Week 1: The United Front into 2010

The Great White North is a place where the people tend to be slower on the cultural-uptake. For some reason it seems like everything, “cultural” proliferates itself a bit slower in Canada. “Streetwear” and “Urban culture” (two terms I hate) are no different in this respect. In a lot of respects, given the cultural lag and general cultural climate in the North, it can be said to be alot harder to make it, and even more harder to break ground. In the land of Urban Culture, The United Front has been leading the way since ‘03.

The United Front began when Matt George opened Goodfoot in 2003. Opening his store on Richmond and Spadina instead of the obvious Queen W meant that only those in the know would be frequenting the shop. The shop gained momentum by importing otherwise unobtainable shoes for Canadians. George and the crew were tracking down deadstock (real deadstock, not just mint condition shoes) and importing them for sale in Canada. Furthermore, they were laying the ground for retail trends with their strong installations and window displays that continue today.

Soon after, George expanded the empire. Ransom opened upstairs and then Nomad next door. Nomad targeted the ‘upscale’ market while Ransom established Toronto’s destination for the emerging streetwear market. They were the only place to find these brands in Toronto and in some cases in all of Canada.

Goodfoot expanded to Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver, but the market was beginning to change. As sneaker culture, streetwear and general hypebeastism were becoming the mainstream, more local players were coming into the picture. Market conditions which provided Goodfoot with a competitive advantage were gradually coming to an end.  More and more “street culture” retailers were popping up, streetwear distribution was becoming more pervasive and the big shoe companies were catching on and changing their distribution techniques. Deadstock was increasingly hard to find, and online sales were eliminating any incentive to import shoes that weren’t to be released in Canada.

As their reach was expanding, the left coast wasn’t to be left out of the fun. Vancouver streetwear retailer Livestock expanded to Toronto, opening up a location literally around the corner from the home of the United Front. Distribution at Ransom promptly changed, signalling the change in direction for Ransom Holding Co. Instead of a strict retail presence, Ransom was about turn into a clothing line all of its own.

Around the same time, The United Front opened up their popup New Era Shop and essentially jumped off the fitted craze in Toronto. Soon the space would turn into the Stussy Toronto Chapter store, solidifying the United Front’s reputation as a global leader in the game.

Following the Stussy Chapter opening, Goodfoot grew again and opened up two more locations in their home city of Toronto. A warehouse style shop opened up on St. Clair W and another was built in Yorkville.

Today, the United Front is more than a Canadian retail presence with a global reputation. It is definitely a team of creatives pushing out the best product they can. They’ve contributed to Team Canada’s 2008 Beijing Olympics Uniforms, design top-notch retail buildouts, and I assume they do a hell of a lot of consulting. Matt George was the “curator” of Kanye’s Past Tells Museum (Pastelle Clothing) and associated acts include Willo Perron, St. Alfred/KickHI, inqmnd and . Some of the best creatives with varying origins (b-boys, graffiti, overall culture fiends) have stepped through as members of United Front and a handful have gone to start/work their own ventures in Toronto. You can’t deny the vague similarities the team has had to Supreme, whose influence in New York is always felt.

But, where does it leave them now? Everything but from the retail presence has been looking good. In the last 6 months or so, Goodfoot Montreal and Calgary have closed, as well as Goodfoot Yorkville. While there was word that the Montreal shop was just relocating, there’s nothing on GoodfootCanada.ca. Furthermore Yorkville’s closing (it could be for renovations – but there’s really no word) was abrupt and unannounced. Goodfoot branded apparel is no longer being distributed to retailers and their bread and butter – sneakers has been relatively lacking of late. Overall, the past year and a half has looked like a downward spiral for the United Front.

The only shining star has been Ransom Holding Co. The shop looks like it’s no longer stockin any other brands (aside from maybe very select brands) and their line improves by leaps and bounds every season (especially F/W). On top of that, their “quickstrikes” (denim jacket, varsity, pendletons) are super dope and they’re the first company to produce their own footwear line in collaboration with adidas.

A conglomerate that’s started off so strong and maintained growth extremely looks to be facing a change in their business. The retail climate has changed and it’s evident that the United Front has taken a step back to retool their formula. With the imminent amalgamation of Nike Canada and Nike America into a single Nike North American unit, I’m sure Beaverton’s control will only help the Goodfoot family. Streetwear’s been evolving and Ransom is well positioned to continually grow and gain traction in this new environment.

The United Front is really in a position where they can only improve. You can’t be the giant forever, but you can always stay in the lead. From an observers perspective, it will be definitely interesting to see if they can keep growing and bringing innovations to the table. If the engine keeps stalling though, the story will be even more interesting.