Talk:Keen (shoe company)/Archives/2013

Not a prod candidate
This article might need to be deleted, but on the company website they have links to articles mentioning their footwear, some of which come from major sources. Granted, it could be argued that the mentions are generally trivial, but these shoes are available at major retailers like Nordstrom, so it's not a small outfit. Better suited for an AfD than a prod, IMO. -Big Smooth 17:31, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
 * The anon added close to 100 articles to prod. I've already wasted over an hour cleaning up the mess. RoyalbroilTalk  Contrib 05:05, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

legit
This is a legit article and company. The info is abbreviated but accurate.

reliable sources
Here are some articles from sources that look reliable. I think they'll be useful in expanding and reinforcing this article.
 * Portland Business Journal - "Funky footwear propels Keen to brisk growth"
 * San Francisco Business Times - "Footwear firm gives Bay Area the boot"
 * Senate testimony by John Sterling, Executive Director of the Outdoor Industry Conservation Alliance, describing Keen as "perhaps the fastest growing footwear brand in the US."
 * 'Portland Tribune' article describing Keen's role in the regional economy

Hopefully these will help to show the notability of Keen, as well as providing more material for the article. Samosa Poderosa 03:24, 26 October 2007 (UTC)


 * And another - Googleing '"Keen footwear" success' seems promising, I'll look more later.
 * The Boston Globe - "These shoes are really keen"
 * Samosa Poderosa 03:36, 26 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Lovely, that definitely moves the company past WP:CORP. Nice use of citation templates as well, good job!  WLU 18:12, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

New version of article cleaned up before I realized page needed to be moved
KEEN, Inc. is an American shoe manufacturing company based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 2003 by Martin Keen and Rory Fuerst. Their shoes are now available in more than a thousand retail locations in the United States, and are distributed worldwide across Europe, North America, Central America as well as Australia and New Zealand.

The company began with a simple question, "Can a sandal protect your toes?" The answer was the Newport, the KEEN flagship shoe. The sandals were a huge hit in sailing communities and among water enthusiasts, but now the KEEN line has expanded to include many outdoor activities hiking shoes, SPD-compatible biking shoes, river booties, and snow boots, as well as a whole line of dressy and casual shoes. Their signature feature is a thick black bumper meant to protect and cover up the toes.

KEEN has been a fast-growing company since its inception. The company was named 2003's "Launch of the Year" by the shoe industry's leading trade publication, Footwear News, which also identified it as a hot brand to watch. As KEEN has grown, there have been many changes and new additions, including a line of bags as well as a sustainably focused socks line. In 2006, the company relocated its headquarters from Alameda, California to Portland, Oregon to be among the top outdoor industry brands. KEEN opened its European headquarters in Rotterdam, Netherlands on July 1, 2008.

In reaction to the 2004 Asian Tsunami, KEEN took their marketing budget and donated it in total to relief efforts. Every year since then, they have given over 1% of sales revenue back to the communities they serve. This sets an industry standard for giving programs. Through their Hybrid.Care program they give money and partner with organizations whose vision they share: The Conservation Alliance, 1 KG More, Leave No Trace, Big City Mountaineers, American Whitewater, Winter Wildlands Alliance, Forest Park Conservancy, and many more.

Note from person at KEEN
Hi there,

I'm new to wikipedia and have been trying to make some edits to this KEEN, Inc. wiki entry. I think because I'm new to using this system I might be messing things up! I work at KEEN and I basically wanted to update the name of the company (it's KEEN, Inc. and no longer KEEN Footwear), the name of our president (Kirk is now our Chief of Sustainability and James Curleigh is our new pres), and the previous info on our giving programs and the non-profits we work with was a couple years old.

