Good service from Kathmandu

Macpac delayed hitting the US market because the market was too big for them to maintain supply to. Macpac tried to maintain its profit margin and for the time i was selling for them they maintained they would never leave NZ. Like all manufacturers in western countries they eventually reached the point where they had to or they'd fail. People who have the customer service training are not drawn to low wages and the majority of retail employers don't provide good training. The point is they're jobs that rarely keep people who care enough to make a difference. I only worked in such a job because i am less concerned about making money and i at least got all my gear at wholesale prices or better. I, in turn brought more to the table with alot of experience using the gear.

I think the easiest way to have a profitable and successful outdoor gear manufacturing company is to have people who aren't outdoor people as your primary target market. It's more or less what Kathmandu does -- market your product as if it's intended for the great outdoors, but aim to sell most of your stock to people who are unlikely to use it very much at all for the original marketing claims. I used to think that The North Face was primarily an outdoor product company. Then I went to New York in the middle of winter and noticed that in a city of ~8 million people, 3 of every 4 people on the street were wearing a North Face down jacket... and that's just a fraction of that company's market. Perhaps they sell a lot of stuff to outdoorsey people, and with TNF maybe they even have the critical mass to be able to make good quality gear and support it well. I'm unsure as I've never checked it out myself. But I bet they make most of their income selling to people who just use it on city streets and never go hiking or climbing or camping at all, despite having bought it on the pretext that that's what it's for. It's an interesting marketing model, really.

The North Face was started by climbers. It is the north face of a peak in the northern hemisphere that is coveted because it is most hidden from the sun much as it is the south face in the southern hemisphere. It is an all too common story that users of the equipment want to apply their knowledge to the manufacture of gear to ensure they and other enthusiasts can get what they want. Particularly when it is their well being at risk. Like Wilderness Equipment, Mont and many others they have had to turn to the mass market to stay afloat. Shorts are a good example. When i sold the products the emphasis was on what worked in the field. There followed a time there for a while when i could't find a pair of shorts that didn't go below the knees. That's not too practical for someone lifting their knees high often. It seemed obvious they were trying to appeal to the mass market with fashion.(bah humbug).

When I was in Zermatt in Switzerland I saw a North Face shop and thought "Great!" and went in. However it sold nothing but clothes and high fashion ones at that, mostly well outside my price range. I walked in, did one circut of the shop and walked out.

By the way, incase you hadn't noticed, the target market for Kathmandu is not the outdoor market. It is the travel market. Note that free Summit Club membership is offered to YHA members but not FMC members. I took this up with one of their marketing people one time and he stated that they were happy with how they had positioned this and FMC did not come into the picture as far as he was concerned. That conversation was had back in the bad old days of Kathmandu.

It's not like any store that sells a brand has to stock everything from that brand. I would imagine the majority of clientele that visit Zermatt would be more tempted by the fashion than the accessories and/or the functional stuff. But that doesn't mean that retailer has got the market picked right. I've never bought anything from a Kathmandu store and i wouldn't mind keeping it that way. But i've been spoilt.

Good point about the travel market, pmcke.

My opinion is that theres 3 types of people who shop at Kathmandu. 1) People who aren't really interested in the outdoors, and go there to buy things for every day wear, and travelling etc. Some of them would be buying clothing from Kathmandu as it's a kind of status symbol. 2) People who buy top-of-the-line tramping/outdoor gear from shops like Kathmandu thinking that they'll use it, and maybe go out once or twice but don't really end up using their investment. 3) People who buy stuff for the outdoors, and are actually going to use it for that. People like this aren't likely to buy it unless it's during a sale. There's nothing better or worse about being in any of the groups, it's just theres a few different kinds of people who shop at Kathmandu. Just another note, I'm 16 and go to a lower decile secondary school. You'll notice a lot of people wearing a down jacket from Kathmandu around to make themselves feel 'richer' I guess.