Coleman

Coleman is an American outdoor recreation brand whose identity was built around portable lighting and later expanded into a broad range of camping and leisure products. The business began in Wichita in 1902, when William Coffin Coleman started selling gasoline pressure lamps. The lamps were designed to provide bright, dependable illumination in settings where electric lighting was unavailable or impractical, helping establish the brand in agricultural, household, utility, and outdoor environments. Coleman’s early development was closely associated with the practical use of portable light. In 1905, the company demonstrated its lighting equipment at a football game involving Cooper College and Fairmount College, institutions later associated with Sterling College and Wichita State University. The company’s lanterns subsequently gained wider distribution, including use by the United States government in support of agricultural production during the First World War. This period helped reinforce the product’s reputation for reliability under demanding conditions. During the Second World War, Coleman applied its engineering capabilities to military equipment. Its Model 520 stove was a compact, multi-fuel burner developed for military use and became an important example of the company’s ability to adapt consumer-oriented portable technology for field conditions. After the war, Coleman broadened its portfolio beyond lanterns and stoves into home, utility, and recreational products. Its mid-century range included cooking equipment and domestic products, while later decades brought additional camping and leisure categories. By the 1990s, Coleman had refocused more strongly on outdoor recreation. Its modern portfolio has included lanterns, camp stoves, sleeping bags, tents, chairs, coolers, generators, backpacks, grills, boats, hot tubs, watches, sandals, dog toys, and other equipment associated with camping, travel, and backyard recreation. The Coleman lantern remains the brand’s signature product family. Earlier models used gasoline pressure systems, while contemporary versions may use Coleman fuel or propane and employ one or two mantles to generate bright light. The brand also expanded geographically and through acquisitions. In 1996, Coleman acquired Campingaz, a French outdoor equipment company, strengthening its presence in European camping and portable-gas products. In 2004, Jarden acquired American Household, the privately held parent of Coleman and other consumer brands, in a cash transaction reported at $745.6 million. In 2015, Newell Brands acquired Jarden, bringing Coleman into the Newell portfolio as part of a transaction valued at $13.2 billion. Coleman is now a subsidiary of Newell Brands. Its principal corporate headquarters are in Chicago, while the company has maintained manufacturing and operational facilities in the United States, including a facility in Wichita, Kansas. A New Braunfels, Texas facility was closed in 2022. Coleman continues to operate as a widely recognized outdoor brand, with its strongest associations remaining portable lighting, camping cooking, shelter, cooling, and general recreational equipment. The Coleman name is also used under license by separate businesses in categories such as heating and air conditioning, and it appears in adjacent branded activities including powersports; those businesses should not automatically be treated as part of the core Coleman outdoor-products operation.

Coleman’s history began in Wichita in 1902, when William Coffin Coleman started selling gasoline pressure lamps. The company’s initial proposition was practical rather than decorative: portable lamps could provide intense illumination in places without dependable electric service. That emphasis on utility, mobility, and reliability became the foundation of the Coleman name. The brand received early public exposure through demonstrations of its lighting equipment. In 1905, Coleman supplied a demonstration for a football game between Cooper College and Fairmount College, institutions later associated with Sterling College and Wichita State University. Such demonstrations helped show the usefulness of bright portable lighting for public events and nighttime activities. During the 1910s, Coleman lanterns were distributed through the United States government to support agricultural production during the First World War, extending the products’ role beyond domestic use. Coleman’s engineering work also contributed to military field equipment. During the Second World War, the company developed the Model 520, a compact multi-fuel burner intended for military use. The stove reflected the company’s broader technical strengths: compact construction, portable operation, and the ability to function in demanding environments. After the war, Coleman expanded across home, utility, and recreational categories, producing cooking equipment and other products in addition to lamps and lanterns. Over the middle decades of the twentieth century, Coleman became increasingly associated with camping and outdoor recreation. The company developed or sold equipment for cooking, sleeping, shelter, seating, cooling, lighting, and travel. Its range at various times extended beyond core camping products to domestic irons, pop-up travel trailers, snowmobiles under the Skiroule name, and sailboats associated with the Hobie Cat brand. These activities illustrate the breadth of the historical business, although the modern Coleman identity is more closely tied to outdoor recreation equipment. By the 1990s, the company had refocused on its core outdoor categories. In 1996, it acquired Campingaz, a French company known for camping and portable-gas products. The acquisition supported Coleman’s international outdoor positioning and added a well-established European name to its portfolio. Ownership changed again in the early twenty-first century. In September 2004, Jarden acquired American Household, the privately held parent of Coleman, in a cash transaction reported at $745.6 million. Coleman subsequently became part of the much larger Jarden brand group. In December 2015, Newell Brands acquired Jarden for a reported $13.2 billion, bringing Coleman into Newell’s portfolio of consumer brands. Coleman is currently a Newell Brands subsidiary. The brand’s corporate headquarters are in Chicago, and it has maintained a facility in Wichita, Kansas, reflecting its historical connection to the city where the business began. Its New Braunfels, Texas facility closed in 2022. The current product identity is centered on camping lanterns, camp stoves, sleeping bags, tents, chairs, coolers, generators, grills, boats, and related recreational equipment. The original pressure-lamp heritage remains visible in the Coleman Lantern line, while the broader range positions the brand as a practical, mainstream supplier for camping and outdoor leisure.

