Swedish outdoor heritage brand Fjallraven has launched a local online presence in New Zealand, as part of a broader push into the ANZ market.
The move follows the launch of a local Australian site in 2017, and the opening of two brick-and-mortar stores, including the launch of a Sydney flagship store last month.
Brand manager Susan Park said a bricks-and-mortar store is on the agenda for New Zealand as well.
“New Zealand is definitely in our brand strategy for a store,” Park said.
“We just launched Fjallraven.co.nz to satisfy the growing demand in New Zealand. We have some other locations on our radar and plan to look at them when Sydney has established itself as a leading destination.”
Demand for the brand has been growing in Australia and New Zealand since Zen Imports became Fjallraven’s local distributor in 2017, establishing new partnerships with retailers in the region.
The brand’s most popular product is its Kanken rucksack, a style Fjallraven first debuted in 1978, which has become hugely popular around the world.
According to Park, however, interest in the brand’s broader range of jackets, trousers and other outdoor apparel has been growing in Australia since the brand’s first brick-and-mortar store opened in Melbourne last year.
Introducing customers to the brand’s full range of products, and its Swedish heritage – through a daily ‘fika’ or coffee break, offered free to customers in-store – is a key part of Fjallraven’s store strategy.
The retailer is also planning to reach customers in new ways with the launch of Fjallraven Discovery Australia, a three-day hike in the Grampians designed to get people outdoors and back to nature.
This is in keeping with the growing theme of Fjallraven hikes all over the world.