Edmund Hillary high-end retail starts its ascent

Clothing brand Edmund Hillary was inspired by the famous mountaineer. Photo / Supplied

Specialist outdoor clothing retail store Edmund Hillary, bearing the signature of the legendary Kiwi adventurer, has opened its flagship store at Auckland's new Commercial Bay as part of its ascent into global markets.

It's the second store for the high-end brand but will be its basecamp, after its first 'pop up' store opened at Queenstown Airport last year on the back of its 2018 brand debut at NZ Fashion Week. Sir Edmund's grandchildren featured in the launch.

Its also a strong vote of confidence in the product appeal of a winter range, given Auckland's temperate climate.

But concept co-founder and managing director Mike Hall-Taylor, who worked closely with Sir Edmund's son and mountaineer Peter Hillary to develop the brand, said he didn't think the warmer climate will impact sales.

While Queenstown was an obvious launch location for the clothing line, Auckland is intended as the first of several stores through both New Zealand and UK markets.

"It's really a Kiwis-Brit thing where there is strong recognition of the Hillary name." He said the intention is to launch stores in England, including one in London.

Channels

The range is also sold on a wholesale basis, in NZ through the Merino Collection store in Auckland Airport's international departures terminal and South Island Ballantynes department stores and in the UK through The Rake and Jules B, amongst other stores.

The clothing is inspired by clothing worn by Sir Edmund on his 1953 Mt Everest climb, when he and Tenzing Norgay became the first to reach the summit of the mountain.

Marketing director Clare Hall-Taylor said while the plans were for expansion, the store hoped to build on the move back to locally designed products by Kiwis, with a brand that offered a compelling story.

She said the link back to the Hillary family, which remains very involved, and social enterprise values - 2 per cent of sales go to Sir Edmund's Himalayan Trust - will appeal to a cross-section of Kiwis.

Just prior to the covid-19 lockdown, Sir Edmund's grandsons George and Alex Hillary took part in the Summit Challenge, a challenge to climb, hike or bike the height of Everest, to raise funds for health and education project in Nepal.

The challenge went ahead with 220 challengers who raised over $36,800 for the Himalayan Trust.

Due to Covid-19, many people who had planned to complete the challenge on hikes
instead finished off in their own neighbourhoods.

- BusinessDesk