Rtic ventures out into brick and mortar
Online retailer rebrands to highlight expanded range of outdoor offerings
Rtic Coolers plans to open at least 20 retail stores, including a 10,000-squarefoot flagship store in Cypress this fall, as it joins a growing number of online retailers embracing the tangible perks of brick and mortar.
Customers have long visited the front room of Cypress-based Rtic’s local warehouse to buy products. But as the company expands beyond coolers and drinkware — it’s also changing its name to Rtic Outdoors — that space is no longer adequate.
“It’s just too crowded. We
don’t have enough room to hold all our products,” CEO and cofounder John Jacobsen said. “We don’t even have our big coolers in the store here because we don’t have the room.”
The flagship store is slated to open Nov. 1 at 20510 Hempstead Road, Suite 100. It will be cattycorner to Rtic’s current location and attached to some 253,000 square feet of new warehouse space, providing a total of 373,000 square feet of warehouse space in Cypress.
Rtic already has a store in Atlanta that’s ready to be opened as soon as employees are hired. It plans to open at least 20 more in the next few years around the U.S., in key markets that could include Orlando, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver.
“You don’t want to go in and build a store at every corner,” Jacobsen said, “but having it as a destination place.”
Rtic launched nearly three years ago as an online retailer focused on rotationally molded coolers, a heavy-duty product that Austin-based Yeti had popularized and transformed into an upscale, outdoorsy status symbol. Rtic then expanded into drinkware and travel accessories, and plans to soon unveil new products that include grills, tents, chairs, backpacks and more.
Its expansion into the travel accessories duffel bags and hydration packs reflects an overall growth area for the outdoor market.
According to the NPD Group, outdoor market sales for travel packs have increased 5 percent, duffel bags have increased 3 percent and fanny/waist packs have increased 9 percent.
Those are retail bright spots even as overall sales decline. Sales within the core U.S. outdoor industry decreased 4 percent year-over-year to $18.9 billion in the 12-month period that ended in April.
Matt Powell, sports industry analyst for the NPD Group, said companies like Rtic and Yeti (which has likewise introduced duffel bags) are trying to diversify their offerings. Both saw nice growth from their cooler sales; however, they build such highquality coolers that customers won’t need replacements for many years.
“How do you leverage that loyalty?” he asked. “Well, you sell them other things.”
It also gives customers an opportunity to see and touch a product before buying it. Similarly, the online prescription glasses and sunglasses retailer Warby Parker and online men’s retailer Bonobos have opened stores across the country to help customers select fits and styles.
Jacobsen said the Rtic flagship store will show products in a real-world environment, such as tailgating on the bed of a truck. There will be live demonstrations and, here in Cypress, a nod to the Astros and Texans sports teams.
The stores will have knowledgeable staff and exclusives that might not be available online. Part of the physical footprint will be dedicated to returned items that Rtic resells at a discount. And if a shopper doesn’t want to carry home a large cooler, Rtic can ship it for free.
“It was a natural progression to continue expanding Rtic as a national and global brand,” cofounder and twin brother Jim Jacobsen said.
Rtic’s growing footprint includes 330,000 square feet of warehouse space in Pittston, Pa., Fresno, Calif., Chicago and Atlanta. It has partnered with a third party to open smaller retail stores in Mexico.
As for U.S. destination stores, Yeti took a similar approach in Austin. It opened a flagship store last year with a stage for live music, an indoor/outdoor bar, a product customization station and an array of Yeti’s “historical” artifacts.