The Swedish premium mountain sports brand Klättermusen is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and has big plans for the next few years. She is currently starting an international retail offensive and has founded her own travel division.
Klättermusen – which means “climbing mouse” in German – has always seen itself as an independent outdoor brand with a special penchant for unconventality. This can already be seen in product design: Instead of adapting to the common outdoor mainstream, the brand has developed and maintained its own form over the years. Characteristic elements such as diagonal zippers and asymmetrical cuts are still trademarks of the collection. Even when choosing a material, Klättermusen deliberately takes alternative and often more environmentally friendly ways. As a pioneer in sustainability, the brand already fully rely on organic cotton in 2006 and has been using recycled nylon from old fishing nets for its backpacks since 2008. Even technical jackets made of organic cotton are part of the range. In addition, Klättermusen was one of the first brands to launch PFAS-free collections.
CEO Gonz Ferrero has headed the company, which was mostly taken over by the Swedish private equity society Scope in 2013. On the occasion of the opening of the first shop in Germany in April in April, Fashionunited Ferrero asked what other plans he pursued with the brand.
Mr. Ferrero, you have just opened your first German shop in Munich. Why there?
When we started developing our retail strategy, which we, as a premium brand, always knew that they would be an important part of the puzzle, we looked at cities in which our customers live and in which our target group lives. Munich was at the top of the list in Europe, since it is not only a goal to the mountains, but also has a high density of people who fit the customers: inside of Klättermusen – regardless of thinking, culturally conscious and environmentally conscious people.
How many shops do you have worldwide?
We currently have a shop in Germany, six in Europe and 14 worldwide.
What other plans do you have for retail?
We want to make Klättermusen for our existing and potential customers: inside in Europe, but also accessible and accessible worldwide. We have very good signs that the response to our brand and our values is very positive if we do this in our own way. So we have some good ideas on how we can continue.
Are you planning to open other shops in Germany or other European cities?
Yes, we open a branch in Berlin in June and we have other plans for other cities, but that’s still secret.
What do you mean to do it in your own way? What distinguishes the retail strategy of Klättermusen from others?
You have to find out yourself by coming to our shop.
What kind of retailers are you looking for to sell your brand? Or are you mainly focusing on your own DTC channels?
We are looking for specialist dealers: Inside, in which customers: Discover new brands inside, can find out more about details and be inspired. There are many multimarken dealers who can present brands excellently and inspire people, and with them we want to build a close relationship and a long-term perspective.
Our sales strategy depends on our target customer: inside and the places and channels where you can discover, explore and experience premium mountaineering products. Depending on the region, country and even city, this is different and also depends on the age of the customers: inside. Of course we are still at the very beginning with the retail trade.
How does it come that Klättermusen is already so big in Asia?
We have our own business in Europe, China, Korea and Japan. Klättermusen is not much larger in China than here, but only more visible. This is simply due to the special dynamics of this market and how it works. We have been in China for nine years and have been working in Korea for seven years, while we are just starting in the UK, Germany and the USA.
How would you describe the philosophy of Klättermusen? What distinguishes the fire from other outdoor brands?
We are a specialized brand with a unique view of materials, design aesthetics and, above all, activities. I believe that to make great products, we have to be focused and have to be convinced of our unique view with your advantages and disadvantages. We are not a brand for everyone, not for every activity and even not for every variant of an activity. But we do what we do with a lot of commitment and persistence, and in my opinion this attitude is a distinguishing feature.
How would you describe your target group?
I have already spoken a little about that, but in general it is people who understand or have an assessment to understand how we manufacture our products and what our brand values mean, and not just the products we manufacture. Our customers: Inside are very detailed, very careful and very nerdy when it comes to what they like, do not like or don’t like or want to.
How does it position the brand in terms of performance and lifestyle? The Gorpcore trend in particular has given traditional small brands the chance of a comeback. Is that part of your strategy?
We manufacture mountaineering products and try to present them in such a way that they are relevant for people.
There is no comeback from Klättermusen because we were never gone. We do not produce non-technical products or lifestyle products, so we do not change anything from this perspective. We inspire people who have different comfort requirements in the outdoor and mountaineering area, but we do this with very technical products- nothing has changed for 50 years.
Sustainability was always one of the basic values of the brand. Is the topic still important?
Of course it is a basic value. We write the year 2025, and I don’t believe in bragging about things that I simply think is fundamentally. It is an aspect that we take into account in everything we do every day, and we strive to do as much as possible and at the same time to comply with our brand promise of maximum security and high -quality technical products.
Is there any news about sustainability? For example, new, more sustainable products, or processes that you implement in the new collection?
We have news about sustainability every season, since this topic is firmly anchored in our product and material development philosophy. Particularly noteworthy is our new glove program, with which we have created an environmentally friendly alternative to leather that is also more durable and abrasion -resistant.
What other plans and news can you tell us?
This year we have launched a travel division of Klättermusen, Klättermusen Experience and have also developed our own website for this. We organize mountain tours in Scandinavia and invite people to experience our home in harmony with our values - a mixture of Scandinavian way of life, our nature and our culture. We focus on environmentally conscious and responsibly compiled trips that are geared towards creating deep human connections. We offer eight experiences ranging from ski tours to mountain biking and kayaking to wilderness tents.