Stores – Patagonia Fan Boy

Why Patagonia Is Awesome, Again

This is another post about why Patagonia is awesome. This company has sued the president and fought for preserved land and resources. They have aggressively worked towards reducing the impact of their products and have even abandoned their shoe business because they couldn’t do it sustainably enough.

Add to that today they are shutting down their stores and encouraging everyone to get out and vote.

Yes, my employer has made an effort to inform us of upcoming issues and to provide for us to go vote, but shutting down your retail completely to make a point is just another reason Patagonia is a leader in ethical company management.

Types of Patagonia Stores

Patagonia has a store map here:

http://www.patagonia.com/store-locator/?

You can find a bunch of different stores on it. When I tell people that I’m on my way to visit all the Patagonia stores in the US, they are often shocked to find out that there are only 30 (technically 31 if you count the work wear pop up in Washington) Patagonia owned and operated stores in the US. That owned and operated part is the kicker. There are several other types of stores out there.

There are corporate partnership stores. The store in Newport, RI is an example of this. This store is actually owned and operated by Team One (a wonderful gear shop where I have bought a lot of sailing gear over the years). They opened the store to carry more Patagonia clothing. Patagonia provides the gear for them, but doesn’t manage the store. It is a partnership.

There are also “Patagonia at” stores at many different ski resorts. The resorts own and operate the stores that sell Patagonia clothes. This is again a partnership, but Patagonia, the company, does not directly own these stores.

The number of retail stores that Patagonia owns and operates the US is 30 (or 31). If you go back to the map page above and turn off check boxes for “Dealers” and “Environmental Grantees” you can see all the stores that Patagonia actually owns and operates.

These are the stores I’m heading to, and I only have seven (or eight, or technically nine) left.

Aside: this post was published because I felt like people had interest in this knowledge. I often times don’t know what of my Patagonia knowledge is worth sharing. If you have a question about Patagonia that you want answered send me an email at me@patagoniafanboy.com

The Dare

It started while we were shooting(with cameras) waterfalls outside of Portland. I was very proud to be wearing entirely Patagonia for the first time that I could remember. From the head down to the boots, everything was made by Patagonia. “You are such a Patagonia Fan Boy” one of my friends said. I had to agree.

That’s when I bought the website.

I also started taking pictures in front of all the Patagonia stores.

This week, I’ve visited five new stores across the US. Three in the LA area, Dillion MT and St. Paul, MN. Each Patagonia store has a unique personality, but the staff is consistently friendly. When I walk in and ask for the sticker and say that I’m collecting, they are often shocked about how many stores I’ve visited. I’m going to start writing more about the individual stores, but I think it is at about 18 at this point. I’m more than half way there, with five more in my sights this month.

On the last part of the drive, I started listening to Let My Poeple Go Surfing and I feel more excited about my goal of visiting all the stores. The company is inspirational and they talk about how they try to keep a unique identity for each store.

Hope this helps explain the photos on my Instagram.