Mountain Designs
{{Short description|Australian outdoor clothing and equipment company}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Mountain Designs
| logo =
| type = Subsidiary
| industry = Retail
| fate =
| founded = {{Start date and age|1975}} in Brisbane, Australia
| founder = Rick White
| defunct =
| hq_location_city =
| hq_location_country =
| area_served =
| key_people =
| products = Outdoor clothing and equipment
| owner =
| parent = Spotlight Retail Group
}}
File:Mountain Designs clothes at Anaconda in Fyshwick March 2022.jpg store in Canberra]]
Mountain Designs is an outdoor clothing and equipment business based in Australia. They sell hiking, rockclimbing and general outdoor and recreational equipment. The company stocks a variety of international and local brands, as well as their own brands of clothing, accessories, sleepwear and bags.{{cite web |title=Mountain Designs |url=http://www.mountaindesigns.com/ |website=mountaindesigns.com |publisher=Spotlight Retail Group}}
History
The business was founded by Rick White in Brisbane in 1975.
By 2004, Mountain Designs was operating a factory, head office and factory outlet in Brisbane. It had 29 regular stores: three in Queensland, seven in New South Wales, six in Victoria, seven in Western Australia, one in South Australia, one in the Australian Capital Territory, and four in New Zealand. At this stage, the chain was still yet to open in Auckland.{{cite web |title=Store Locations - Australia and New Zealand |url=http://www.mountaindesigns.co.nz/Index.cfm?Action=staticContent&content=storeLocations |website=mountaindesigns.co.nz |publisher=Mountain Design Holdings |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041011035718/http://www.mountaindesigns.co.nz/Index.cfm?Action=staticContent&content=storeLocations |archive-date=11 October 2004}}
Mountain Designs pulled out of the New Zealand market in 2014, citing a slow economy and a saturated market.{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10356320/Outdoor-chain-closes-due-to-saturated-market|title=Outdoor chain closes due to 'saturated' market|last=Moir|first=Jo|date=6 August 2014|website=Stuff|access-date=28 December 2018}} At the time of the announcement, it had 12 stores around the country,{{cite news |title=Mountain Designs to exit NZ shores |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/10358413/Mountain-Designs-to-exit-NZ-shores |agency=Nelson Mail |publisher=stuff.co.nz |date=7 August 2014}} including three in Auckland.{{cite web |title=Stores in North Island - New Zealand |url=http://www.mountaindesigns.com/stores/state/north-island |website=mountaindesigns.com |publisher=Mountain Design Holdings |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601053858/http://www.mountaindesigns.com/stores/state/north-island |archive-date=1 June 2013}}
In January 2018, the chain closed all its stores and transitioned to online-only retailing; it had 45 stores across Australia by this time.{{cite news |last1=Koehn |first1=Emma |title=Mountain Designs to close a third of stores in face of "increased competition": Will retail store networks shrink in 2018? |url=https://www.smartcompany.com.au/industries/retail/mountain-designs-close-stores-increased-competition/ |accessdate=2 June 2018 |work=Smart Company |date=11 January 2018}} In March of that year, the Spotlight Retail Group purchased the company for an undisclosed sum.{{cite news |last1=Koehn |first1=Emma |title=Troubled outdoor retailer Mountain Designs bought by Spotlight Group |url=https://www.smartcompany.com.au/industries/retail/spotlight-group-buys-troubled-outdoor-retailer-mountain-designs/ |accessdate=2 June 2018 |work=Smart Company |date=29 March 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.spotlightgroup.com/medias/spotlight-group-holdings-media-release-26-03-2018.pdf?context=bWFzdGVyfHJvb3R8NzA0Mjh8YXBwbGljYXRpb24vcGRmfHJvb3QvaDg4L2gwZS85ODE4Njc3MjE1MjYyL3Nwb3RsaWdodC1ncm91cC1ob2xkaW5ncy1tZWRpYS1yZWxlYXNlLTI2LTAzLTIwMTgucGRmfGJiZmMxYzNmNTE3MDFmZjNlZWMyYTU0NzY3ZmNlYTViNmEyZDAyNDk4NTVlYTJlMDViMWUxNmU1MGExODAzM2M|title=Spotlight Group Holdings Acquires Aussie Retail Brand|date=26 March 2018|publisher=Spotlight Group Holdings|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228031402/https://www.spotlightgroup.com/medias/spotlight-group-holdings-media-release-26-03-2018.pdf?context=bWFzdGVyfHJvb3R8NzA0Mjh8YXBwbGljYXRpb24vcGRmfHJvb3QvaDg4L2gwZS85ODE4Njc3MjE1MjYyL3Nwb3RsaWdodC1ncm91cC1ob2xkaW5ncy1tZWRpYS1yZWxlYXNlLTI2LTAzLTIwMTgucGRmfGJiZmMxYzNmNTE3MDFmZjNlZWMyYTU0NzY3ZmNlYTViNmEyZDAyNDk4NTVlYTJlMDViMWUxNmU1MGExODAzM2M|archive-date=28 December 2018|url-status=live|accessdate=2 June 2018}}
In April 2019, Mountain Designs relaunched its e-commerce website. It also began to sell a selection of its range through about 60 of Spotlight's Anaconda outdoor stores.{{Cite web|url=https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/mountain-designs-relaunches-online-201904|title=Mountain Designs relaunches online|last=Blake|first=Dean|date=11 April 2019|website=Inside Retail|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416052320/https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/mountain-designs-relaunches-online-201904|archive-date=16 April 2019|url-status=live|access-date=16 April 2019}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.mountaindesigns.com/ Official website]
{{Retailers in New Zealand}}
Category:Clothing brands of Australia
Category:Clothing retailers of Australia
Category:Australian companies established in 1975
Category:Companies based in Brisbane
Category:Defunct retail companies of New Zealand
Category:Sporting goods retailers of Australia
Category:Camping equipment manufacturers
Category:Climbing and mountaineering equipment companies
Category:Sporting goods manufacturers of Australia