Mammut CEO Heiko Schäfer has revealed that the popularity of the brand within the Gen Z-led “gorpcore” movement will not influence the direction of Mammut following his first six months in the role. In an exclusive interview with our sister publication Outdoor Industry Compass, Schäfer explains: “We are not a fashion brand.”
Schäfer admits that the new generation of Outdoor Apparel consumers is a “rapidly growing consumer segment” and one which “wants to look good, of course, but they also want products that are technically outstanding, that give them the protection and the feeling of the mountains.”
Instead, it is this drive for technical performance capabilities which will drive Mammut forward from now on, as it seeks to provide gear for the sector it has identified as “the outdoor performers,” focusing on the product.
“We have clearly defined the product categories in which we see disproportionately strong growth potential,” explains Schäfer. Adding: “It’s about finding a balance between categories that we haven’t penetrated enough today and a better balance between innovation and commerciality. Our previous product range was set up in such a way that we were very strong in innovation and perhaps slightly neglected the commercial basis, which every retail partner needs from us. That’s where we’re going to strengthen the offer.”
Essentially, however, Schäfer sees the future in remembering the origins of Mammut as a mountain sports brand: “We don’t want to give up our roots. We want to ensure that our ropes can once again be found in every sporting goods and mountaineering store, even in places where they might not be found today.”
Read the full and wide-ranging interview with Heiko Schäfer, who is also joined by Mammut’s COO Felix Münnich as they discuss the core markets beyond Europe, Mammut’s DTC and e-commerce strategy, digitization, and why Münnich doesn’t like the word “luxury,” over at OIC now.
