Poll - Your Favourite Gear

Latest Posts | New Discussions | Hot Threads | Forum Topics
Help | Settings | Followed Threads
reply
1 to 20 of 22 messages
Page:
OutdoorRambo
08/05/2006 at 10:11
I've recently created a retail company to trade in Outdoor Pursuits/Leisure e.g Camping Walking/Hiking Canoeing etc.

I'm not currently trading as 1) I'm still looking for suitable premises and 2) in discussion with suppliers regarding products and costs.

I've been camping and walking/hiking for many years so know what products and brands I like personally and what friends and other fellow campers/walkers etc prefer but taking this out to the wider audience then what about you guys?, what's your favourite/preferred products and brands?

Cheers

Pete.
kevanliz
08/05/2006 at 10:57
Perhaps you should try dealing with brands that are not the staple of the Ellis B, North Face, Snow and Rock cartel?

And in a range of sizes not just regular fit trousers.

Recent reviews in TGO and Trail have thrown up brands that are particularly difficult to find - Inov 8 shoes. Kayland boots.

Rab seem to be moving forward with lots of innovative gear made with Event.

My favourite - Mountain Hardwear have a lot of gear on their catalogue that you cannot always find in the UK



Edited: 08/05/2006 at 11:09
morph
08/05/2006 at 11:15
Im BIG on little and light stuff. im also short 5'6" and weigh a little over 9 stone. so keep in mind the small sizes for men

one recent outdoor retailer in Shrewsbury tried to tell me that most outdoor gear for men started at size medium, and that if i wanted a size small he advised looking in the womens section. (how mad was I)such bullshit.. dammed cheek! He then tried to sell me an oversized fleece. I left and never intend to return.

ptc*
08/05/2006 at 11:26
Do we get a 10% discount in exchange for advice? :o)
OutdoorRambo
08/05/2006 at 11:28
Hey Morph, I'm always looking in the women's section.....but that's a personal trait I have :-)

Seriously though, to start with, in the clothing area for men I'm looking at S,M,L and XL chest and 30" to 38" waist. For women it's S,M,L, XL for tops and/or size 10 to 18 for tops and bottoms.

Keep 'em coming guys.

Cheers

Pete.
OutdoorRambo
08/05/2006 at 11:30
Discounts??

Actually yes, I'm a member of a few forums and was thinking of introductory discounts for members of certain forums......or maybe permanent discounts if I can afford it :-)

Cruxster Man
08/05/2006 at 11:31
May i make a suggestion sell a huge range of excellent quality second hand top end gear canoes, paddles accociated gear,tents, packs and sacks also boot etc etc etc..... coupled with that sell all the the middle of the road stuff.

A good guide to go by is shortlist your proposed product range then type into google and record the number of hits you get the higher the hits the better the popularity.

Oh and of course please do not forget to post your launch day invites im sure we can all make it........ and the 65% for life discount code on here.

All the best

Drew

ptc*
08/05/2006 at 11:33
In that case, haglofs, omm, mammut, garmont, smartwool underwear. These are underrepresented and would be enjoyed by many in amongst the brands of mass appeal madness.
kevanliz
08/05/2006 at 11:48
Falke socks
Patagonia undies

Boots/shoes without goretex linings

If you are in an outdoor pursuits area you might want to consider a local GPS route download service.
Jamie @ www.trekkingbritain.com
08/05/2006 at 12:36
One of my biggest annoyances with outdoor retail is the lack of knowledge when I go to a shop, try and employ people who can be of help!

Also as suggested above try and stock those items highly rated by the gear testers. this is one mistake so many of the shops make. They really don't appreciate the respect us outdoor folk have for the opinions of the gear testers, they do the job for a good reason and we listen to them but then often have to search hard for what they recommend. Some shops like Ultimate Outdoors for example do us this to good effect but many don't.

Interaction is vital too, people want to try things on, see a tent erected or ask if they can see it erected. Boot testing on site is great to test movement and weighing equipment is something people want to do in outdoor shops but they never have scales.

Promote the lightweight gear in one section int he shop aswell. I haven't seen a single shop specialize in the lightweight area yet except online.

I think people would appreciate somewhere that stocks the brands the popular shops don't that we like such as Mountain Equipment, Mountain Hardware, Paramo, Terra Nova, Lightwave etc.
Richard Drew
08/05/2006 at 12:46
Camperpete

Sizing:

- I think you're making a mistake if you stop at 38" waist - go for 40" or you'll miss out on much of the middle-aged rambler market. The average male waist size in the UK is 38" so it makes sense to go up one for your top end.

