The North Face’s Global Brand President Caroline Brown shared details about how the brand balances its approach to core consumers, new outdoor participants, and urban dwellers, why it is focused on universal design and other innovation, and the impact of tariffs on The North Face in a discussion with Outdoor Industry Association President Kent Ebersole at Outside Summit in Denver on Friday.
Brown’s comments about opening the aperture to more casual participants echoed those of REI CEO Mary Beth Laughton, who also spoke at the summit about REI’s plan to invite new outdoor participants who started hiking and camping during the pandemic into the REI community through events at its stores.
TNF is also hosting events, such as last summer’s Climb Festival, which invited athletes to climb walls overhanging water in New York, Shanghai, and London.
“The area of climb has grown so much and is crossing into culture in a way that we maybe saw in the beginning of the yoga movement 10 or 15 years ago,” Brown said. “That is bringing a lot of new people who are curious into the space.”
By bringing TNF athletes such as Brooke Raboutou and Nathaniel Coleman together with people who have never climbed before, the brand aims to invite more people into the climbing community while also showcasing their focus on performance and those core outdoor consumers.
In the past, approximately 70% of all outdoor participants were casual and 30% were core. As total participation has increased, the core over the past 15 years has decreased. This year, however, that core number increased from 26% to 30% again, Ebersole said.
Those consumer segments are driven to go outside for different reasons. Core consumers are more performance-oriented, while more casual participants are fueled by social engagement or to unplug for mental health reasons.
Brown said younger consumers are increasingly wanting to put their phones away particularly because the pandemic demanded so much online time. On the other hand, other young consumers want to bring their phones with them.
“What this means for businesses like ours is you kind of win either way,” she said. “Because both of those mindsets involve getting out into nature, experiencing exploration, and participating in the sector.”
Product Development for All
Brown said TNF is also focused on product innovation for different consumer segments. For example, this fall the brand is launching the second version of its Advanced Mountain Kit, a premium lineup of mountaineering gear for extreme expeditions.
On the other hand, the brand is also focused on new products for urban dwellers. Its consumers in Asia, for example, are the brand’s most fashion-oriented consumers, she said.
Casual outdoor participants spend approximately $650 per person each year, while core outdoor consumers spend nearly $1,000 each year per person, Brown said.
“But both are very important,” Brown said. People of color are also a growing segment of outdoor participants, and women and seniors are crucial to consider through product and marketing, Brown said, because they’re participating in outdoors more than ever.
“If somebody that’s 70 years old walks into your store, do not dismiss that person because they’re buying product right now, and I will tell you – they’re in good shape,” Brown said. “It’s not what retired used to be.”
TNF also aims to make universal design a future pillar of the brand, where it helps people of all abilities get out in nature. With input from the brand’s athletes with disabilities, TNF is designing gear that works for everybody, such as a backpack that can be opened with one arm, tents without a fabric layer on the bottom that can get tangled up in wheelchairs, and zipper-less sleeping bags that click together with magnets.
“Adaptive climbers, they’re thrilled about this product,” Brown said. “But everybody loves this product. This product is just better for everybody, right? …That’s another area (where) we want to see more and more growth, and more access.”
Doubling Down on Innovation Despite Tariffs
Some brands will understandably consider putting innovation on the back burner as trade policy continues to be in flux, Brown said. But she cautioned against making that decision.
“We’re doubling down on innovation,” she said. In addition to universal design, TNF is also becoming increasingly involved with element protection, and not just thermal protection.
“What do you do for sun protection? What do you do for wind protection? What do you do in high altitude, high temperature climates?” she said. “That’s as dangerous as being stuck in a really cold situation. So we’re going to continue to double down on that.”
That innovation is part of what will differentiate TNF’s products, particularly as consumers feel more pressured in the ambiguity of these times, she said.
It will also be crucial for the industry to deliver on the price-to-value equation, she said.
“We do not think non-distinctive product is going to have a place when people start to pull back and be more selective on their choices,” she said. “So when you look at every product that you make, you really have to say, what’s your reason for being? And if it’s this basic sweatshirt that could be any brand, that’s going to be really hard when people pull back.”
Resale will also play a larger role in the outdoor industry as trade policy continues to impact manufacturing, pricing, and sourcing, Brown said. TNF Renewed allows consumers to find the brand at a different price point because the items are second hand, and programs such as REI’s Re/Supply program invite consumers back to the store to bring their used goods.
“It’s such a smart thing to do and consumers are all over it right now,” Brown said.
Kate Robertson can be reached at kate@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.
