The outdoors – it is possibly the one true free amenity. There is no place like it, and no place accessible to so many across all walks of life. Endless wonder, a chance to blow away your own mental cobwebs and get far away from the everyday grind. Adventure can look like climbing a mountain, or braving taking the dog and the kids for a walk around the park after a long day. Either way, the outdoors is there for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, free of charge.
But to make the most of the outdoors, you need the right gear. Whether that is the right walking boots, the right coat, or the right backpack. Whatever you have in mind, having the right stuff can make a huge difference to how successful your outing is.
That is what GO Outdoors is there for.
GO Outdoors was founded in Sheffield in 1969 with a clear vision – to be the only outlet for outdoor equipment its customers would ever need. Except that back then, over 50 years ago, GO Outdoors was not known as GO Outdoors. It was a small retailer going by the name Camping and Caravanning Centre, or “CCC” to local customers. Not long after opening its doors, the Camping and Caravanning Centre earned a reputation for excellent customer service, becoming known as something of a landmark for Yorkshire’s extremely active outdoor community.
It was the start of a big adventure, but one that always be guided by the initial values of that small business in the 1960s. Even today, the company’s team still includes many of those first few people who led the Camping and Caravanning Centre to success in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Outdoors Experts
The company has expanded, changed its name, and now GO Outdoors stores can be found at locations throughout the UK. But it still has not forgotten its roots in Sheffield or its focus on preparing customers to take part in any kind of outdoor activities.
“GO Outdoors is a one-stop shop for everything outdoors whether walking a dog or climbing a mountain,” says Lee Bagnall, CEO of GO Outdoors today. “We have a team of expert advisors in-store who can advise any of our customers on whatever activity they are looking to take part in.”
The total business today consists of a nationwide staff of almost 4,000 people. It is a team that GO Outdoors invests heavily in training, putting time and effort into building the knowledge base the company’s customers require.
Bagnall came to GO Outdoors after a long and storied career of his own. He started working in his family’s furniture business, before eventually moving into the DIY retail sector working for businesses such as B&Q. He went on to work at Bensons Beds where he picked up the managerial experience that he would later put to use at GO Outdoors, where Bagnall was inspired by the company’s founders and wanted to get involved.
In helping to build the knowledge base that it has become known for, GO Outdoors has one critical advantage. The retail chain is a member of the JD Sports Group. The Group was established in the Northwest of England, starting with a single store in 1981 and growing to become a leading international omnichannel retailer of Sports Fashion and Outdoor brands. As part of the JD Group, GO Outdoors is a member of a company with over 3,400 stores across 38 territories, including a strong presence in the UK, Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific.
“We are part of the JD Group, so our recruitment is done through a web board where people apply to join us,” Bagnall tells us. “We have a low staff turnover and tend to have people working in our business for years and years. We have a high success rate in keeping people on board. All the staff that come through are given a decent induction and training program. Then, twice a year we promote our new products, showing them to teams so that they can understand what we are offering and what their features and benefits are.”
This process of continual training and retraining through the company’s regular cycle of product roadshows brings us to the foundation of GO Outdoors’ approach – it is all about great people offering customers great products.
Expanding Horizons
When we talk to Bagnall, it is time for expansion for GO Outdoors. The company is currently focusing on increasing its market share, with a focus on maintaining the business’s ongoing double-digit growth.
It is perhaps not surprising that people’s enthusiasm for outdoor pursuits has exploded over the last three years. After all, for an entire year most of us spent most of our days trapped in our own homes.
“The pandemic got people in every age group into the outdoors and the benefits of outdoor pursuits,” Bagnall tells us. “Particularly the benefits from a mental health point of view. What people have started to realise is it is a proven fact that being outdoors is good for your mental and physical health. Getting daylight really helps with that. The other thing is that this resonated with younger people. In terms of the people who are getting excited by the outdoors, the age span of people starting that journey is massive, but we are seeing a lot more younger people taking up the outdoors than in previous years.”
To engage these growing markets, GO Outdoors is currently a third of the way through a nationwide refurbishment program.