- As someone with a larger than average chest (okay and waist) one manufacturers XL is another manufacturers XXL e.g. a North Face XL is roughly the same as a Craghoppers XXL. I'm roughly a 44" chest (the national average is 42" btw), big but hardly massive, and personally get very irritated when I can't buy a fleece or whatever in all brands the shop stocks because of an arbitrary policy.


Brands - You've got a tricky balance between stocking what all your competitors sell, because it sells well (and probably being unable to compete on price due to large companies margins), and selling stuff that may have a limited market!

The iggest chain is probably Blacks/Milletts - maybe consider big popular brands that they don't currently cover e.g. Lowe Alpine, Mountain Equipment, Macpac

Don't forget the entry-level of the market either - Regatta/craghoppers probably has the edge in quality and brand name recognition over Wynnster, Gelert etc.!

Good luck
Ian Pennington
08/05/2006 at 13:06
As Richard Drew says, don't make the mistake of stopping at 38". I can fit into 38 around my waist but more often than not my legs won't so I usually go for a 40 with a belt. I've got a 48" Chest as well and I spend loadsa money on gear but only with people who have my sizes.

Also I don't mind spending a couple of extra quid for the right service. I have walked out of many gear shops because of the numptie behind the counter. Make sure that all your staff are at least helpfull and preferably knowledgable.

I don't have one particular favourite brand but I do own stuff from the following.

Montane
Mountain Equipment
MacPac
Osprey
Scarpa
HiTech
Smartwool
etc.
n/a
08/05/2006 at 13:19
Klattermusen, please!
Julian b (2)
08/05/2006 at 13:30
Cheap (£4) aldi type baselayers available throughout the year.
Paddy Dillon
08/05/2006 at 13:41
Stock maps (OS and Harveys) and proper Ortlieb mapcases (not cheapo mapcases).

Try and get a 'captive audience' by doing mapreading/navigation evenings in the shop, gear-appraisal evenings, or something similar.

Someone's bound to crack and buy something!
captain paranoia
08/05/2006 at 18:28
Number one question: What's your target market? Generalist? Specialist? How specialist?

I think it'll be hard to address the broad market of camping/walking/hiking/canoeing, due to the level of stock investment required to do more than brush the surface of each. But if you're prepared to accept that risk...
Rob Allpress
08/05/2006 at 21:36
montane macpac and haglofs is stuff i would like to see more of
SimpleSimon
10/05/2006 at 00:06
I second the Inov-8 comment, you could make a fortune on the stuff, its good kit and virtually impossible to find. Also like Rab, MHW, Marmot, Osprey, Macpac, etc...
Oh, and nice boots without gore-tex are like hens theeth as well.
So, um, will you be recruiting?
OutdoorRambo
10/05/2006 at 08:11
All good info guys and definitely food for thought, thanks very much.

I'd love to stock all this gear along with the other 600 various lines I've already listed but obviously I have an initial ceiling budget to get off the ground.

Looks like I'll be playing the juggler with my finances again!!! ;-)

Cheers

Pete.
Richard Drew
10/05/2006 at 16:25
Pete - further thoughts:

Are you looking at Web, Bricks and Mortar sales or both?

What you stock is probably influenced by where most of your sales are coming from.

Who are your competitors, and what can you offer that they can't?

- You'll find it difficult to compete on price (although buying up end-of-season stock/factory surplus stock and selling it over the web might work (there's at least one or two ebay sellers who seem to successfully do this).

- What brands don't they sell? - tricky in terms of brands but the ideas above might help.

- Customer service/flexibility. Lightning fast responses to emails does impress. Product knowledge impresses as does taking the time to take actual measurements if required. Different postage options, I avoid using companies that only offer signed for courier services rather than Royal Mail, because I can't get stuff delivered to work, but can easily get to my local sorting office.

- Non-standard sizes/colours. If you can get suppliers to supply you reasonably quickly then you don't need to stock all options, but can have them available for purchase through your web site with an appropriate warning over the time the order will take. For example whilst F&T's shop will order a green rather than black jacket for me, I can't buy the green option via the web site, because it's not even shown - If it was shown I might be happy to wait two weeks to get the colour I want. The same with XXL Craghoppers gear (and I expect XS).
List as much as you can with appropriate order times.

Good luck

1 to 20 of 22 messages
Page:
Forum Jump  
Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Shopping

Most popular

Competitions

View all competitions
Sign up to our twitter feed

Promotions

View all promotions