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C.C. Filson is an American privately owned outfitter and manufacturer of goods for outdoor enthusiasts. The company, based in
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,
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, designs, manufactures, distributes and sells men's and women's outdoor clothing, accessories and
luggage Baggage, or luggage, consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transport, transit. A modern tourist, traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, sma ...
. Filson sells its products via company-owned
retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
stores, catalogs and the Filson
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as well as through authorized dealers in the United States and international distributors. The company was originally established in Seattle in 1897 as C.C. Filson's Pioneer Alaska Clothing and Blanket Manufacturers to meet the needs of prospectors passing through Seattle on their way to the Klondike Gold Rush; as of 2012 the brand is owned by Fossil Group founder Tom Kartsotis, who also created
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.


Early history

Clinton C. Filson (born 1850), a former
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homesteader Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...
and railroad conductor for the
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, arrived in the Northwest in the early 1890s, initially settling in
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, where he invested in property near Peter Kirk's proposed iron works and opened a hardware store in a brick building he co-owned with Seattle customs inspector A.T. Timmerman. He would also serve as the town's postmaster in 1894. Two years later after Kirkland's plans fell through he relocated to Seattle where he operated a small loggers' outfitting store, the Seattle Woolen House, at 903 1st Avenue, where the Federal Office Building currently stands. To meet the needs of prospectors passing through Seattle on their way to the Klondike Gold Rush, C.C. Filson founded C.C. Filson's Pioneer Alaska Clothing and Blanket Manufacturers in 1897. The company supplied prospectors with a variety of outdoor gear including clothing, blankets, boots and sleeping bags. After the gold rush ended around 1899, Filson shifted to providing gear for outdoor oriented activities and occupations including
hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
,
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
and
logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucks Never having retired, Filson passed away in December 1919 and ownership of the company was handed over to his widow Winifred and nephew George Stroble.


Ownership and leadership

Filson remained under the control of the Filson family until 1970, when they sold their interest to a former distributor of Filson products to independent dealers in Alaska. Stan Kohls, a skiwear entrepreneur, purchased the company in 1981. Kohls expanded the product line from 35 items to 250 items, drawing from the company's archive or designing each new item himself. Kohls attempted to preserve the authenticity of the products by not using modern materials like Velcro. On January 1, 2005, Los Angeles, California-based
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group
Brentwood Associates Brentwood Associates is a private equity firm in the US with groups focusing on leveraged buyout. The firm, which is based in Los Angeles, was founded in 1972. Their most recent fund was a $1.15bn fund raised in 2017. The venture capital group ...
and former Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation executive Doug Williams acquired C.C. Filson, with Kohls maintaining a minority ownership interest and a seat on the board. Brentwood Associates and Williams renamed the company Filson Holdings and named Williams the Chief Executive Officer. Williams hoped to expand the brand's sales by introducing casual wear and selling to new customers based on Filson's reputation for ruggedness and quality. In 2006, Filson made Bill Kulczycki, a former Patagonia executive, CEO. In 2010, Mark A. Korros became CEO. In 2012, Brentwood Associates sold Filson Holdings, Inc. to Dallas-based Bedrock Manufacturing Co. for an undisclosed amount. Alan Kirk was appointed CEO of Filson in 2013. In June 2013, the company opened an extensive new manufacturing facility on 1st Avenue South in Seattle's
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manufacturing district, more than doubling capacity and by year end, more than 100 new jobs were created in production. The company now manufactures luggage, apparel and accessories in three company-owned locations in the USA. Former CEO Steve Bock left the company in early 2019, and was replaced by Rollen Jones. Following Jones' move in the following year to his current role as CFO and a brief interim return by Bock, former global strategist Paolo Corinaldesi of international retail group WP Lavori was appointed to the position, and was the standing CEO. Under current leadership, Filson has made organizational changes to streamline its business and be more efficient, including a decision to reduce positions in its Seattle and Kent manufacturing facilities and shift more production overseas. The company continues manufacturing heritage styles in its Washington facilities. In 2023 Filson announced plans to outsource manufacturing to a garment contractor in Los Angeles In January 2025 Bedrock recruited Tim Bantle from Eddie Bauer to be CEO at Filson


Retail locations

In addition to the company's retail website, Filson features flagship locations in
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, and Union Square, New York City, as well as brick-and-mortar stores in
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;
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; and
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. Outside the US, there are stores in
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and
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. in
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there are two retail locations in
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one in
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and one in
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. Filson maintains one
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, located in
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.


Modern product line

In 1991, Filson revived its line of bridle leather-trimmed canvas
luggage Baggage, or luggage, consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transport, transit. A modern tourist, traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, sma ...
. In 1998, Filson opened a flagship retail store near Seattle's
Safeco Field T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof ballpark in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the w ...
. In 2008, Filson introduced a line of women's clothing. In 2010, Filson partnered with Levi Strauss & Co. to produce a collection of jackets, shirts, caps and bags called "Levi's Workwear by Filson."


See also

* Mackinaw jacket


References


External links

*{{Official website, http://www.filson.com/
store locator – Filson Europe
Clothing brands of the United States Outdoor clothing brands 1897 establishments in Washington (state)