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Sorry if its bin dun. I haven't seen this before and not seen it on the mail shots they send out.
This is within cycling distance for me so great news. I've a fair bit of alpkit stuff. I wish them good luck
Looks like they are recruiting too.
Looking forward to a poke around the new Edinburgh store in a couple of weeks.
I can't understand the role of their shops. I'd always assumed the shops were halo projects designed to be nice places* and increase brand awareness. But their expansion is very impressive at a time when everyone else is reducing their retail footprint. Or maybe buying outdoor clothing is a more 'tactile' experience compared with other industries that are moving to mail order. I wonder what the aim is?
Anyway, I like Alpkit stuff so it's all good.
Outdoor clothing is obviously profitable as another shop has just opened in Skipton which means they are battling it out with charity shops and cafe's for High Street bragging rights!
Nice one with the Ilkley shop and I will no doubt be sniffing about when bike stuff comes back in to stock.
I reckon their retail stores are primarily used for brand awareness and this shows in the fact that they've generally picked towns with high "action sports aficionado" footfall. For a brand that focusses on adventure camping, climbing, and cycling gear, places like the Lakes and the Dales are ideally situated for those kinds of activities.
I used to work in retail management for a company that was heavily invested in the "experience" approach to retail, where you'd go into a store set up for tactile shopping and receive 5 star personal service. The fact that this company is still doing well, and growing year on year, shows that there still is a place for bricks and mortar stores if the experience and customer service is right.
Or maybe buying outdoor clothing is a more ‘tactile’ experience compared with other industries that are moving to mail order.
I think that is a big part of it, many people I know won't buy kit without the whole shop-touchy-feely experience. Also think they are possibly bridging the gap between being a budget-ish online brand and the big boys.
The difference between them and the failed PlanetX shop experiment is that their stuff is actually very good.
I can’t understand the role of their shops
My take on all this is..........
Half the problem with bricks and mortor shops is robo shopping.
Research offline, buy online. People go into cotswold, bark at the price, try on what they want, work out the right size and then go online and get it much cheaper. This is why go outdoors does well as you go to the counter with your phone and they amend the price for you.
Alpkit is unique, you either want their product or you don't. Therefore they have no competition for their products and robo shoppers don't apply. This might be why shops work for Alpkit and Sonder bikes? I know I like the repair station, another unique selling point.
The problem Alpkit has is why would an average shopper buy a £150 alpkit waterproof jacket when you might be able to buy a northface or rab jacket for a similar price? A brand not only you have heard of but that others seeing the brand have also heard about.
I think the reason behind the shops is because Alpkit need to get their brand known so that people are happy to buy them and wear them who don't really know how good they are.
Personally I preferred it when they were online only and seemed to be a fair bit cheaper. I think their venture into bricks and mortor have pushed prices up a bit. I also liked the fact Alpkit was worn by people who generally knew their stuff and used it properly, not just to walk a dog or go to tesco in.
I guess you have two choices as a company to get your brand well known. Bricks and mortar or spend millions on expensive advertisements or both.
Online only isn't enough (depending on how big you want to be) no matter how good you are and how good your brand is.
I guess as long as the shops break even or don't run at too much of a loss its worth it for the increased brand awareness and online sales?
........ But I'm probably wrong. 🤣
This is why go outdoors does well as you go to the counter with your phone and they amend the price for you.
Tell me more about this? price match?
20% MRT discount means Cotswold is pretty much my go to store these days, I can try all the stuff on, and they have a brilliant range, which doesn't disappear quick smart as it's full price to lots of their customers.
Personally I preferred it when they were online only and seemed to be a fair bit cheaper. I think their venture into bricks and mortor have pushed prices up a bit.
I reckon their prices but also quality went up about 5-6 years ago. The retail stores were a bit later I think. It seemed like they made a conscious decision to go from 'budget' to great kit at low-ish prices. Which is fine by me, but it does mean that some of their stuff is kinda pricey now.
