The North Face is at the tail end of a sales channel overhaul across Australia and New Zealand after its parent company VF Corporation took direct control of the local business two years ago.
Paul Karis, the AU/NZ general manager of The North Face, confirmed with Ragtrader that this included pulling out stock from 150 retail partner doors, while relocating or upgrading nearly all its standalone stores.
“In the space of two years, almost all stores have either been relocated to more premium sites, expanded or refurbished with our unique local twist on designs coming out of Asia,” Karis said.
“The speed at which that was done was in part due to the fast approval process from VF, coupled with strong, ongoing relationships with our architects Coma, and General Contractor Silk Eternity, and our very dedicated local retail team.”
Prior to VF taking full control, The North Face was locally run by True Alliance.
Karis said he and the team don’t have a store count target in mind for the next few years in Australia and New Zealand, noting this is more a case of optimising the market over time and assessing opportunities when they arise.
“There are several capital cities where we still don’t have full price stores,” he said. “We’re keeping an eye out for good locations in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.”
The aim is to open stores in higher traffic, more mainstream locations, away from the outdoor hubs that existed in the past on Kent Street, Sydney; Little Bourke Street, Melbourne; or even Wickham Street in Brisbane. Karis said this was the strategy from the very first Australian store The North Face opened on Pitt Street, Sydney in 2007, and complements the brand’s ongoing wholesale partnerships.
“That allowed us to raise awareness of the brand, reach new customers, and grow the overall outdoor market,” Karis said. “The ultimate wholesale test, though, is our performance with those businesses over time.
“If we continue to grow, then we’re doing it right. The multi-brand wholesale environment is extremely competitive and a true testing ground. One that we relish competing in. It makes us better as a brand.”
Karis added that the cuts to its wholesale footprint were partly due to brand strategy and partly due to market forces.
“This has left us with a more robust, contained wholesale partner base where we’re able to have ongoing, long-term, meaningful relationships. Wholesale partners are critical to amplifying our brand and reaching customers we never could.”
Today, the brand now has 13 full-price stores with a 14th store opening in Pacific Fair in mid-October. Karis said that will be its first full-price store in Queensland. The North Face also operates eight outlet stores across the country, and still retains a stockist portfolio that includes the likes of The Iconic, Anaconda, JD Sports, David Jones, Paddy Pallin and Intersport.
According to its website, retail partners cover over 240 locations across Australia.
This overhaul of The North Face locally added to a global boon for the outdoor wear brand, with its international sales up 8 per cent in the financial year to March 28, 2026, and up 6 per cent in the first quarter of FY27 to June 27.
All geographies added to sales growth, including a 6.9 per cent lift in the Asia Pacific region to US$829.7 million (~A$1.18 billion).
The North Face also recently opened a new store in Martin Place in Sydney CBD, following a pop-up run in late 2025.
Karis said the plan was to open a store on George Street near Wynyard Station, which houses a few other major sporting and outdoor players like Lululemon and Nike.
“We took the Martin Place site as a pop-up when there were delays to the development,” Karis said. “Martin Place doesn’t have the same volume of passing traffic, but the quality of the traffic is good. It reminded us of the customers we used to get in our old Pitt Street store. A lot of professionals with a healthy dose of tourists, leading to solid retail KPIs.
“We also received a lot of positive feedback about the premium nature of the site with its location and large glass frontage.”
The new store is the same site as the pop-up last year, but expanded. Last year, the brand was only able to use 120 square metres for retail, but once the team built out the new site, they were able to utilise all 264 square metres of it.
“This is in the perfect size range for a store from The North Face, allowing us to offer the full breadth of our line and call out elevated aspects of our range like Summit Series,” Karis said.
As a pop-up, the space had only carried the core basics of the brand. If customers wanted the full breadth, they had to walk 18 minutes to World Square, where the flagship space is located. Or visit one of the few local retail partners in the city.
Since the new store opened late last month, Karis said he and the team are happy with the response and traction so far. The store launch was kicked off with a community run on opening day, with Karis adding that the pedestrianised George Street allows them to workshop future activations – “whether it’s outdoor film nights, athlete speaker series, backcountry info sessions or guerilla runs.”
Karis said converting to a direct subsidiary over two years ago has allowed The North Face to be more strategic and competitive.
“Earlier involvement with product and marketing strategies, access to capital, having a voice, all helps with how we show up in the market,” Karis said. “The market is never static for long, and it’s never wrong.
“It’s an exciting time to be an outdoor brand, especially one with such a long legacy and commitment to the outdoors. Having a great team always helps.”