Scandinavian global retailer Helly Hansen is rolling out a new store concept across Australia and New Zealand, which began with an opening at Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre in December 2022.
Speaking exclusively with Ragtrader, Helly Hansen chief sales officer Cameron Mahoney revealed there are two more of these new concept stores on the way in 2023, with the next launching in Christchurch, New Zealand and another in New South Wales.
Mahoney said the new concept is based on Scandinavian minimalist design, which takes inspiration from Helly Hansen global.
“So you'll see a lot more of that inspiration; a lot of stripped back fixtures, open high ceiling, feature wall, lighting - compared to our traditional retail concept,” Mahoney said.
The traditional retail concept, according to Mahoney, features a more classical square box layout with graphics and bright colours and emotive brand imagery.
“Whereas this is more charcoal walls with plywood that lets the product do the talking, rather than having imagery everywhere. A bit cleaner.”
The 112 sqm fit out in Chadstone incorporates natural plywood interiors, contrasted against charcoal backdrops, modern down lighting and hero feature walls, with design touch points created by Sydney based design agency, North + North. The store will sell a curated mix of its range across outdoorwear, including hiking, skiing and sailing.
The Chadstone opening follows a successful rollout of six retail stores across eastern Australia - a mix between outlets and premium retail - with the new Chadstone store being the first of its kind.
Prior to the launch of Chadstone, Helly Hansen opened a retail concept in Chatswood, Sydney. Mahoney said this was part of their research and development for the new store concept.
“It's not a traditional counter at the back of the store; it's a multi sided counter,” Mahoney said. “So you can serve customers from either side to make it a little bit more engaging - it's not so much a transactional relationship.
“Customers come in, they might want to talk about the products, so you can work with customers in the middle. Like a showroom.”
Mahoney said the choosing of new sites is buoyed by eCommerce delivery data.
“We look at fishing where the fish are,” Mahoney said. “Our brand resonates with people that are more at the higher end of the income pay scale. So places like Mosman in Sydney, that would be our number one location for eCommerce.
“We're looking at our eCommerce data to really help drive where the demand for the brand is, and then also where we've had traditional success with partnered retail, such as David Jones or a specialty ski or sailing stores.”
Mahoney added that, initially, the brand has its eyes set on cooler climates.
“In Melbourne, the climate resonates better for us being a Scandinavian brand, where eight or nine months of the year, everyone's in warm gear. We have a lot of that in our range and product offerings.
“Melbourne, New Zealand, and Tasmania makes sense from the brand point of view. Sydney from that sailing aspect - that's where our head office is located - and, as I said, our top three eCommerce territories are around Sydney.
“It makes sense to have another store in Sydney.”
Helly Hansen is stocked at 16 David Jones stores, and is also sold through The Iconic, along with a collection of specially selected wholesale accounts throughout Australia. Mahoney said the brand undertakes a lot of product segmentation across its distribution network.
“So the premium stores will have a different assortment than our outlets, or even a different assortment to David Jones,” he said. “David Jones has got a different assortment to The Iconic. So it's a very curated way that we distribute the products so that each channel doesn't cannibalize each other.”
Behind the brand
Helly Hansen has been distributed and sold in Australia for at least 45 years according to Mahoney, with an overall history of 146 years.
Part of the building of its brand value is partnering with places that resonate with Helly Hansen. Mahoney said the outdoorwear brand has partnered with over 430 ski resorts globally to supply their uniforms.
“Funnily enough, ski is our number one category all year round,” Mahoney said. “We sell just as much ski in January than we do in July or August. Because, again, we're a brand that resonates with the customers that are going to Aspen or Chamonix or for the European holidays in our summer.
“Helly Hansen is known for its quality, especially in the snow.”
In Australia, Helly Hansen has partnerships with Falls Creek, Mount Hoffman and Perisher. It is also partnered with high end ski resorts including Aspen, Chamonix, Sun Valley, Mont Blanc, and Fernie.
“It's quite a statement when you travel to those resorts and you see everyone - from the lift staff, ski school, ski patrol, search and rescue - all in Helly.
“Our position is a brand trusted by professionals.”
As well as ski, the brand has partnerships with around 30 professional search and rescue teams, including Royal National Lifeboat Institute in the UK, Norwegian People’s Aid, and Squamish Search and Rescue in Canada.
Helly Hansen operates 3,000+ stores across Europe, Asia, America, and AU NZ.