The North Face has long been known for its quality outdoor products, and the company has built quite a name with its brand. However, as Skiing Business reports the company, which has seemed to stray from its core business, is launching its new Steep Series, which will only be sold in specialty stores as the brand looks to commit and reconnect with its core users. This means the new line of outdoor apparel will be in specialty retailers rather than chain stores.
Michael Millenacker, The North Face’s sales VP told Skiing Business:
“The specialty store is what got us here. It’s our foundation. Because the customers we target with our most technical products shop in specialty stores, we’re just as committed to core shops as we have been in the past—if not more. Compared to where most of our sales come from, we have, what I would call, a disproportionate amount of marketing spent on specialty, and we’ll continue to invest there. We have specialty-specific sales incentives, and sales staff dedicated to specialty stores.”
Interesting move for a company that has looked to expand. Sometimes going back to the core is the better biz move.
[Via Skiing Business: The North Face Talks Specaialty Commitment]