• 2022

  New Braunfels facility closes

  [1]Coleman (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Coleman closed its facility in New Braunfels, Texas.

• 2015

  Newell Brands acquires Jarden

  [1]Coleman (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Newell Brands acquired Jarden, adding Coleman to its brand portfolio.

• 2004

  Coleman becomes part of Jarden

  [1]Coleman (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Jarden acquired American Household, Coleman’s privately held parent company.

• 1996

  Campingaz acquisition

  [1]Coleman (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Coleman acquired Campingaz, a French company serving the outdoor and camping market.

• 1990

  Refocus on outdoor recreation

  [1]Coleman (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  During the 1990s, Coleman increasingly concentrated its business on outdoor recreation products.

• 1940

  Model 520 military stove developed

  [1]Coleman (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Coleman developed the Model 520, a compact multi-fuel burner designed for military use during the Second World War.

• 1910

  Lanterns distributed for agricultural support

  [1]Coleman (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  During the 1910s, Coleman lanterns were distributed by the United States government to support agricultural production during the First World War.

• 1905

  Early football-game lighting demonstration

  [1]Coleman (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Coleman provided a demonstration of its lighting equipment for a football game involving Cooper College and Fairmount College.

• 1902

  Coleman begins selling pressure lamps

  [1]Coleman (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  William Coffin Coleman founded the business in Wichita and began selling gasoline pressure lamps.

Practical, accessible outdoor equipment centered on portability, durability, and dependable performance for camping, travel, backyard recreation, and other leisure activities.

• Portable lighting · 1902

  Coleman Lantern

  The Coleman Lantern is the brand’s signature product family and traces its identity to the company’s original pressure-lamp business. Historical lanterns used gasoline pressure systems, while current versions may use Coleman fuel or propane. Lanterns using gas mantles are designed to produce bright white light for camping, outdoor activities, and emergency or utility use.

• Outdoor cooking

  Coleman Camp Stoves

  Coleman camp stoves extend the company’s portable-fuel expertise into outdoor cooking. The range has included compact burners and larger camping stoves intended for preparing meals away from a domestic kitchen. The historical Model 520, developed for military use, is an important example of Coleman’s field-cooking technology.

• Camping shelter

  Coleman Tents

  Coleman tents form part of the brand’s core camping portfolio. They are designed to provide portable shelter for recreational camping and are sold alongside sleeping equipment, chairs, lighting, cooling products, and cooking gear. The range supports Coleman’s positioning as a broad, practical camping supplier rather than a specialist in only one equipment category.

• Camping sleep systems

  Coleman Sleeping Bags

  Coleman sleeping bags are recreational camping products intended to complement the company’s tents and other shelter equipment. They are part of the brand’s long-standing expansion from lighting and cooking into the wider camping experience, including sleeping, seating, storage, and personal equipment.

• Outdoor cooling and storage

  Coleman Coolers

  Coleman coolers serve camping, travel, picnicking, and backyard recreation use. They are among the brand’s best-known non-lighting categories and reinforce its practical outdoor-equipment positioning by addressing food and beverage storage alongside shelter, cooking, and illumination.

• Camping furniture

  Coleman Outdoor Furniture

  The brand’s outdoor furniture range includes camping chairs and related seating products. These products are designed for portability and casual outdoor use, complementing Coleman’s tents, coolers, lanterns, and cooking equipment at campsites and other recreational settings.

• Small recreational boats

  Coleman Boats

  Coleman has produced small recreational boats, including canoes, pontoon boats, and johnboats. These products represent the brand’s historical expansion into water-based leisure equipment beyond its better-known camping and portable-lighting categories.

• Outdoor cooking

  Coleman Grills

  Coleman outdoor grills extend the company’s cooking offer to backyard and recreational food preparation. Grills associated with the brand have been sold in markets including Canada, where they have been available through Canadian Tire.

• 2022

  Close the New Braunfels facilityStrategy

  Background

  Coleman maintained multiple facilities in the United States while operating as part of Newell Brands.

  Action taken

  The company closed its facility in New Braunfels, Texas.

  Aftermath

  The company retained a facility in Wichita, Kansas, the location associated with Coleman’s founding.

  Source

• 2015

  Join Newell Brands through the Jarden acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Coleman was one of the major consumer brands held by Jarden.

  Action taken

  Newell Brands acquired Jarden in a transaction reported at $13.2 billion.

  Aftermath

  Coleman became a subsidiary of Newell Brands and continued as a consumer outdoor-products brand within the group.

  Transaction value. $13.2 billion (2015)

  Source

• 2004

  Move into the Jarden ownership structureM&A

  Background

  Coleman was operated under American Household, a privately held parent company with several consumer brands.

  Action taken

  Jarden acquired American Household in a cash transaction reported at $745.6 million.

  Aftermath

  Coleman became part of Jarden’s broader consumer-brand portfolio.

  Transaction value. $745.6 million (2004)

  Source

• 1996

  Acquire CampingazM&A

  Background

  Coleman was expanding its presence in outdoor recreation and portable-gas equipment.

  Action taken

  The company acquired Campingaz, a French outdoor products company.

  Aftermath

  The transaction broadened Coleman’s international outdoor portfolio, particularly in European camping and portable-gas markets.

  Source

1. 1Coleman (brand)en.wikipedia.org