Karrimor Carries On...

One welcome sight at the recent Harrogate Go Outdoors trade show was an admittedly modest Karrimor stand complete with Karrimor-branded footwear and packs.

Since the floundering brand was bought out by boxing specialists Lonsdale in February and the Karrimor retail outlets and YHA outdoor shops closed down, there's been a lot of speculation over what's happening to the classic Lanchashire outfit.

Well, according to the guys on the stand, the news for customers is positive, though it may take a while for things to get back to normal. The brand is now being controlled by a company called 'International Brand Management' which oversees major brands such as Dunlop, Slazenger and Lonsdale and the claim is that the result will be a major investment in the brand over the next few years.

For next year, you'll see two major branded Karrimor product lines, packs and the KSB footwear range. The latter has been majorly redeveloped for this winter with a new upgraded KSB collection and next year's lines will also feature a new waterproof, breathable membrane technology. Ahem.

New Packs

Meanwhile, you should be seeing more of the packs with the existing 2004 range being complemented by no fewer than 11 - we think - new packs including some very neat looking 'elite active' fast movers packs featuring lighter weight and Karrimor's characteristic over-sized hip-fin pockets, which we really like.

Finally, there's no clothing collection for next year, although Karrimor says that it will be back in time with a completely redesigned range that will be a major improvement on the rather unexceptional clothing that the company produced over recent years. That can only be a good thing.

We've seen the last of the Karrimor-branded shops however - both boots and packs will be available from specialist outdoor shops with the same sort of quality and pricing as before, so no dumbing down.

What does it all mean? Hopefully that a great British brand will be back producing high quality outdoors kit before too long. There's a lot of goodwill towards the company and it's played a pivotal role in some of the great British mountaineering expeditions of the past few decades with packs like the Haston Alpiniste making a huge mark on the UK outdoors psyche.