Zumiez Inc. () is an American multinational specialty clothing store founded by Thomas Campion and Gary Haakenson in 1978, and publicly traded since 2005. The company is a specialty retailer of apparel, footwear, accessories and hardgoods for young men and women. Zumiez markets clothing for action sports, particularly

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

, and

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

. Zumiez is based in

Lynnwood, Washington Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, Washington, Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 in Washington, ...

. The current president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

is Richard Brooks.Zumiez Investor Relations - Company Profile
/ref> Originally named "Above the Belt" when the first store was opened at Northgate Mall in 1978, the company grew quickly through the early 1980s with the addition of stores at

Everett Mall Everett Mall is a indoor/outdoor shopping mall located in Everett, Washington, United States. Planned in the late 1960s, the mall began with the construction of two anchor stores, Sears in 1969 and White Front in 1971; the mall was originally ...

Alderwood Mall Alderwood, formerly Alderwood Mall, is a regional shopping mall in Lynnwood, Washington. It is anchored by JCPenney, Macy's (formerly The Bon Marché and Nordstrom and comprises both a traditional enclosed mall and two open-air areas known as T ...

, Tacoma Mall, and Bellevue Square. The mid and late 1980s brought new stores online outside of the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

area, and the corporate name changed to Zumiez. The corporate office moved from Everett to Lynnwood, Washington in 2012.

Stores

As of February 3, 2018, Zumiez operates 726 stores; 608 in the United States, 52 in Canada, 54 in Europe and 12 in Australia. Zumiez is a leading retailer for lifestyle brands, centering on action sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding,

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the ea ...

, and motocross.

Couch Tour

For 13 years, Zumiez traveled to 12 "full stops" as part of its annual Couch Tour. Entertainment included live bands, professional skateboarding demos, and a competition featuring local amateurs. The stops usually took place at the mall where local Zumiez stores are located. Entry to the event was always free. As part of the Couch tour, since Zumiez doesn't sponsor riders themselves, they joined up with major players in the skate industry to offer an opportunity where amateur skaters can enter and compete. 2013 sponsors included Bones Bearings, Paramore, Beyonce, Adidas, Deathwish, DGK, Neff, Oakley, and Loser Machine providing the "trophies" for each stop of the contest's winners.

Zumiez Foundation

Zumiez began a charitable foundation in 2002, donating clothing to those in need in over 20 states in the United States. In 2012 over 180,000 items were donated to more than 180 organizations around the nation.

Acquisitions

The company purchased the clothing company Fast Forward in 2006, Blue Tomato in 2012, and Fast Times in 2015.

Store shooting

On January 25, 2014, a gunman, identified as 19-year-old Darion Marcus Aguilar, opened fire with a 12 gauge

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

inside of Zumiez at

The Mall in Columbia The Mall in Columbia, also known as the Columbia Mall, is the central shopping mall for the planned community of Columbia, Maryland, United States. It has over 200 specialty stores and the anchor stores are AMC Theatres, Lidl, Main Event Enter ...

located in

Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a planned community in Howard County, Maryland, United States, consisting of 10 self-contained villages. With a population of 104,681 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most-populous community in Maryland ...

, killing two store employees before taking his own life, according to police. Five other people were injured during the incident. Extra ammunition and crude explosives (all of which were later defused) were found in Aguilar's backpack.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.zumiez.com/
Zumiez Official Facebook page

Zumiez Official Twitter page
Skateboarding companies Retail companies established in 1978 Companies based in Lynnwood, Washington Companies listed on the Nasdaq 1978 establishments in Washington (state)