Already a slope-side wardrobe staple for ski nuts and a fairway favourite with golfers, Swedish brand Peak Performance is now aiming for the casualwear market.
Waiting in the wings for spring 10 is Supreme, a premium sub-brand that Peak Performance is launching to tempt the UK’s premium retailers. With 13 styles for men and 15 for women, Supreme has a luxury handwriting exemplified by its use of top-end fabrics including Japanese Kaihara denim and cashmere and silk knits.
“We want to seed the collection into the country’s top accounts, giving the brand a halo effect that will hopefully drive sales of the main casualwear collection,” says Simon Walker, Peak Performance’s country manager for the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Walker says the brand will be sold into a mix of premium independent boutiques and department stores. He has a very specific list of targets, but remains tight-lipped for now.
Walker’s understanding of both the premium and lifestyle markets is intimate, having joined Peak Performance in 2007 from the J Lindeberg brand, where he was country manager. Previously, he was country manager at footwear brand Timberland and general manager at premium label Calvin Klein.
“When I started two years ago the business [Peak Performance] was weighted towards winter sports and skiwear, which then represented 75% of the sales,” Walker explains. “The challenge was to build the golf collection and its distribution so that it picked up the sales momentum in spring, with the outdoor collection building on those sales through the summer, and for the main casualwear collection to be selling consistently throughout the year.”
The skiwear collection now represents 60% of the brand’s UK sales, with Walker’s team having made significant inroads into the golf market. The plan for the next two seasons is to make enough of an impact in the casualwear sector so that ski and golf contribute 35% each, and casualwear 30%.
Launched in 1986 by a pair of Swedish ski enthusiasts, Peak Performance has grown into an international brand with four deliveries annually. Prices for the mainline range from
£17 to £135, while the Supreme collection will be priced roughly 30% higher, with T-shirts from £25 and jackets up
to £135.
“Peak Performance is big in ski and golf wear, but in casualwear we’re anonymous,” Walker admits. “We now need to communicate our reputation to the industry and prove how market relevant we are.”
Fast Facts
1986 Year Peak Performance was launched
1,600 Number of styles across all categories for spring 10