When I originally made my edits, they were too marketing/ad focused - totally understand and removed them. However, now when I try to update this other info, it seems the content keeps reverting back to the ad-focused version or the original incorrect version. Could I get help correcting this info or some guidance on how to do it in a fair, balanced way? Ideally, the below info is correct: KEEN, Inc. is an American shoe company that was founded in 2003 by Martin Keen and Rory Fuerst. Their shoes are now available in more than a thousand retail locations in the United States, and are distributed worldwide[1] across Europe, North America, Central America as well as Australia and New Zealand. The first KEEN shoes were invented to develop a sandal that could also protect the toes - they feature a signature thick black bumper covering the toes. They found a ready market in sailing and other outdoor and water activities. KEEN Footwear now offers shoes for many outdoor activities as well as casual shoes. KEEN has been a fast-growing company since its inception. The company was named 2003's "Launch of the Year" by the shoe industry's leading trade publication, 'Footwear News', which also identified it as a hot brand to watch. [2] As KEEN has grown, there have been many changes including the addition of a variety of footwear styles to their previous assortment, growing their casual business quickly and adding cold weather footwear as well. And most recently adding a line of bags and socks. KEEN Footwear relocated in early 2006 from Alameda, California to Portland, Oregon.[1] At the same time, Kirk Richardson joined the company as its president after a 27-year career in management at nearby Nike, Inc.[3]. Kirk is now leading KEEN's Corporate Social Responsibility efforts and James Curleigh has joined the team as CEO [4] after 12 years as CEO at Salomon Sports North America. In reaction to the 2004 Asian Tsunami, KEEN took their marketing budget and donated it in total to relief efforts[5]. This gesture turned into their long-term Hybrid.Care program where they partner with organizations whose vision they share: The Conservation Alliance, 1 KG More, Leave No Trace, Big City Mountaineers, and many more. To see the full list, visit the KEEN website. KEEN, as of October 20th, 2008, now sells direct to consumers through their website. Thanks for any and all help! Gckennedy (talk) 22:34, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
 * The problem is that a duplicate article was created at KEEN, Inc. when an article at Keen Footwear already existed. I had cleaned up the updated advert-heavy version at Keen, Inc. when I noticed that the other article existed. So I had the old version moved here, and kept a newer version on this page. I noticed more work had been done on the old version that was moved here, so I copied the cleaned up newer version over it, meaning some content was probably lost. If you check the page history and look at the diffs you will see the edit summaries that explain the changes made, and you will also see that most of the info has been restored, I think. And as you probably realize, it is strongly discouraged to work on articles about companies for which you work. Read about it at WP:COI and also read our WP:BFAQ. When I get a minute, I'll take a look at your proposed changes and see about adding to the article if they're appropriate. And everybody sells stuff through their website, and this needn't be mentioned or linked to--there is already a link to the company's webpage in the external links section at the bottom of the page. An encyclopedia article should never instruct a reader to visit a website for more info. Too pushy. Wikipedia is not here to provide free advertising space for your company. Katr67 (talk) 23:13, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Ah, this is very helpful - thank you for taking the time with this! I can definitely leave the decisions about what content stays up to you and other people not affiliated with the company. Thanks for considering some of the changes (specifically about the company name, president, and our non-profit partners). Is there anything I can do to help at this point? I'll be standing by, but please let me know if I can help with any of the legwork (finding articles, editing, cleaning up my messes, etc.). Gckennedy (talk) 01:56, 23 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I think the article should reflect the current state of the company now. If you or anyone else from the company has any other additions or corrections, please discuss them on the talk page first as you did above and we'll take a look. Ideally, the article needs more third-party sources instead of all the info coming from the company's website. Thanks for cooperating with our guidelines! And I'd encourage all of you to think about contributing to Wikipedia in other ways. We can always use more help at WikiProject Oregon. If you're hikey types, we can always use people to take photos and such. Check out the project page for more info. Cheers, Katr67 (talk) 14:38, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Hi there, the article looks great!! Thanks for your help getting everything updated and technically straightened out - I really appreciate it! I'll see if I can add in some external news items to support the content. I'll definitely look into the WikiProject Oregon too - so cool! Best to you, Gckennedy (talk) 18:00, 23 October 2008 (UTC)