The Final Reveal

American Perceptions

The American's Volker interviewed while completing 7 days of glacier skiing.

What's Sierra's brand reputation? Very good, excellent quality, well-designed "backcountry stuff", same league as North Face, Patagonia, or Marmot.

What stands out about Sierra? Anything memorable? Tents! Top quality, I've been using them for decades. 

They lied - the advertised weight of the tent was not correct!

Outdoor gear must haves? It's got to be light weight, durable, functional, size/compactness, ease of use, good quality, color (female response), price (good value), sexy (I'm hot you want me - female response again), ethical/greenness is a nice to have but not decisive.

Emotional attachment to your gear? They are like my best friends; I will never do away with them if they are shattered. Trust, memories, souvenirs - it went with me to _____ places.

Why do you go into the backcountry? Escapism, camaraderie, exploration, exercise, health factor, personal achievement, endorphin high, beauty, communicating with nature, union with nature, sense of peace, bragging rights, aesthetics, experimenting with new gear.

Thanks Volker!

What do People Say About Sierra?

I know a few ODPU's (outdoor pursuits) whose brains were worth picking for their insight into Sierra Designs. Here's some of their comments about Sierra Designs:

Lesley - good quality stuff, but a bit out dated. When I think of Sierra I think of a brand my dad would have used.  

Jennifer - We don't really buy there product because we think Canadian tire brand.

Volker - Expensive high-end stuff. Volker's sense of backcountry gear is that it has to work. It's got to be waterproof, warm, and durable. He's very loyal to his tent. He paid $40 for it used and it's just been the best tent. He loves heading into the backcountry because it's the one place he can get away from the daily grind.

Knut - Expensive fancy stuff. Knut had some other insights into his gear and going into the back country. The backcountry is a place to find peace and tranquility. You can hear things you don't normally hear. His tent is essentially a place to keep his sleeping bag out of the dirt. A strong waterproof bottom is key. His sleeping bag has to have lots of elbow room especially in the winter, because you've got to keep all your beer and gear in the bag so that it doesn't freeze. Feather sleeping bags are definitely light and warm, but if they get wet, they are a bugger to get dry.

Taglines

Here is a list of possible Sierra Taglines:

Built to perform

Equipped to perform

Performance outdoor gear

The essential adventure gear

Essential mountain gear

Intelligent adventure gear

Geared up for the outdoors

Geared up for adventure

Geared up for nature

3S Printers

Brand Position:

Your art comes alive on our canvas. We take the ordinary and make it look extraordinary. 3S is the number one emission free press with UV curing that creates fast superior results even with vegetable based inks. Photographs are so vivid that a grain of sand on a beach or a champagne bubble in a glass can be seen with the naked eye. We have the technology and we know how to turn your creative ideas into a work of art without impacting the environment. 

Metropolitan

Brand Position:

Printing has been our passion since 1977. Ever since then, we have been leading the print world by being first; the first to use a computer to plate system, the first to focus on environmentally sound printing practices and the first to use UV stochastic printing at 10 microns. We rival any printer, because our work boasts astonishing colour and exceptional finishing without damaging the environment. Today we still remain small at heart, and forever fascinated with emerging technology and recreating beautiful colour.

Hemlock

Brand Position

We are a great printer because of our great people who turn our clients vision into visual masterpieces. Seven presses, a full service bindery and countless industry awards, has all come from the family of Hemlock employees who have the same love for printing and passion for craftsmanship that Dick Kouwenhoven established 40 years ago. We consider every detail of your printed piece from Pre-press to binding to fulfillment because we want that final printed piece to be better than you imagined.

Revised Week 4 Sierra BP and MB

Sierra Week 4

Mood Boards

Sierra Today - Who do you want to be?

Sierra - Where the brand needs to be:

Simplify your life

The simpler side of life

Brand Positioning Statement

Every outdoor experience is different from the last, but to an outdoor enthusiast, their sole purpose is to connect with nature and leave behind the stresses of urban life. As an award winning manufacturer of alpine equipment, Sierra Designs enables alpine athletes of all levels, to experience the peacefulness of sleeping under the stars, kayaking through shimmering lakes, or hiking to beautiful mountain meadows. Sierra Designs engages the nature lover to enjoy the simpler things in life and to protect the places where they play, in a way that is safer, dryer, and greener.

For the outdoor enthusiast every mountain experience should be better than the last. Sierra Designs is more than just an award winning designer of alpine equipment. They inspire alpine athletes of all levels to experience and protect the breathtaking places where they play in a manner that is safer, dryer, and greener.

SIERRA DESIGNS - Brand Pillars

What are the most important messages that need to be communicated about Sierra Designs:

• Participates in a cause that is relevant and contemporary. Sierra Designs is seeking the world and partnering with the experts to produce environmentally friendly products and bring about environmental change.
• Strong sense of community - very engaged with the target market and works to be inclusive of a wide range of athletes that includes the extreme alpine athlete to the weekend warrior (Evident in the Adventure Stories, Green Partners).
• Build exceptional tents and sleeping bags and have sourced new markets to sell their products (Military).
• Thought through the adventure trip and engineered products to meet the demands of the outdoor enthusiast.
• They are the target market. They live their personal dream of connecting with the outdoors.

