Dive Brief:

• As part of a continuing investment in the greater Chicago area, outdoor retailer Arc’teryx has opened its third store in the city since 2021, according to a press release sent to Retail Dive.
• The Canadian-based high-performance mountain gear and apparel brand opened a 4,788 square foot store at Chicago’s Oakbrook Center, which marks the company’s 28th location in the U.S. The brand’s Rush Street location opened in 2021 followed by its Bucktown outlet store.
• The Oakbrook Center store features the company’s first ReBIRD service center in Chicago, a 115-square foot area that offers light-touch repairs such as new zipper sliders and the taping of small holes.

Dive Insight:

Arc’teryx has been able to grow its Chicago business in part due to community involvement that includes partnerships and local events. This weekend the brand will co-sponsor All Rise Chicago, an experimental program aimed at making climbing more accessible to marginalized communities. All Rise is working with Arc’teryx and Braindead to unite the community through an all-day climbing festival at local gym, Brooklyn Boulders.  

“The new Chicago Oakbrook Center store underlines Arc’teryx’s commitment to Chicago’s outdoor community,” Delaney Schweitzer, chief commercial officer, said in a statement. “This marks an important step on our journey to expand our retail fleet and to provide the highest possible level of service to our guests. Looking ahead, 2023 will see Arc’teryx store openings across North America, in both communities we know, as well as new communities we’re meeting for the first time.”

Despite stubborn inflation and economic headwinds that are affecting numerous retail companies, brands in the active outdoor space seem to be holding their own.

“Two of the lasting social changes we have seen since the pandemic are social distancing and people feeling safer outdoors,” said Matt Powell, adviser for Spurwink River. “Climate change has made people more respectful to the outdoors. So people who love the outdoors want to express that love in what they wear. Also many of the outdoor brands are very committed to sustainability. All of this rolls up to outdoor brands thriving.”

Based in North Vancouver, B.C., Arc’teryx has been increasing its worldwide footprint through a robust hybrid retail strategy of digital, retail partnerships and branded brick-and-mortar locations. The company currently has 160 branded stores and 2,400 retail locations. Its digital business in the U.S. represents 37% of total company market share with Canada representing 19%, according to data firm Similarweb.

“Arc'teryx has been one of the fastest growing outerwear brands over the past few years with a large emphasis on digital DTC strategy,” Sneha Pandey, insights manager at Similarweb, said. “The brand's global traffic grew 27.3% year over year from 2021 to 2022, outperforming well-seasoned outerwear industry competitors like The North Face, which grew 10.8%, and Patagonia, which grew 14.3% over the same time period.”