UKC

So the king of outdoor gear is apparently taking their techno to the streets, http://veilance.arcteryx.com/

I give it a year after autumn 09 untill TNF do the same :P

In reply to Gaz lord: You mean TNF haven't already?

The Arcteryx Veilance is apparently only coming out in a few boutiques (mainly in London I think) in the foreseeable future so I don't think you'll see it taking over climbing or outdoor shops.
Iain

In reply to Gaz lord:

i think they'll struggle to appeal to non-climbers/skiers....i don't see them having much brand recognition, but plenty of competition.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

It's an elite brand, its lack of recognition amongst the masses is an asset.

You are already seeing Arc'teryx replace the North Face amongst some TV presenters and celebrities.

Arc'teryx is much sought after by shop lifters according to some police. Another good sign.

Be interesting to see the retail prices.

I think it will be very successful.

Mick

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

Will you have a new forum ready for this autum, where people can post all the "why do people where XXX on the street" threads?

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:


true...i think some of the guys on the BBC's ski show wear it.

anyway i am a fan so i say good luck to them.....as long as it doesn't flow over into higher prices for the rest of their range.

btw - some more info on the website might be useful or are they being deliberately vague?

In reply to Gaz lord:
Spent last Friday being dragged round the fashion shops of Milan. Didn't see the Arcteryx shop, which is a pity really.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

I frequently admire the fine cut of Dr Alice Roberts' Arcteryx jacket on Coast.

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:



I agree - their prices are already generally higher than most other brands and well within the neighbourhood of the sort of brands they'll want to sit alongside, I think.

In reply to Martin76:

I frequently admire the fine cut of Dr Alice Roberts on Coast.

In reply to captain paranoia:

here here !

In reply to Gaz lord:

Of course, must remember that the ownership tree is:

Amer
Salomon
Arc'teryx

Salomon have had dalliances with crossover garments. I wonder if the design of the Veillance stuff is actually being done by Arc', or by another part of the group, but using the Ar'cteryx name...

In reply to captain paranoia:

Just had a look at Amers website, didnt know they also owned Suunto and Mavic.

How long have Amer owned Arcteryx, do you know? ( im assuming they bought it at some point, just like VF bought TNF etc)

In reply to Mokkel: was bought by saolomon in 2005 when they were owned by addidas

In reply to Gaz lord:

in tokyo mammut, tnf, millet and arcteryx have all had poncy boutiques for a few years. selling bugger all climbing gear but lots of pastel softshells, laptop bags, leather shoes and scarfs. nothing with hoods!

also patagonia has opened surf-style shops with none of their climbing gear but lots of their wetsuits, hawaiian shirts, hippy t-shirts, flip-flops and boardies. kind of a middle aged quiksilver.

In reply to ice.solo:

Surfing's been one of Patagonia's core activities for a while now. Their HQ is in Ventura, California - a prime surf location - and the founder's son makes surfboards which he sells from a little shop right next to the HQ shop.

In reply to ice.solo:


But hasnt patagonia always been a boardriding brand, especially with surfing and snowboarding, dont forget though they also do fishing gear too. Plus Mr Chouinard has the book, let my people surf. I've always seen them as a high quality fatface.

In reply to Gaz lord: Next thing you know, aquascutum will make a technical hard shell for bankers who climb.

In reply to Gaz lord:

totally.
actually i dont really think of patagonia as a climbing brand either.
more outdoor lifestyle wear with a fringe market in hardcore stuff.

In reply to ice.solo:

Patagonia has come a long way since its origins in Pacific Iron Works Co. It definitiely falls in to the top-end outdoor lifestlye category now though, especially since BDEL broke away. I'd still sooner by from Patagonia over the over companies listed in this thread though, purely on ethical grounds.

In reply to Martin76:

"I frequently admire the fine cut of Dr Alice Roberts' Arcteryx jacket on Coast."

Was she wearing a Jacket? - I didn't notice...

In reply to Removed User:

I dont think we can underestimate the influence that Patagonia has on the equipment we use.
It's a shame it has always been under represented in the UK. But it has never really faulted from making high quality equipment some of which is climbing orientated.

Yvon choinard goes surfing, fishing and climbing so it's only natural that product line reflects this.

Worth a flick through their history
http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/patagonia.go?slc=en_US&sct=US&asset...

I know we always seem to see the casual stuff, but they really do quite a lot properly nice climbing stuff like the Mixmaster.

In reply to Alpnick:


I only seem to see the 'technical stuff'; the rest of it is filtered out by my kitmonster-vision...

They have lots of lifestyle and surfing stuff but none of it is "technical". Their only real performance stuff is their mountaineering products. They dont sell wetsuits or any of that stuff.

In reply to Gaz lord: I would Black Diamond gear if they went 'Gucci'

I have a (fashionable) orange t-shirt from The North Face, it looks pretty awesome

In reply to Gaz lord:

Actually the french version of the book has the original name, which was obviously not thought catchy enough for the west coast youth, A Businessman Despite Myself.