Woodland to launch camping gear, more backpacks
Woodland, an outdoor brand known for its shoes, is launching a line of camping gear and expanding its range of backpacks, taking the battle to rivals like homegrown Wildcraft India Pvt Ltd.
While the camping gear products are aimed at a niche segment and could contribute 4-5% of total revenue in the future, backpacks are becoming a core category and could account for 10-15% over time, a company executive said.
Currently, 50-60% of overall revenue at the Aero Groupowned company comes from footwear, 30% from apparel and 15% from accessories.
Delhi-based Woodland’s new camping line will include tents that can be fitted onto the roofs of cars, foldable camping chairs, regular tents and sleeping bags.
“We’ve recently partnered with MTV Roadies and these are the kind of products we have tested with participants there. We will be launching this in the next four to six months in various stores,” Harkirat Singh, managing director of Woodland, said in a telephone interview.
The rooftop tents imported from the US will cost ₹1-2 lakh while regular on-ground tents will cost ₹10,000-20,000. Sleeping bags will be priced at around ₹5,000 and the expanded backpack line will cost ₹3,000-6,000.
“The outdoor accessories and gear market is definitely growing; no doubt about it. It started with gym wear and then it led to backpacks and then to camping gear. The beauty of this is the category of people who are spending on this are the upper echelon who are not very worried about price,” said Sreedhar Prasad, partner, KPMG India.
Woodland is widening its collection of backpacks with features such as water resistance, a headset compartment and a whistle for use in case the person using it is lost in a remote location.
The company used to sell its backpacks only at a few stores earlier, but will now look at taking the new collection to most of its 600 stores.