KHATMANDU: A year after closing bricks and mortar stores in Britain, outdoor clothing retailer Kathmandu is adventuring into new international channels in an attempt to boost sales without breaking the bank. Kathmandu has started selling its brand-name products through two overseas outdoor retailers, SportScheck, the leading outdoors retailer in Germany, and Go Outdoors in Britain.
The vertically integrated retailer has also launched a global website, kathmanduoutdoor.com, to augment its Australian, New Zealand and UK e-commerce sites, and is setting up shop in the first half of 2018 on Alibaba’s TMall Global, a cross-border marketplace that enables international brands to sell directly to Chinese consumers.
Kathmandu chief executive Xavier Simonet said the new channels were aimed at delivering sustainable, profitable long-term sales growth rather than a topline energy boost.
“The new channels will be a slow burn for sure; we want growth to be profitable,” Mr Simonet told The Australian Financial Review after unveiling his second consecutive year of profit growth since taking the helm in 2015.