When you think of Canada Goose, you probably think of its iconic fur-trimmed parkas, designed to keep people warm in sub-zero temperatures.
But these days, the $1.5 billion winter apparel company’s logo can actually be found on sneakers, T-shirts, socks and more. “We’re no longer just making coats,” CEO Dani Reiss said wealth.
Soon, you can even buy Canada Goose for your home.
But experts say the leap from the safety of clothing retail, where the brand has operated since 1957, to the cutthroat homewares market is a gamble wealth.
Canada Goose’s Rapid Expansion
Since taking the helm of his grandfather’s company in 2001, Reiss has grown Canada Goose from relative obscurity into a global brand with 68 stores around the world, including in hot spots like Miami and Australia.
“We started introducing lightweight down in 2011, leveraging our reputation for extreme warmth and purposefully entering this new category,” Reiss explains.
The company has since moved further into apparel, with its first knitwear collection launching in 2017 and a footwear collection in 2021.
Rice said that currently, its non-heavyweight down products account for nearly half of Canada Goose’s revenue. So it’s easy to see why the company wants to continue to emulate its success beyond parkas and look ahead to launch eyewear, luggage and even homewares.
However, marketing experts say that doesn’t mean the brand will win easily.
Marketing agency Live & Breathe has been working with retailers such as Morrisons, Real Techniques and World Duty Free for decades to launch marketing campaigns and brand extensions.
As chief strategy officer Ben Alalouff points out, Canada Goose’s previous product launches, from trail boots to lightweight vests, have capitalized on the brand’s core message: wear Canada Goose for outdoor activities.
“When you’re at home, you don’t necessarily think about Canada Goose,” he said. “You look at the website, you look at social media, and it’s all about good outerwear. There’s not much point in having a comfortable or fancy home… it’s built from the ground up, so that can be an issue.
Another thing in the room is that a lot of people splurge on Canada Goose because it’s a premium product. Expanding into new categories to increase profits may lower the brand’s price.
Julio Hernandez, head of KPMG’s global client advisory practice, said wealth “There are a lot of companies trying to do this but not succeeding.”
“We used to have a very famous brand in the United States, a beer company called Schlitz,” he emphasized.
In the 1970s, Schlitz’s owners reformulated the formula in order to reduce production costs and meet growing demand. “Almost overnight, they lost followers,” Hernandez said.
Likewise, consumers who spend large sums of money on Canada Goose expect a certain level of quality.
“The fact is, you go to their website and they tell you what the temperature levels are and so on. There’s some science behind it and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, these people really know what they’re doing,'” Hernandez said. added.
“Do they really know what they are doing?” [going to] Translate to a new cup? I have no idea.
Canada Goose wants to be like Apple
Canada Goose has not revealed the specific home furnishing products it will release. However, its previously released limited edition heavyweight blankets could serve as a hint.
“Canada Goose probably has enough pedigree to take a small step forward,” Alalouff said, adding that picnic accessories, blankets and candle holders connect its new indoor line to its existing outerwear reputation.
“Take a small step instead of immediately saying, ‘Okay, we’re a homewares brand now.’ You’re not, you’re an outdoor brand,” he added. “Test the waters, and then over time you’ll play a bigger role in consumers’ lifestyles.”
Regardless, Canada Goose’s CEO isn’t worried about brand dilution as the company moves into homewares, eyewear, thermal clothing, luggage and more.
“I’ve thought about it, but I’m not worried about it,” Rice said. “The reason I’m not worried is because I look at other brands in the world, and some of the strongest brands in the world are much bigger than us.”
Instead of thinking like a fashion brand, he told wealth He looked to companies like Rolex, Range Rover and Apple for inspiration.
“The brands I follow are big brands, but they’re not in my industry, they’re not in our industry,” explains the 50-year-old executive, adding that they are “a great example of building a brand right. “. Way. “
“By doing what we do, we become leaders in what we do. We choose to continue manufacturing in Canada while everyone else in Canada – even North America and in many cases Europe – is leaving West, to go manufacturing in a lower price environment. That decision made us the company we are today. That’s why I look at brands outside of this space.
Moreover, even after more than two decades at the helm of Canada Goose, Rice claimed that he was still thinking about the brand’s growth over “generations, not quarters.”
But ultimately, Araloff warns, brands that think too far ahead may end up dying young.
“Strategically, if you’re a cool enough brand and have enough support, you can do whatever you want,” he argued. “But unless you’re a company like Apple, it’s hard to think that you’re going to have such a broad impact on someone’s life.
“Once a brand starts thinking of itself as not just something that’s useful at one point in a consumer’s life, but starts thinking of itself as something that’s always important, that’s when you start to think too highly of yourself. And you start to get into trouble.”