SIERRA DESIGNS - Conclusions

Based on the SWOT analysis here are the key conclusions about the Sierra Designs brand:

• Move from being perceived as a middle of the road brand (SD is neither cutting edge or bottom of the pack)
  
• From the outside looking in, the Sun Capital Ownership does not appear to be a good fit. SD is just 1 in a 100 plus companies where profit is the #1 driver. It gives the perception that SD has lost sight of it's target market.
• Move from just being another "Green" company to a motivator of change; protecting the places where they play and connecting green high performance products with high performance athletes.
• Move from being perceived as the cheap underdog to a technical innovator of the best outdoor products on the market - tents and sleeping bags are getting accolades, but the SD apparel is not all that highly regarded. GORP and Apparel Review

SIERRA DESIGNS SWOT

Sierra Designs began their journey in 1965 when George Marks and Bob Swanson, from Richmond, CA, designed the original 60/40 parka and double mummy sleeping bag. Over the last 40 plus years Sierra Designs has focused their efforts on highly technical tents and sleeping bags, and apparel for the outdoor enthusiast. Today their big focus is towards manufacturing products that not only technical are but also environmentally friendly. For example, all polartec fleece is made from recycled pop and water bottles, hard shell jackets use solvent free membranes and PVC-free tape. This is getting them accolades from the outdoor community, with awards from National Geographic, Rock & Ice Climbing magazine, Outside magazine, and Backpacker magazine. 

Strengths

• Egalitarian focus - they create and design products for high performance adventures, but they want to inspire others to experience places untouched by man, like hiking to spectacular mountain vistas or poking your nose outside your tent to a shimmering alpine lake.
  
• Protect Where We Play - to practice and promote a harmonious relationship between their business and the outdoors. Living and working so that they don't jeopardize social, economic, and natural resources. They are accomplishing this in the design and manufacturing of their products, their business processes that reduce cost and waste, and the promotion of environmentally friendly programs & organizations.
• Awarded & Recognized by the outdoor community - people love can't say enough about their tents & sleeping bags. They are winning over the sustainability supporters.
• Owned by a large corporation - Sun Capital - a private equity company that owns 100's of brands, including Kelty, Royal Robbins, Slumberjack, & Wenzel Co. - enables them to have access to a larger pool of funds for R&D and international manufacturing facilities.
• Endorsements - their products were used by thrill seekers like Eric Larsen for his summit to the top of Mount Everest. Over the last 5-years they have been the key supplier of outdoor equipment to the US Armed Forces.
• Affordable - price points are typically middle of the road.

Weaknesses

• Ownership - created an enviroment where profitability is a key driver. Resulted in a more volume based focus, which decreases their ability to be creative and innovative. Because Sun Capital owns so many companies from varying industries, Sierra Designs just gets lost in the shuffle. 
  
• Perception - by the outdoor enthusiast is that Sierra Designs is weak and watered down (sold out to profits), not the best brand out there.

Opportunities

• Really leverage their Green Effects Program as they appear to be one of the few companies who are really pushing green construction.
• Of all the brands they are considered middle of the pack - not the most technical and not the least technical either. They have an opportunity to raise the bar and at least be considered better than North Face.
• Authentic - Are they really? Owned by a large organization and forced to be profit focused. They have an opportunity to renew the confidence of outdoor community that they have remained true to their brand, while being egalitarian.

Threats

• Declining economy may place Sierra under profit scrutiny by it's owners.
• Counterfeits and copy cats.

Arc'teryx EVOLUTION IN ACTION

Arc'teryx has been intriguing and winning the favour of the serious alpine athlete, ever since 1989 when Dave Lane, began obsessively labouring over every detail of the climbing harness. He began, what is now central to the Arc'teryx brand; to meticulously craft alpine equipment and apparel that fits the needs of the most demanding athlete.

STRENGTHS

- Solid award winning brand name based on highly technical products. Considered the #1 undisputed leader in technical apparel.

- Strong attention to detail (design, construction, and materials).

- Trademarked products - Looked past the status quo to design products that fit (gender and body specific) and are comfortable (sport enablers).

- Owned by the power house of sporting companies, Amer Sports Corp who owns Salomon, Wilson, Atomic, Suunto, Mavic, and Precor. The company is considered the #1 sports equipment company in the world, with distribution in 160 countries and 24,000 retailers world-wide.

WEAKNESSES

- Margins and Cost of Goods Sold: Are they too high-end and over priced for this economy? A comment was made in a Salomon presentation about looking to improve the Arc'teryx Cost of Goods Sold by balancing Asian and Cdn Sourcing. This has always been a concern for the outdoor enthusiasts; will there be a day when Arcteryx will be forced to water down their brand with lower quality materials and construction?

- Sustainability: an unwillingness to sacrifice technical performance. Majority of their products are derived from non-renewable resources, because they haven't found any acceptable replacements.

OPPORTUNITIES

- Be visible where it counts: use the Amer Sports Corp distribution channels to be selective with a focus on high share and high visibility (creates a sense of exclusivity). Note: the target market is outdoor enthusiasts 1) 18-34 2) 35-44 3) Male 62% 4) Female 38% 5) Avg. income $73K 6) Educated. 

- Technical Apparel and Equipment viewed by Amer as a growth area: anticipating a 10% growth in sales.

THREATS

- declining economy market growth in previous years may not be attained in the coming 2 to 5 years.

- counterfeits and competition copy cats.

- rising costs of raw materials, however, may become less of an issue with the economic downturn.