Kathmandu (company)

Kathmandu Holdings Limited is a transnational chain of retail stores, selling travel and adventure outdoor apparel and equipment. Kathmandu is a retailer of clothing and equipment for travel and adventure in New Zealand and Australia. It has 163 stores as at the end of July 2017: 47 in New Zealand, and 115 in Australia.[1]

Kathmandu outlet
Not to be confused with Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal.
Kathmandu
TypePublic
NZX: KMD
ASX: KMD
IndustryRetail
Founded1987 in Christchurch, New Zealand; 34 years ago
FoundersJan Cameron and John Pawson
Headquarters
Christchurch
,
New Zealand
Area served
New Zealand, Australia, United States, United Kingdom
Key people
Xavier Simonet (Group Chief Executive Officer of Kathmandu Holdings Ltd), Reuben Casey (Chief Executive Officer of Kathmandu), Michael Daly (Chief Executive Officer of Rip Curl), Amy Beck (President of Oboz) , David Kirk (Chairman of the Board)
ProductsOutdoor and travel apparel, gear and accessories
RevenueNZ$550.96 million
NZ$57.6 million
Number of employees
1144 full-time equivalent
SubsidiariesRip Curl and Oboz
Websitewww.kathmandu.co.nz

History

Kathmandu was founded by John Pawson[2][3][4] and Jan Cameron in 1987 following their sale of the ALP Sports Clothing label. The company set up its first retail outlets in Australia whilst manufacturing most of its original clothing range in New Zealand. Bernard Wicht, owner of Alpine Accoutrements, had been the main manufacturer for ALP Sports but continued to manufacture for Kathmandu and also partnered with Penny Hazard to set up the Bivouac chain of stores in New Zealand. In 1992 Kathmandu, having established a strong operation in Australia (with stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra) re-entered the New Zealand retail marketplace, purchasing Alps Sports from its receivers and brought Bernard Wicht in as the third shareholder joining the two existing shareholders John Pawson and Jan Cameron.

The company was in 2006 fully acquired by an Australasian private equity company for NZ$275 million, after Cameron had previously sold the other half of her business. Wicht was the owner of both the Fairydown and Macpac brands until 2015.[5]

Kathmandu was listed on the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges in November 2009.[6] From 2017, Kathmandu is the naming right sponsor for the Coast to Coast race in New Zealand.[7][8]

Kathmandu announced the purchase of Oboz Footwear in March 2018.[9] Oboz is an outdoor footwear brand based in Montana, U.S.,[10] which shares similar values of sustainability and product innovation with Kathmandu, as indicated by Oboz's support of charities like Trees for the Future and Small Woods, which both advocate for sustainable forestry.[11][12]

In February 2019, Kathmandu launched a new content series in partnership with National Geographic, Eco Traveller. The series explores eco-friendly travel and sustainable tourism. Eco Traveller is hosted by Nick Saxon from National Geographic.[13]

In October 2019, Kathmandu announced that it had entered into a binding agreement to buy 100% of Australian surf brand Rip Curl for A$350m.[14]

Wage subsidy controversy

Like other businesses operating in New Zealand, Kathmandu received sizeable financial support from the New Zealand government in the form of wage subsidies for its employees across New Zealand. This was part of a wider policy of economic stimulus for large and small businesses following the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting downturn in the economy. As part of this programme, Kathmandu Group received $6.2 million from New Zealand taxpayers in 2020. However, despite subsequently posting a profit of NZ $31.5 million, Kathmandu management refused to repay the funds even though the company had enjoyed a profitable year.[15] This decision was condemned on both sides of the political spectrum in New Zealand with the two major parties describing it as unfair.[16] Kathmandu's decision was also labelled as an example of the "waste" and "fraud" in the wage subsidy scheme treasury had earlier warned of.[15]

References
  1. "Kathmandu Stores". Kathmandu Investor Centre. 2012-08-14. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  2. "Man killed on mountain co-founder of Kathmandu". The Southland Times. 29 November 2008.
  3. Haggart, Matthew (4 December 2008). "Funeral for Kathmandu founder". Otago Daily Times.
  4. Shepheard, Nicola (30 November 2008). "Tragedy ends 'a great day'". The New Zealand Herald.
  5. Dann, Liam (15 September 2006). "Kathmandu clothing founder quits business for $275m". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  6. Slade, Maria (11 November 2009). "Aussies Kathmandu, Kiwis Kathmandon't". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  7. Smith, Tony (13 April 2016). "Coast to Coast race gets major new backer after apparel company signs a three-year naming rights deal". The Press. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  8. "Kathmandu Coast to Coast". Kathmandu. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  9. Reed, Emily (2018-03-21). "So Aussie Retailer Kathmandu Is Buying Oboz. What's Next?". Outside Online. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  10. "Oboz - Our Story". Oboz Footwear. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  11. "Hawthorn Project". Small Woods. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  12. "Oboz". trees.org. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  13. "Nat Geo & Kathmandu Launch Global Series On Eco-Tourism". B&T. 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  14. "Acquisition of Rip Curl and Equity Raising". New Zealand Stock Exchange. NZX. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  15. Fleming, Zac (28 November 2020). "Finance Minister Grant Robertson was warned removing wage subsidy cap risked 'waste, fraud'". Newshub. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  16. "'Morally wrong' – Party leaders at loggerheads over abuse of Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme by companies". One News. TVNZ. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
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