Iconic outdoor retailer The North Face closes key store due to alarming new trend

05 Aug 2026, 11:07 · The Fresno Bee

On the first day of my cave exploration course when I was 17 years old, high above the ground and learning how to lower myself down a rope, I couldn't bring myself to push off the wall. I was terrified to relax into the harness, completely unable to trust that a few straps and a length of woven rope would keep me safe.

My instructor looked up and said two words that every climber and caver eventually memorizes: "Trust the gear."

And I did. I just let go. And from that moment on, caving and climbing felt like home.

Over years of caving, climbing, and navigating the outdoors, I learned firsthand why technical outdoor equipment comes with such high price tags. Whether it's life-saving climbing hardware, trail-tested boots, or a multi-layer waterproof jacket crafted against hypothermia, high quality requires heavy research and development as well as premium materials.

But technical durability doesn't just attract outdoor enthusiasts. It has caught the attention of organized retail crime rings. This type of gear has a high resale value on secondary markets, and thieves know that.

The latest casualty is The North Face store in Berkeley, which recently closed for good.

The North Face Berkeley store closes amid organized retail theft.

CFOTO / Getty Images

The North Face quietly closes its last location in Berkeley

The North Face has quietly shuttered its long-running outlet store in Berkeley, California, closing the doors in the very city where the iconic brand built its headquarters and manufacturing plant over five decades ago, reported Berkeleyside.

The outlet at 1238 Fifth St, which opened its doors in 1975, closed on July 12.

The North Face was founded as a retail store in San Francisco in 1966 and moved to Berkeley two years later, following its acquisition by Kenneth "Hap" Klopp, then general manager of the Ski Hut on University Avenue.

Berkeley was an important market for the company, which built a large factory on Gilman Street in 1972. The factory closed in 1993, but The North Face's headquarters remained in Berkeley until 1995.

The latest closing comes some two years after The North Face closed its San Francisco location. With the Berkeley store closure, the outdoor retailer's only presence in the greater Bay Area is in Livermore and Pleasanton.

"The large half dome logo has been covered, the doors have been painted black, and without a note of goodbye, The North Face Outlet in Berkeley has closed after decades on Fifth Street," Berkeleyside described the quiet closing.

VF Corp did not respond to Berkeleyside's request for comment before publication.

Why did The North Face close its last outpost in Berkeley?

Over the last couple of years, The North Face closed a couple of stores, but none of the numbers suggest a quiet retreat for the popular outdoor brand.

In fact, its parent company VF Corporation's latest earnings report suggests that The North Face is performing well.

"We performed ahead of our expectations and guidance in Q1'26, improving our top-line trend versus last year to flat (-2% C$) while delivering a much stronger bottom line. The North Face and Timberland sustained their positive momentum while Altra grew strongly," stated Bracken Darrell, President and CEO.

However, in late 2023, VF Corporation CEO Darrell announced an operational turnaround program called Project Reinvent, with the goal of restoring profitability, lowering debt, and modernizing its global business structure.

Under Project Reinvent, the company planned to cut $300 million in fixed costs, fix performance in North American wholesale channels while executing a focused brand turnaround strategy for Vans.

It didn't announce any specific store closures, even though in May 2026, The North Face closed its only owned store in Kansas, as its location in Leawood has shuttered, reported SBG Media.

While all these closures might be a part of boosting profitability under the Reinvent strategy, the outdoor retailer's latest closure in Berkeley is tied to something else as well.

The company has not publicly stated why the store closed. However, the location had experienced repeated organized retail thefts in recent years.

The North Face store at Fifth Street has been a common target of theft over the last couple of years, with organized crime groups stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear several times, reported Berkeleyside.

The North Face is not the only retailer dealing with these challenges.

Other outdoor retailers that have also become theft targets

Other outdoor retailers have faced similar problems, such as:

Cotopaxi: Outdoor retailer Cotopaxi closed its store in Hayes Valley, San Francisco due to organized theft rings that targeted expensive technical apparel. "As of today, we are closing the store due to rampant organized theft and lack of safety for our team... Our store is hit by organized theft rings several times per week," founder and former CEO Davis Smith told KTVU.

"Our first week there, our windows were smashed and thousands of dollars of product was stolen. We replaced the window, and it immediately happened again (four times)," wrote Smith, adding "Our team is terrified. They feel unsafe."

REI: In April 2023, REI announced the closure of its flagship downtown Portland store after 20 years, issuing an official statement that highlighted how security measures failed to deter skyrocketing break-ins:

"Last year, REI Portland had its highest number of break-ins and thefts in two decades, despite our actions and investment to provide extra security. The safety of our employees, members and customers is always our No. 1 priority," REI in an email to members, which was shared by local media.

The National Retail Federation highlights the consequences of this alarming trend

The National Retail Federation (NRF) differentiates general shoplifting from organized retail crime (ORC) noting that high-value apparel and outerwear serve as prime targets because these items are easy to turn into cash through secondary channels.

"While ORC groups have traditionally targeted specific items or types of goods, that list has expanded to new categories like outerwear, batteries, energy drinks, designer footwear and kitchen accessories," according to NRF.

The National Retail Federation further revealed that in 2025, more than half of the retailers reported increases in "phone scams (70%), digital and ecommerce frauds (55%), shoplifting and merchandise theft (52%), and cargo or supply chain thefts (50%) being conducted by ORC groups."

The federation further pointed out that while shoplifting is often viewed as a crime of need, ORC has become a crime of greed, and that while the economic impact on both national and small business retailers is enormous, the broader consequence is endangering the safety of workers and customers.

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This story was originally published August 5, 2026 at 4:07 AM.