Published: June 12, 2007 12:00 am Sailing apparel company set to make a splash By Zac Cummings , Correspondent
Eagle-Tribune MARBLEHEAD - On the shores of this historic seaport, a small group of sailing enthusiasts is preparing an unlikely assault on the business of sailing apparel.
Chaz Bertrand and his team are revitalizing Atlantis WeatherGear, a foul-weather apparel line that has had a stormy history since its founding three decades ago.
"It was once the quintessential U.S. apparel brand," said
Bertrand, CEO of Atlantis (though he said titles don't matter much among the company's five employees).
Atlantis' history has been one of ups and downs. The company was founded in 1973 and soon developed a sailing product line using lightweight ski apparel material. At the time, before Gore-Tex was adapted for salt water, sailors had to choose between waterproof gear or comfortable gear. Atlantis became known as the "leaky gear that was comfortable," said Bill Lynn, Bertrand's partner and chief marketing officer.
"Eventually the owners built it up to number one or number two in North America," Lynn said.
Then the Timberland Corporation bought Atlantis in 1985, and the apparel line bounced from owner to owner for a couple decades, gradually losing market prominence along the way.
In April of last year Bertrand and Lynn, both lifelong sailors, bought the Atlantis line from Cran Barry, Inc., a sports clothing and equipment manufacturer.
"A lot of people remember it fondly, to my surprise," Lynn said. "It has that resonance with people. You don't get that with other brands."
The Atlantis team plans to capitalize on that reputation and the lack of major competitors in North America. The challenge will be
re-establishing its name in a small niche market traditionally dominated by three British companies: Henri Lloyd, Douglas Gill and Musto.
The team will have to develop foul-weather gear that strikes a balance between the performance and lifestyle markets, much like Nike has done in
the shoe industry, or Patagonia in the outdoor apparel business, Lynn said. Professional sailors are looking for a product that protects them from the elements, while casual boaters want something they feel comfortable wearing on and off the water.
"These people want something more versatile," Lynn said. "Something they can wear from the boat to the dock to the bar. Something they won't mind wearing to the soccer field."
Local customers seem to appreciate the new Atlantis gear, said Wayne George, owner of F.L. Woods, a nautical clothing store in Marblehead. The innovative watch windows on the sleeves and the armpit ventilation zippers are big selling points, he said.
"It's sailing gear made by sailors," George said. "It's actually designed by people who use it. ... We're selling a bunch."
The Atlantis team knows that making attractive apparel is just as much about appearances as it is comfort. In a business where prevalent colors are red, black and yellow, Atlantis provides a few alternatives. Their outer layer jackets come in a variety of hues they hope will appeal to more people.
"As a small brand it's important that we stick out," Bertrand said.
"There's a place for color here."
However, the Atlantis team is quick to point out that their top priority is making reliable and effective products, Lynn said.
"We have to make high-quality, functional, high-performance apparel," Lynn said. "We have to build gear that works great."
Pleasing both the performance and lifestyle crowds is a tough job, and one that few foul-weather gear companies have successfully done in the past. The British companies only sell high-quality gear for serious sailors, while companies like Nautica sell casual apparel
that doesn't perform well in sailing conditions, Lynn said.
"If we try to be Nautica, we'll get tortured by our friends," Lynn said. "We don't want to be in the business of that type of gear."
If any piece of gear bridges the two audiences, it's Atlantis' new Aegis jacket. The waterproof jacket is made of Teflon-coated material and has several useful features, including extra pockets and a low-sweeping back that keeps pants dry. The Aegis also has an athletic fit for added comfort.
While Atlantis' new gear will be manufactured overseas in
countries like Vietnam and Guatemala, older product lines will still be manufactured in Lynn, Mass.
Meanwhile, Nashua, N.H.'s Alternative Logistics distributes the company's products throughout the country, and especially the Northeast.
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Atlantis WeatherGear Introduces Their 2007 Line of Performance Sailing Apparel.
MARBLEHEAD, Massachusetts – April 18, 2007 – Atlantis WeatherGear® today is introducing a new line of performance sailing apparel for the 2007 sailing season.
The new products are designed to look good and work great, delivering the performance racers, cruisers and powerboaters demand on the water combined with styles that they’ll want to wear once ashore. Led by Creative Director Bill Mann, the Atlantis designers collaborated with some of the best sailors in the world in the
development process, and built the new gear using the latest advanced-technology fabrics and construction techniques integrated around Atlantis WeatherGear’s Advanced Layering System. The result is high-quality performance apparel that will keep sailors dry and comfortable in any weather incorporating innovative features not found in any other brand of sailing gear.
New products for 2007 include the Aegis, a coastal jacket made with Atlantis’ waterproof/breathable 3-layer Typhoon Fabric, and the Microburst line, a series of lightweight jackets built out of Atlantis’ waterproof/breathable 2.5-layer VMG Fabric in both men’s and women’s styles. Also new for 2007 is the Grand Prix line of jackets and vests, an incredibly
versatile mid/outer layer made from Atlantis’ Rampage Soft Shell Fabric.
“Atlantis is a great brand. It’s the original, but updated to fit the way sailors use gear today,” offered Bill Lynn, Atlantis CMO. “We designed the gear we want to wear. If a feature’s not in there, it’s something we thought was extraneous. If it is there, it’s something we’re going to use.”
Currently based in Marblehead, MA, Atlantis was started in the Green Mountains of Vermont by a group of skiers and sailors who started with the premise that the world of sailing apparel was ripe for innovation. They integrated features and styles borrowed from skiwear to create a different brand of sailing gear, and Atlantis became the market leader. The brand’s heritage of questioning the status quo and continual innovation is embraced by Atlantis’ new owners who are focused on building the best sailing gear in the world for their friends and fellow boaters.
Atlantis’ president, Chaz Bertrand said, “We are excited about coming out with a new line of technical outerwear that will reposition Atlantis as the high-end US-based brand focused on the sailing community.”
ABOUT ATLANTIS
Atlantis WeatherGear is a leading US-based outerwear company, headquartered in Marblehead, Massachusetts. We develop high-quality, technically-advanced outerwear (weather gear) that functions well in a marine environment. We are focused on the design and development of great products built for the things our customers do on and around the water.
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© 2007 Atlantis WeatherGear
Press Contact:
Atlantis WeatherGear
Bill Lynn
781-631-6157
blynn@...
SOURCE: Atlantis WeatherGear
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