The growing demand for luxury outerwear first started to take hold following the post-pandemic consumer shift towards wellness and healthy lifestyles.
Now, the thirst for stylish technical gear from high-profile athleisure brands such as North Face, Lululemon, and Canada Goose shows no sign of slowing, with the blend of fashion and functionality making them equally suited for both adventures on the slopes and coffees on the high street.
As one of the more high-end retailers to have benefitted from this boost, Arc’teryx notched up more than than £630m ($800m) in sales last year. It also raised about £1.08bn ($1.37bn) in US IPO last month, the largest US listing by a Chinese-owned company since 2021.
Trading from more than 3,000 retail locations worldwide in over 40 countries, the retailer currently has three stores in the UK – Battersea, Piccadilly and in Covent Garden’s King Street. This weekend the business unveiled its biggest store in Europe as it upsized its Covent Garden store, marking a 400% increase in its retail footprint.
While other sporting retailers continue to struggle, Arc’teryx third quarter sales rose by 65% year-on-year, meaning the Vancouver-based brand is certainly doing something right.
The Arc’teryx evolution
Although now one of streetwear’s hottest names – arguably comparable to Supreme – the outdoor brand has been around since 1989.
Despite it recently finding itself as a must-have fashion brand for young shoppers, at its core Arc’teryx sells technical clothing that meet the needs of alpine climbers.
Named after the flying dinosaur Archaeopteryx, the branding was chosen to signify the retailer’s disruptive evolution within the outdoor industry as it built upon its principles of precise design and meticulous production.
Arc’teryx EMEA general manager Sven Radtke tells Retail Gazette the name couldn’t be more appropriate. He stresses the brand’s commitment to delivering its principles is “evident in every aspect of the business, from project conception to delivery”.
Having made a name for itself within its first decade, Arc’teryx was acquired by French sporting giant Salomon Group in 2001.
Five years later the retailer opened its first standalone bricks-and-mortar store in Montreal, before it fell under new ownership to Finnish retailer Amer Sport.
Fast-forward to 2009 and its products proved so popular within the climbing and hiking communities that the business was able to expand – supplying goods for everything from running to skiing in a bid to become the go-to adventurer brand.
Perhaps one of the most significant moments to mark Arc’teryx’s meteoric rise within the streetwear world was when American singer Frank Ocean arrived at Paris Fashion Week 2019, dressed head-to-toe in the brand.
Since then, Arc’teryx has been catapulted into the mainstream, releasing collaborations with streetwear titans such as Palace. It has also been spotted on the likes of Drake and Bella Hadid, further propelling the brand into the upper echelons of the streetwear sphere.
Fashion and functionality
Radtke says the UK is, “without a doubt, a very important market for us” thanks to a highly engaged outdoor community that remains loyal to the brand.
He points out that UK consumers are increasingly prioritising functionality over fashion, “gravitating towards apparel that seamlessly blends everyday use with practicality and high performance”.
Despite trading in a highly-saturated market Arc’teryx has managed to stand out with its minimalist designs and small logos, which many favour over more ubiquitous labels such as The North Face.
Radke stresses that Arc’teryx also distinguishes itself through a “commitment to quality and meticulous attention to detail in the creation, design, and development of our products”, adding that “highly technical and durable products meet the diverse needs of our customers in the outdoors”.
The group’s new 8,000 sq ft anchor location on King Street in Covent Garden sits adjacent to powerhouse brands such as Glossier, Apple, and Aēsop, spanning two floors and offering customers a full range of technical gear, featuring both apparel and equipment.
It is also the first store to house the Arc’teryx ReBIRD Service Centre – its “platform for circularity, designed to build a more sustainable, circular future for the outdoor industry”, which exclusively handles product repairs. This includes ‘light touch’ repairs like Gore-Tex patches and zipper pulls, technical washing and re-waterproofing, product assessment, and education on care and repair.
Radtke describes ReBIRD as the brand’s “response to the global shift towards circularity, offering care and repair for products, encouraging shopping for used gear, and designing with excess raw materials to reduce waste”.
This fits neatly with the brand’s overall ethos. Radke explains that the team – who unsurprisingly spend a “significant amount of time outdoors” – is “consistently mindful and actively seeking ways to evolve and contribute to long-term solutions to make a positive impact in the world with our products and community initiatives.”
“Concerns related to sustainability and how to better preserve our natural habitats are at the core of our brand,” he stresses.
The flagship will also feature an in-store Community Hub where customers will be able to access screenings of athlete films, athlete-recommended books and literature, as well as local trail maps, events news, and UK ambassador profiles.
Going viral
Unsurprisingly, social media has also been fueling the hype as it continues to dictate and drive fashion trends, with the search term #gorpcore – which describes sporty, practical clothing – racking up 1.9bn views on TikTok.
In case you missed it, 2022 was the year of the ‘Arc’teryx trend’. The viral moment catapulted the brand into the mainstream, proving how much fans appreciated the quality of the clothes while also showcasing the power of social media.
It started when British rapper YT released a song titled ‘Arc’teryx’ featuring the now infamous lyrics: “Arc’teryx on me, we don’t rock no Patagonia / Arc’teryx on me, I could go hiking Snowdonia.”
In response, thousands of users took to TikTok to show off its powerful waterproof capabilities by standing in their showers or outside in torrential rain.
One TikTok user helped the hashtag #arcteryx rack up more than 219.5m views with multiple posts going viral. One video alone generated a staggering 5.1m views on the app.
@yijihoon “See how it just beads off??” #arcteryx #042cargos #techwear
While this social media boost undoubtedly helped the retailer, viral moments aren’t enough. Radtke explains that in order to stay ahead of trends and offer products that resonate with outdoors enthusiasts the business will always continue to learn and experiment with its product.
“We are incredibly lucky to have our HQ based right at the core of the mountains where we can test and develop our product while exposing it to the environment it was created for,” he says.
“Since we remain true to this level of quality, we will be able to ensure the outdoors is more present than ever as we keep delivering products that exceed expectations and fulfil the desires of our consumers.”
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