4 Feb 2013

Kathmandu eyes offshore opportunities

7:01 am on 4 February 2013

Kathmandu is eyeing opportunities in several continents, but only after it gets its business in Britain back in shape.

The listed outdoor clothing and equipment retailer is currently restructuring its struggling business there, reducing its focus on retail stores, in favour of expanding its online presence.

Chief executive Peter Halkett said once the model is perfected, Kathmandu hopes to use it to get a foothold in several new markets including Canada, the west coast of the United States, South Africa, South America, as well as in Europe.

Kathmandu is investigating other markets, but has not yet committed to where it will set up its next trial.

However, Mr Halkett said Kathmandu has no plans to take the brand to Asia, just yet anyway.

He said Asia is a very challenging market which is not very developed in terms of hard core outdoor activities and it differs in terms of culture and product requirements which require different colour, fit and style.

"I think we'd much rather go to a market where we understand better and we can leverage our existing products, rather than have to create a whole new set for a quite a different market."

After a strong first half sales performance, the retailer is expecting half year profits to be between $9.5 - $10.5 million, up from $6 million for the same period last year.