Kathmandu Holdings Limited is a transnational chain of retail stores, selling travel and adventureoutdoor 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.
History
Kathmandu was founded by John Pawson 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 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. Kathmandu was listed on the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges in November 2009. From 2017, Kathmandu is the naming right sponsor for the Coast to Coast race in New Zealand. Kathmandu announced the purchase of Oboz Footwear in March 2018. Oboz is an outdoor footwear brand based in Montana, U.S., 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. 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. 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.
