fifth Street outlet at 1238 Fifth St. quietly shut its doors on July 12, ending The North Face’s retail presence in Berkeley after decades of operation.
  • Journalists reported that VF Corporation and The North Face did not provide a public comment about the closure by publication time.
  • The store had been repeatedly targeted by thefts and break-ins, including a widely reported 2024 incident in which thieves allegedly rappelled into the building and stole thousands of dollars of merchandise.
  • The Berkeley outlet historically sold discounted 'seconds' and once handled in-store repairs under the brand’s lifetime warranty, services that customers and former employees say made the shop a local touchpoint beyond ordinary retail.
  • The closing severs a long local link that began when the company moved to Berkeley in 1968, but The North Face continues to operate other Bay Area and worldwide stores as the brand remains active under parent VF Corporation.