Macpac planning expansion, new CEO

[wayno]

http://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/view/pag ... expansion/

Alex Brandon, the UK-born 39-year-old CEO of Macpac is just shy of 12 months in the job but says there is plenty of growth occurring in the outdoor industry and the 40-year-old company he heads plans to grow with it.

[Ent]

Interesting article with the key change summarized by the following extract from the linked article.

Brandon intends to re-focus Macpac’s direction on “authentic, technical” gear after the company digressed into more clothing lines in recent years. “Absolutely we’re staying authentic and technical. We don’t want to become a clothing store,”

Assuming that the CEO stays true to his word then we might be seeing items designed for more bushwalking than the backpacking travel market, which will be a good thing given the Mountain Design and Kathmandu trend towards street items sold as serious gear with very high prices. Be interesting to see if more of the classic Macpac designs resurface with a modern make-over in materials.

It is great to see One Planet re-entering the technical clothing side of the market again after a long absence. I would like to think it is because many of us are realizing that quality costs money, and money worth paying, if the item is designed and built right.

On the recent OLT nine day trip (swim) it was worthwhile noting what gear started to fail and how.

1. Expensive wet weather pants from Mont and RAB experienced the same design fault as cheap Rainbird pants, that being fracturing of the material along the seams where the tape reinforcing provided an stress point edge. This failure is not due to extreme abrasion but simple walking which suggests your huge purchase price buys you maybe ten to twelve days of use.

2. Once again waterproof lining in boots broke down in the AKU, Keen, and Scarpa models with the all leather Scarpa performing well in this regard. It appears that waterproof synthetic boots is a myth.

3. As expected waterproof socks remained so for only a day before the membrane broke down.

4. After many days of rain the DWR failed on the Goretex and eVent materials, but the Montane jacket did fare better. I for one have found so called DWR re-proofing products an expensive con so what do you do?

5. And of course Sea to Summit gaiters stitching failed. The One Planet gaiters sailed through without an issue.

6. But before steveh posts the buckle on a One Planet Styx failed to be teenage proof but no issue as I carry a spare buckle.

7. Stitching on a very expensive Mammut Windproof top failed at just about every point while a cheaper Kathmandu top stayed together. It appears that Mammut stitching can not handle the four way stretch properties of the the Polartech material. The material itself is brilliant.

All the above items are bushwalking grade and price so not a case of cheap gear failing the test. The Overland Track is a track walk that normally (falls aside) should be easy on gear but the above suggests the huge purchase prices do not buy the claimed performance and life.

Cheers

[wayno]

for some types of bushwalking at least, gear designed more for hunting or farm work that is generally pretty robust may be the way to go. most bushwalking gear now seems to be made to be light first and durable last.... people who can afford it can often afford to replace it. maybe thats they they keep changing the colours to encourage people to change with the fashions before they find out how fast the gear falls apart
stretchy garments can be legion for failing at the seams or in the seam sealing...

[blacksheep]

wow

[wayno]

interesting, new CEO from Trelise Cooper to Macpac.... be interesting to see the new designs. lots of frills and pretty flowery patterns....

makes me wonder how some of these executives transition from different industries...
so the put a photo of him on a mountain bike to make him look like a genuine outdoors enthusiast....
how does he really know good technical gear when they are trying to design their own?
theres companies out there with MASSIVE amounts of experience to draw on in designing technical gear. and they dont have execs who come from a womens fashion designer house...

[frenchy_84]

Why does he need to know good technical designs? That's what they employee designers for. You don't hire designers to run large companies and you don't hire CEOs to design the product. What you should be looking at is whether there was improvement/growth at the previous company

[wayno]

well according to him the company havent been designing technical gear and that they have been designing clothes.
so how did he arrive at that conclusion? werent the company already supposed to be making technical gear?
how does he shift the company to making technical gear especially if thats what they were supposed to be making all along?
does he have to change staff to get the expertise to start making the technical gear?
who makes the decision on what is technical gear?.. and how can they know they are making technical gear if they havent been making technial gear all along according to his conclusion?

[blacksheep]

I was amazed to read that article. stunned.

[matagi]

for some types of bushwalking at least, gear designed more for hunting or farm work that is generally pretty robust may be the way to go. most bushwalking gear now seems to be made to be light first and durable last.... people who can afford it can often afford to replace it. maybe thats they they keep changing the colours to encourage people to change with the fashions before they find out how fast the gear falls apart
stretchy garments can be legion for failing at the seams or in the seam sealing...

That's why I look to other sports for some of my gear - sailing, skiing and mountain biking for example. All of them make technical gear which can translate quite well to walking. I will probably end up getting some snowboarding powder pants for my wet weather overpants, for example. I guess it helps that I am not a weight weenie (cycling term for someone obsessed with saving weight on gear).

