Nordisk Outdoor Group tekent exclusieve distributieovereenkomst met World Co. Ltd
German brand Yeti from Nordisk Outdoor Group is among the very first non-Japanese brands to be launched in stores owned by World Co., the leading Japanese clothing company.
Strategic change towards European brands
World Co. is Japan’s leading clothing company with 3500 shops in several chains across Japan as well as stores in China and South Korea. The company employs more than 10.000 people and has a turnover of € 2,7 billion. Until now the company has focused on marketing its 135 Japanese brands within the groups own chains. After a recent strategic change, World Co. is now opening its distribution system to a few carefully selected top European brands. Yeti is among the first outside brands to be distributed through the World Co. chains and other selected stores in Japan such as the leading Japanese Department Store, Isetan as well as the very trendy fashion and lifestyle chains Beams and Journal Standard.
Exclusive distribution and licensing agreement
The agreement between Yeti and World Co. includes both exclusive import rights and a licensing agreement under which World Co. in cooperation with the Yeti design team can design special collections adapted to the Japanese market. The Japanese collections will later be made available for European customers.
The first Yeti products were launched in a shop in shop in the Osaka-based Hankyu Department store and in others stores across Japan in early September.
Yeti the down specialist
Yeti is creating and manufacturing high-end down sleeping bags and apparel primarily vests and jackets. Yeti was founded in 1983 specialising in extreme outdoor down sleeping bags of the finest quality, which later evolved into a line of exclusive outdoor clothing as well. Yeti is characterised by a number of exceptional developments, two of the main ones being the “Next to Nothing Technology”, which is currently the lightest down proof fabric in the world, and “Crystal down” a selection of the finest down filling from European geese. Yeti has design centres in Tokyo and Berlin and headquarters in Görlitz, Germany. The Yeti products are available in both outdoor shops and fashion stores.
Facts on Nordisk Outdoor Group and Yeti
- Yeti was founded in Görlitz, Germany, in 1983 and was acquired by Nordisk Outdoor Group in 2005
- In 2007 Yeti opened a full sleeping bag production line in Germany, making all sleepingbags “Made in Germany”
- In 2011 Yeti opened “Die Manufaktur”, a full fledged 250 m2 factory, made in glass, in downtown Dresden. Here consumers can follow the making of a sleeping bag
- Nordisk Outdoor Group is based in Denmark with subsidiaries in Germany and China
- Nordisk Outdoor Group owns the brands Nordisk, Yeti, Grand Canyon and Open Air
