Mountain Khakis Announces Alternative Summer Market of Retailer Strategy
OutdoorHub 06.19.12
Mountain Khakis, a leading mountain-inspired lifestyle apparel brand, announces their strategic decision to not attend the 2012 Summer Market Outdoor Retailer.
A pioneer in the ‘hips-down’ apparel category, Mountain Khakis entered the outdoor market nine years ago with a passion for pants. Launching the brand with a pure and simple message, ‘Pants Built for the Mountain Life’, it presented a new way of thinking – and merchandising and selling and re-ordering – for retailers.
Not subscribing to trend, and not afraid to buck the ‘norm’, Mountain Khakis announces it will not be attending year’s Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. A budget decision? No, says MK president, Ross Saldarini, “We are having our best year ever. It’s a ‘spend smart and shake it up’ decision. The OR Show is vitally important to our industry and we’re proud to be a part of it. This is a strategic decision to directly support our retailers.”
“Our goal in redirecting SMOR12 dollars is to address and support two important retailer challenges: store traffic and in-store visibility. We are investing in solutions that are both engaging and effective, that directly touch our loyal retailer partners,” said Joe Pagani, MK Director of Business Development. According to Pagani, the company is developing creative merchandising and retailer promotions, co-op programs, and a targeted circuit of in-store visits.
The 2010 ‘MountainTops’ collection debut marked an exciting milestone for the company, and their product development has continued to expand exponentially. “Spring/Summer 2013 is an exciting collection for us,” said Noah Robertson, Director of Product Development & Design. “For men, we have new leisure-inspired styles made with lightweight and colorful fabrics. For women, we have expanded our ‘outdoor-sexy’ offering to include gorgeous silhouettes in tops, bottoms, skirts and now dresses. We are investing in our supply chains, our fabrications, and our designs moreso than ever before.”
With 17 new tops and bottoms styles for Men and Women, a new weather-resistant bag collection, 17 new graphics in their organic T program and 9 new hat designs, Mountain Khakis certainly has a lot to talk about. “We’re investing in our Merchandising program to really bring more spark and attention to MK on the floor,” said Jen Taylor, MK Director of Creative Development. “Our imagery, our branding elements, our color palette – our goal is to provide a program that supports an engaging, memorable experience for the customer, and dynamic sell-through for the retailer.”
As the company prepares for its 10th Anniversary year in 2013, their SS13 lineup also features limited-edition designs, with more to come in FW13. “Winter Market OR is going to be a blast as we celebrate our 10th anniversary!” proclaims Taylor. “Folks know the MK booth for its cozy feel and good time atmosphere. We promise to not disappoint for WMOR13 – our sights are set on making it the best show ever for MK!”
To preview MK’s Spring/Summer collection, download their SS13 Workbook here
http://www.mountainkhakis.com/pdfs/MK_SS13_Final_LowRes.pdf
To request sales program information from MK, email sales@mountainkhakis.com
To request media or marketing information from MK, email jen.taylor@mountainkhakis.com
To access MK’s Dealer Intranet portal, go to www.mountainkhakis.com/dealers
