Opinions Sought for New Outdoor Clothing Company

“Y'all are too kind. I appreciate the honesty and expected no less. ;)

We were recipients of some "sample" shirts and tried them out this weekend. They were functional. They seem durable as #&%!$ also. And yes, they were also hip as #&%!$. My biggest problem was that they were "athletic fit". Not sure if they are all like that but the shirts seemed more suitable to bikers.”

“I think I should get a free shirt for my opinion.”

“In looking back Bear I think I was a bit too critical.

I think it simply comes down to this one fact; real backpackers are not who this company is targeting. There is far more money to be made in targeting the population that has the most expendable income. They'd be stupid to do otherwise.”

“Yeah- you can't get rich of backpackers, at least not at first.

;)”

“I actually think this co. can do very well.

The older folks who should be retiring but aren't are spending lots of money on an outdoorsy image. They will buy these kinds of clothes to do everything from running errands to playing golf.

I did quite a bit of research on this market for a school project about a year ago. I doubt things have changed all that much since then.”

“Did your research show that they'll spend a lot of money on an outdoor image, or that they'll spend a lot of money on expensive outdoor clothing? There's a big difference.”

“expensive outdoor clothing is part of an outdoor image”

“Sarge, I'm not sure I understand. They are buying expensive clothes to appear outdoorsy.

there is a website where I got a lot of my info from. I'll post it later, but it's something like the Outdoor Gear Association or Outdoor Trade Association or something. They have a big show in Salt Lake City every year, or maybe twice a year, I can't remember offhand.

Anyway, they put out a state of the industry report sometime during the year. It was very informative. Have you noticed that we're not seeing as much "gear" innovation lately as we were for a while there? They're not working too hard to come out with a stove that's .5 oz lighter than last year's version because the money is better spent on clothing at this time.(or the time I was working on this project anyway)”

“Around here most of the 'outdoorsy' types wear jeans and RealTree camo t-shirts.... trying to blend-in in the Produce dept at Kroger.”

“Mr. Tape - I'm saying you can spend a lot of money on clothes, and a lot of money on outdoor gear (to look outdoorsie), but that doesn't mean you'll buy expensive clothes.

Mr. Bang - when I read they want an "outdoor image", I think they want to portray themselves as outdoorsmen, not that they're already outdoorsmen and want to update that image.”

“i wasnt thinking that they were already outdoorsmen, either. i was thinking they would buy this sort of stuff as a sort of conspicuous consumption: "if its expensive, it must be the best stuff, and people will see me as someone who is a serious outdoorsman because i wear the best stuff"

heh. ive got ductape around the ends of my current pair of trail runners cuz im loathe to give them up. a pair of hiking shorts that i still wear has holes in the pockets, and the zipper is broken on another pair. i beat hell on my clothes
last edited: 10/22/07 8:04:23 AM”

“as far as the website goes, its not all that slow for me. im in sk, where the internet speed is fantastic”