I think it still applies. Last time my wife bought a cragghoppers waterproof jacket we found it online cheaper, went to the till, showed them it, they price matched and beat it by 10%. They used ti have loads of posters on the wall advertising it. Not sure if its still a thing post covid? I haven't been in the store for over 12 months.
20% MRT discount means Cotswold is pretty much my go to store these days
What is MRT? Can anyone get this?
When is Edinburgh one opening?
What is MRT? Can anyone get this?
To get your coupon code, you have to commit to occasionally getting up at 2AM and flogging up and down a hill looking for a casualty for several hours in the snow. 🙂
I think a store in Ilkley will do very well, it's exactly the right demographic for them.
YGH it opened in causewayhead a couple of weeks back, Damascus pretty much what martinhutch said!.
The difference between them and the failed PlanetX shop experiment is that their stuff is actually very good.
Planet X sell a lot of really good, affordable roadie stuff actually.
I expect their shops failed because their product strategy is utterly incoherent - and perhaps because they had the same offhand customer service enjoyed by their online customers?
I'll take your word for it! I got a couple of merino tops from them that were awful, never again.
Alpkit seem to have a strategy, as you say a coherent product range. OO/PX is like a jumble sale of rebadged/renamed stuff.
Alpkit seem to have a strategy, as you say a coherent product range. OO/PX is like a jumble sale of rebadged/renamed stuff.
Yeah. Planet-X have some decent-enough stuff (My most-used cycling are my 2 pairs of their 3/4 365 bibs) but they also have some terrible stuff. It's a lottery and precisely none of it would make you think 'Oooh, that's nice!' But it's all cheap and cheerful enough.
Totally different sector to (current) Alpkit IMO.
Can anyone remember the name of the old outdoor shop in Ilkley? before it was called BackcountryUK.
I was under the impression that according to Alpkit, they were cheap because they were factory/online based 😕 First down jacket I got from them was £70(cant remember for sure, literally ages ago, but about that), then it was £90 for my 2nd.
I dont see the filo now, but maybe the renamed the fantom, but either way its currently about £180(taking note its of greater fill). I can understand that materials have become more expensive, but they if they now need to pay rates on shops, their prices will only be set to increase further, so how does that differ from any other high street brand.
I like Damascus's theory.
Ilkley really isn't their target market, but having a shop there will certainly do wonders for their reputation, shame for Base Camp though (if it is still there?)
Their kit is in an odd place for me now. Too expensive to buy and take a 'risk' that it might be cheap and do the job, but the fact of where the company has come from, rightly or wrongly it has me thinking I dont want to pay that much money when I can buy better quality for £20 more.
Dont get me wrong, I'm not knocking them, i genuinely like their kit and philosophy, and currently having a serious hover over their V1 frame/fork kit. Currently £199 and maybe an ideal base for an Econversion as in my Econversion thread.
Just checking the pig today, see if I can stretch to it.
Their kit is in an odd place for me now. Too expensive to buy and take a ‘risk’ that it might be cheap and do the job, but the fact of where the company has come from, rightly or wrongly it has me thinking I dont want to pay that much money when I can buy better quality for £20 more.
+1. And we can pretend all we like that outdoor wear is all about function, but Alpkit clothes mostly look (from a style perspective) like they've been designed by IKEA. I'd rather get Patagonia kit in the sale somewhere thanks.
That said I do have one of their tents, a thermarest ripoff, a headtorch and a Filo. It's just the clothes that don't do it for me at current prices.
That's all well and good but being in mind how bare the cupboard is online I will be surprised if they have bikes to stock new shops.
On general note, I'd take a totally uneducated guess that retail rents have been falling and demand for outdoorsy gear has been rising over the last 14 months.
Which might have contributed to Alpkit's bricks-and-mortar expansion.
I drove over to their Hathergage store at the weekend to size up the Camino I'm building, took three down jackets to be repaired whilst I looked around the shop, and tried the bike for size. Nice experience and the repairs were excellent.
What I didn't expect was to be able to order the frame as it's not available online yet. I even had a wobble and after reading a few threads on here, I decided I needed to up the size. Phoned the store yesterday and they've sorted it and I should be getting my large sage Camino in a few months.