Poler is open for business again starting today.
The brand, which had been dormant for the past 12 months after going bankrupt, will reopen the doors of the Poler flagship in downtown Portland and relaunch its e-commerce site.
President Cape Capener and Co-Founder Kharma Vella, who has rejoined Poler as Product Brand Director, said in an interview that Poler is relaunching with product that was designed for Fall ’18 but never hit the market. New owner Pacific & Everest Lifestyle Company (PELC) acquired the inventory as part of the bankruptcy process.
PELC, a U.S.-based holding company, is a division of Primer Group, which is a former investor and a distributor of Poler in Southeast Asia.
A product team is working on new designs for Spring 2021 that Poler will launch at Outdoor Retailer in June 2020. Poler will also look to expand into wholesale and international markets at that time.
Poler always had a great following and community around the “Camp Vibes” ethos of the brand, and the new team wants to keep that while also elevating the product quality.
“Poler was never known for high-quality stuff and we want to change that,” Kharma said. Using better, sustainable and natural materials is a priority.
The new team will focus on many of the same categories such as knapsacks, tents and other camping gear in addition to apparel and headwear. Other new products are in the works that Cape and Kharma were not ready to talk about yet.
Poler was always more of a DTC brand, and while DTC will continue to be a top focus, the new team wants to operate in the wholesale channel as well where it makes sense.
“Wherever the Poler community is, is where we want to be,” Cape said.
Poler will celebrate its rebirth with a big party December 18th at the Portland store.
