A Canadian cycling apparel brand launched by several former Arc'teryx managers has rapidly gained distribution in European and Asian countries. 7mesh, which has a distinctively clean design, already reached ten markets when it started earlier this year, and a few more should be added shortly.
The president at 7mesh Industries is Tyler Jordan, who left Arc'teryx after 18 years in 2012, the last eight of them as chief executive. The apparel company's director of sales is Bobby Howell, who joined last year after nearly two years as brand manager at Assos North America, but who previously spent three years in various functions at Arc'teryx.
Calum Davidson, the vice president of operations at 7mesh, was formerly the director for supply chain at the outdoor company. Ian Martin, the vice president for research and development, previously spent 12 years in design at Arc'teryx. The cycling apparel company's director of marketing is Brian Goldstone, another transfer from Arc'teryx. Conroy Nachtigall, who spent ten years designing the top Arc'teryx Veilance range, has a long-term commitment to 7mesh as well.
The managers at 7mesh are eager cyclists who often commuted together on two wheels on the Sea to Sky Highway between North Vancouver, where Arc'teryx is based, to the smaller inland town of Squamish, British Columbia. This is where 7mesh was established, about halfway between Vancouver and Whistler. The commute between the mountains and the coastal city gave the riders plenty of time to appreciate the need for cycling garments providing adequate climate and moisture management under a variety of conditions.
The name for the brand is derived from Skwx?wú7mesh, which is the name of Squamish in Coast Salish, the area's first nation language. “Mesh” is Coast Salish for “people.” The company is owned by the employees and garments are made in southern China.
The concept for 7mesh is not unlike that of Arc'teryx, focused on function and uncluttered design. Jordan reckons that the team has a card to play in the cycling apparel business because this category still has some way to catch up with others in sports apparel, although there have been significant improvements in the last few years.
Apart from the U.S. and Canada, 7mesh is sold through distributors in Japan and South Korea, and through sales agents in the U.K., Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Denmark. Norway is the only European country where the brand works with a distributor, Norsk Fjellsport, the partner for Arc'teryx in Norway. The distributor in Japan, Sunwest, deals with Arc'teryx as well. So does the brand's agency in Switzerland, Gecko, but 7mesh points out that the person in charge of leading the cycling apparel brand in these countries is the not the same as the person in charge of Arc'teryx.
