 The word on the street is that The North Face werent going to be present at this year's Euro Outdoor show in Friedrichshafen  Maybe you can let us know Jon  The whispers seem to indicate that they are loosing interest in the high street retailer and are going to establish direct sales through a European distribution network which will include some direct outlet stores. Dont believe that we will be any the better off - TNF, of course, will still charge retail prices; in old fashioned terms cutting out the middle man. This may be a load of dingos kidneys of course  However, sources close to the retail industry revealed this dastardly plan to the man on the street (me) to which he thought errr actually I dont own anything they produce other than a 15 year old bumbag.... Anyway lets see 
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| Edited: 21/07/09 00:10 |
 The whispers seem to indicate that they are loosing interest in the high street retailer and are going to establish direct sales through a European distribution network which will include some direct outlet stores.
Could be a strategy to distance themselves from their recent chav fan base and restore some credibility amongst the outdoors community?
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 the direct sales would be web based and the chain of stores would be London, Manchester, Bristol etc etc etc. So i not sure that it will prevent any particular image, I think it is more economically driven It may reduce some of the shoplifting but the retailers bear the brunt of that anyway.
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 "distance themselves from their recent chav fan base " distance themselves from their massive chav sales base what better way to up prices.
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| Edited: 21/07/09 08:34 |
 The whispers seem to indicate that they are loosing interest in the high street retailer and are going to establish direct sales through a European distribution network which will include some direct outlet stores. Dont believe that we will be any the better off - TNF, of course, will still charge retail prices; in old fashioned terms cutting out the middle man. Such as the one in Glasgow, a few doors up from Tiso? If that's their chosen route, it's the high street they're aiming for by the look of it. I mean a choice of two tents? Whoa! Hold me back.
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.jpg) TNF are also very popular with BBC reporters, could it be that they are getting backhanders to promote the brand.
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TBH I think the reporters wear them because its what they think is right 'cus it is man on the street 'aspirational' outdoor clothing, a bit like ME down jackets for the pub in winter  . Berghaus used to be the 'in thing'.
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interesting stuff. From everybody's point of view it makes sense. IMO TNF-specific stores are definitely the way to go. At the moment Brighams manages 2 in London (1 Covent Garden, 1 Westfield), 1 in Chester, and 1 in Manchester. I expect that to expand. Looking at this from TNF's point of view, once you've got the point where people are buying your product primarily on name alone, you might as well just go it alone as you don't need retailers to promote you. The brand name has become so enormous it's way bigger than the retailers, even the big ones like Blacks or Brighams. From a major retailer's point of view, it also makes sense. Take Brighams or Snow+Rock. There's a suspicion growing that the TNF bubble is about to burst, much as the Berghaus bubble has burst already: plus, it's attracting a chav clientele that neither EB nor Snow+Rock really want associated with them. Given that EB gets a hefty chunk of the cash that the TNF stores it manages generates, I expect TNF-only stores to be rolled out, while EB stores become more technical-specialist TNF-free zones (or TNF clothing-free, at any rate), and the range of Marmot, Haglofs, Mountain Hardwear and (hopefully) Patagonia fills the breach.
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 A small mercy for shoppers too - looks at Manchesters high street. There you've got Blacks/Costwolds/EB all containing a fair bit of TNF gear. Then you've got a dedicated TNF shop neatly nestled in between them Given that these shops are all within about 5 minutes walk of each other it really is a somewhat silly duplication of resources. It'd be surprising if TNF did give up on retailers totally though - yes they can support their own stores in big cities, but they must get plenty of sales from outlets in smaller places.
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The story is only speculation, but if TNF werent present for this year's Euro Outdoor show in Friedrichshafen then it may be an indiactor of substance to this story. I wonder what Jon Doran heard while he was there ? Were TNF present Jon?
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 No, The North Face wasn't there, or if they were, I didn't see them, but I don't know anything about their future retail plans. It may be that they've simply chosen to deal with their retailers outside of the show circuit and simply didn't feel it was worth going As far as duplication goes, as I understand it, the point of the solus TNF stores is that they appeal to high street customers who wouldn't venture into a specialist outdoor shop. And that's all I know really. It's quite fashionable to have a pop at the brand for 'selling out', but actually some of their kit is very, very good and they have the resources to try stuff that smaller brands don't, simply because of their size.
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Thanks Jon Yet the smaller brands were at the show while a massive brand like TNF weren't. That in itself is quite interesting though. I hope some nice hospitality was laid on for you Jon - or was it Bratwursts and cabbage for lunch?
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No, The North Face wasn't there, or if they were, I didn't see them, but I don't know anything about their future retail plans. It may be that they've simply chosen to deal with their retailers outside of the show circuit and simply didn't feel it was worth going As far as duplication goes, as I understand it, the point of the solus TNF stores is that they appeal to high street customers who wouldn't venture into a specialist outdoor shop. And that's all I know really. It's quite fashionable to have a pop at the brand for 'selling out', but actually some of their kit is very, very good and they have the resources to try stuff that smaller brands don't, simply because of their size.
Aye. The theory is sound with the TNF stores. What puzzles me is the extent of the duplication: the fact that EB stocks so much of the same "high street product" as the TNF stores do. Surely a clear demarcation between high street and properly technical would be easy to do and would up sales. A frustrating bunch, TNF. They do something like this ( http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/6185) , which is really rather nice and highly innovative., and then they do something like their friggin Deluge/Downpour jackets, which are just terrible. If anyone here is within range of a Downpour jacket, check the interior labels. You'll notice the face fabric is a polyester/nylon compound. Then look/feel at the face fabric. Yes, that's right, they put the polyester on the shoulders. The softer fabric on the shoulders. Ouch...that's almost as bad as the "detachable" hood on the ACG ski jacket that couldn't be detached!
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People are clearly even odder than I suspected! May well find that the 'high street product' is what sells best in EB too. Quite likely Blacks anyway. Only issue I have with the more technical TNF stuff is that the 'high street' thing does seem to have infected the cut a bit. Not sure if they actually do use a different cut for the flight series comapred to the high street bits but the bits I've tried have seemed very generous/short armed. Perhaps a bit odd for stuff aimed so obviously (and effectively on a technical level) at fast movers etc. Still there must be people out there who appreciate having technical stuff with a more forgiving cut available
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 Judging by the new TNF Glasgow shop, I think Jon is right. It is at least as much of a fashion store as an outdoor one; not the rows of fleece and shells on aluminium rails as seen at Tiso's a few doors down, but clearly an expensive bit of interior designing, lots of wood and ambience. Displaying, in my impression, mostly lighter end stuff, logo'd cotton tees and trekking "pants". Or trousers, if the Americanisation of all things offends. Agree about the cut, too, Martin; I think that's also an American template. I've got a couple of bits of TNF kit (which I'm perfectly happy with, I might add), but my comfy expedition shirt does have room in the middle for an extra one of me, whilst still having sleeves that just make it past my elbows. European manufacturers seem to me to use a taller, thinner template that works better for me.
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Not sure if it is an American thing? Certainly Marmot/ Pataguicci/ Arc'tyx seem much closer to the 'norm'. Oh well (In fact its maybe closest to Paramo, who no one would accuse of being a high street brand!)
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I believe they too are squeezing the retailers with larger minimum order quanitities. A chap was telling me he felt that Paramo was in pretty hot water at the moment which was driving that squeeze.
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