Company Profile

Staying hungry

It began life in the late 1960's as a technical apparel brand for the hardcore climber but now makes a pretty penny from non-sporting aspirational-types as well. Tracey McEldowney reports on the brand that continues to explore.

Topher Gaylord enjoys stockpiling air miles.
As the Italian-based president of The North Face (TNF) parent group Outdoor International, Gaylord spends at least two months of every 12 jetting across the globe to meet with his brand's exalted global management team. Not surprising then, it is at these international think tanks where Gaylord says he feels most at home.
"We meet up on a global level as a management team fairly regularly. One of the inspiring things about the brand is really to see people toil and push themselves beyond their limits. Where other brands are about winning we - and I include myself in this - are really about internal self exploration of the heart and mind."

But while the company - commonly regarded as the largest performance outdoor label in the world - can now afford to employ the likes of Gaylord and his big thinking ideals, this was not always the case. Like all major success stories, TNF's beginning were less than austere; given life by two hiking enthusiasts who founded a small mountaineering retail store in the heart of San Francisco's North Beach in 1966. So named because in the Northern Hemisphere, the north face of a mountain is generally the coldest, iciest and most formidable to climb, the company's formative months were spent selling high-performance climbing and backpacking equipment. It graduated to its own line of mountaineering apparel and equipment in 1968.

In subsequent years the brand expanded its offering to include everything from tri-climate jackets and polarised eyewear to hoodies and trainers.
Today, the brand boasts around 7000 stockists across 65 countries - among them leading department stores Harrods, Selfridges, Bloomingdales, Macy's, Nordstrom's and David Jones - with around 50 per cent of its core market coming from North America. The remaining half is split evenly between Europe and Asia Pacific with Australia playing a relatively minor part.

With global sales averaging around $US1 billion ($1.3 billion) per annum - Australian figures were not released - TNF now has around 120 dedicated retail across its portfolio. Its most recent addition to the stable being a flagship store in Sydney's Pitt Street with Melbourne and other capitals next on the schedule.

Gaylord visited the New South Wales capital late last year with new distribution partner True Alliance - which also looks after Reebok, Lacoste and Rockport - to add some punch to the brand's relaunch into the Australasian market. His visit coincided with that of Guy Andrews - part of the TNF-sponsored athletic team - who completed an Australian first by being the first person to complete a 250-kilometre endurance race of seven states in seven days. Andrews was also guest of honour at a North Face shindig held in Sydney to commemorate the new partnership.
Gaylord, himself a keen action man who enjoys rock climbing, skiing and long distance running, sees the sponsorship of the athletic team, the offering of unique $5000 annual expedition grants and the roll out of its retail sites - as an integral part of the brand's plans to showcase its product across Australia.

In the past TNF has found retail stores, in markets that are growing from a small base, fundamental in brand development, he says.
"They're not competing [against the wholesale side of the business] because it's not a fundamental brand strategy in the market it's to augment and fuel the wholesale distribution. But it's important because 1) it allows the consumer a complete shopping experience, a brand experience, and full and comprehensive assortment of our product line but it also shows a path for the wholesalers on how they can really be successful with the brand. We have a global reach in terms of our retail store portfolio and [TNF's Australian stores] are going to be a very important part of that."

While neither he nor True Alliance were prepared to release their sales targets for Australia, both argue TNF's unique blend of technical and fashion-forward ranges - broken down into six different categories - will hold it in good stead.
"We appeal to the most hardcore technical consumer in the world today - that person that is going to climb to the top of Everest or complete the toughest descents in the world. But we also have a very large appeal to that aspirational consumer - the customer that is never going to take a step out the front door and do something challenging but still wants to look good and be part of that lifestyle," Gaylord says.

"The reasons for our global growth and success is our product and our product strategy but also our ability as a global management team to collaborate, coordinate and drive a consistent brand message across all of our markets. If there is one thing you will see - and Australia is no exception to this - no matter where you go in the world the brand positioning, perception, product and marketing is very consistent. So consumers, no matter where in the world they are - have the same message from our brand. That's not easy for any brand to do globally - it's a lot of hard work. It's just about doing things right."