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.