As far as Macpac gear goes, between us hubby and I have a reasonable selection - Cascade 75l pack, 2 sleeping bags, both of us have Prophet jackets and hubby also has Prophet pants, I have a down vest and we both own a truckload of Macpac merino in the form of undies, t-shirts and long sleeved tops.

I do like some of Macpac's "streetwear" however. Hubby and I each own a Sabre soft shell, which looks quite stylish and works well when going out on a cold night. I noticed a very nice long jacket/short coat in the Melbourne store on the weekend, which I reckon would work a treat on a cold wet night in town. Although I wouldn't take it walking.

[matagi]

I was amazed to read that article. stunned.

What aspect of the article stunned and amazed you?

[Nuts]

I was amazed to read that article. stunned.

What aspect of the article stunned and amazed you?

Yeah, why were you amazed at the article (I thought you were amazed at ENTs post about his failed gear)

[Strider]

makes me wonder how some of these executives transition from different industries...

Because the underlying business principles are identical - only the product is different.

[Strider]

I was amazed to read that article. stunned.

What aspect of the article stunned and amazed you?

One might presume because it is an entirely different direction for the business, compared with prior to Cam's recent departure. Perhaps?

[doogs]

I was amazed to read that article. stunned.

What aspect of the article stunned and amazed you?

Yeah, why were you amazed at the article (I thought you were amazed at ENTs post about his failed gear)

Lol. It was an Ent rant about gear without a dig at Macpac, in a Macpac thread. I was pretty amazed myself to be honest Not that Cam is associated with Macpac anymore..

[Ent]

My issue is with street wear designed for backpacking been sold as bushwalking suitable. Sure in benign conditions it works ok but nine days of typical Tassie weather and you begin to understand and respect "proper" gear.

Merino is a good point. Sure it is great in keeping smell down but longevity is not its strong point. Most boxer underwear is terrible cut riding up in a way that most males do not like. Icebreaker original NZ made boxers were great but then the design changed and the male models started to go naked which suggested it was more about marketing than use.

As for the impact a CEO can make this is very important. Tarptent and Hilleberg tents CEOs come from rather different viewpoints so their product focus are very different. People can chose what approach suits them. Too many CEOs have no direction instead chasing profits rather than focusing on something and doing it well.

Once Kathmandu and Mountain Designs had great walking gear but then became clothing stores so lost their technical focus. They still charged huge prices until even the terminally loyal customers realized that their gear was not suitable for bushwalking. To their credit once the clothing influence moved on they are working hard to regain the technical approach.

Technical is often more about considered design honed in years of gradual improvement rather than trendy materials and bleeding edge "break throughs". A truly technical manufacturer should have long run models exhibiting continuous improvements with maybe a few out of the square designs.

A classic is the Trangia. New lighter versions are around but the basic design is almost unchanged. Look at an A King pack and the latest One Planet in you will see the improvements along with unchanged approach that has worked well. My favourite bushwalking socks are not from a trendy technical company but from a NZ company making bush socks for outdoor workers. I have given up on trendy technical inner socks and now use Wilderness Wear ones.

I sincerely hope that MacPac can find it roots and narrow its focus back to well tested and refined products. Will this happen? Time will tell but at least they have stated their intention and recognized their mistakes.

Regards.

[Strider]

Too many CEOs have no direction instead chasing profits rather than focusing on something and doing it well.

Any business that is not focused, or does not doing anything well, has a lot of other things to consider before generating a profit even comes up.

[Hallu]

This is clearly a good thing. So far I wasn't impressed at all by MacPac clothing. Their merino clothes are too inferior to Icebreaker, and their design is mostly bland. Everybody praise their packs, sleeping bags, tents and other technical gear. They should focus on that, it's a good decision.

[wayno]

maybe its a focus on where most of the money is being made

[wayno]

depends how you design the gear, some companies they give the gear to people in the most extreme conditions and design the gear to function explicitly in those conditions using the feedback they get from numerous people using the prototype gear in the field...
if you put a limit on your budget for designing the gear then that limits your ability to make exacting gear.
some companies want to exceed everyone elses standards,
i have garments with 20 stitches per inch in it, few companies put that high a stitch count in the gear.
you have a decent hood, it closes in around most of your face leaving little exposed to the elements in a storm,
the peak brim is stuff and doesnt flap around in the wind.
its vented adequately,
the dwr lasts more than five minutes in the rain and the fabric doesnt stay saturated when the rain stops...
you can move as your supposed to in it,
it doesnt fit lke a tent
and it doesnt constrict.
the pockets are the right size and in the right place
the adjustment cords can be tightened and released easily with one hand,
its the toughest fabric around but not too heavy...
basically the garment is virtually devoid of numerous nagging issues you've found on previous garments you have used in the past and you appreciate that about it. you love it because you find you're not being distracted by the niggles and you're getting on with enjoying your trip..