But as Bagnall said to us at the very beginning of the interview, GO Outdoors is committed to meeting the needs of all market segments. That includes people mountain climbing or taking part in extreme sports at a professional level. It also includes people who want to keep dry while walking their dog during inclement weather. Each of these markets has different requirements, different wants, and a different attitude to the products that they purchase. When you take into account the enormous diversity within those different market segments, how can GO Outdoors expect to meet their wildly differing needs?
“Depending on the product we go through a very rigorous range selection process to make sure we have the right products at every level of the market where we operate,” Bagnall says. “One of the things we have to do is make sure we don’t over-extend our range in any particular category, while also ensuring our customers can find everything within our range that they need.”
It is a delicate balancing act, and one Bagnall and his team have put a great deal of work into.
“We work hard to make sure we have got the right architecture for different price points and activities, and the right level of brands. Even if you are looking at a normal insulated jacket, our offering will go from a synthetic jacket priced at the £19 mark, to a down-stuffed waterproof jacket for £800 and everything in between. That is the span of insulated jackets, with various brands and different types of products. Those range-building exercises ensure we cater for all of these different customers, the different activities they are engaged in and the different types of products they want to purchase.”
Staying Competitive
But as well as meeting the needs of a wide range of customers with different ages and interests, GO Outdoors must also meet the needs of a wide range of price points. Like any company, GO Outdoors has found itself dealing with volatile supply chains and raw material costs. When there is a cost-of-living crisis, for a retailer to remain in the market it must cater towards customers who are watching the pennies.
“One of the biggest challenges is trying to maintain our prices with inflation and the increased price of freight,” Bagnall shares. “We have seen difficulties around exchange rates, in terms of buying products from the Far East. We have tried to reengineer both our products and their packaging. If there is space in a shipping box, we find a way to take that space out of the box, to get more in a container and keep prices down. We have worked hard with the supply chain to keep freight prices to a minimum. Obviously, with the cost-of-living crisis, it is important we maintain our lower prices. We believe we are the cheapest in the market in that sector, and we work extremely hard on maintaining that.”
Brand New
Fortunately, GO Outdoors maintains relationships with some of the biggest brands in the market. The company has connections with every major brand in the UK and because of GO Outdoors’ size the company is in a good position the seize the latest product versions as they hit the market.
“We have a big sourcing team, and we are always at industry shows or in the factories talking to product developers about the next new thing,” Bagnall explains. “We like to not necessarily be first to market, but a very close second, definitely.”
At the same time as maintaining those relationships, GO Outdoors is working to expand its geographic footprint in the UK. When we speak with Bagnall, the chain has just opened up a newly refurbished outlet within the last couple of months.
With a grand opening event at the end of October, GO Outdoors reopened its refurbished store in Plymouth in a ceremony involving the city’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Mark Shayer. The store manager greeted the first 200 customers through the doors with a £20 gift voucher and gave a free goody bag worth £25 to the next 100. The day-long celebration included balloon modellers and an in-store DJ.
The new store is a paragon of what GO Outdoors wants to offer its customers. It is a 39,000-square-foot outlet with a team of 42 staff, offering everything from boot and rucksack fitting to collection and drop-off points for parcels from online orders through Evri, UPS and DPD collections. The newly refurbished facility offers free customer parking and stocks its trademark selection brands, including Rab, OEX and Berghaus, as well as trusted names like Peter Storm, Hi-Gear and Brasher.
It also hosts concessions to Fishing Republic, Bike 365 and Naylors Lite, offering angling, cycling and equestrian equipment to those who need it.
Store Manager, Aaran Johnson said at the opening, “We are extremely excited and proud to open the newly refurbished GO Outdoors. We have had a brilliant couple of years at GO, as more and more people are reaping the benefits of the outdoors for their physical and mental well-being, and this expansion is the outcome of that success. We’re looking forward to offering more customers our unbeatable range of outdoor clothing, footwear, and equipment, whilst also supporting local communities and offering jobs in Devon.”
Bagnall is planning to continue this expansion over the next year, with the company already committed to eight new sites in 2024 and Bagnall remaining open to new opportunities.
“I think there comes a point where you have the right levels of stores, but even where we have got a store already there is a chance to refresh and refit. We have done that in 15 stores this year,” Bagnall says. “If we are in a town we will look to refresh or upgrade existing stores or move to a bigger and better store in the area.”
It is clear there are big things in store for GO Outdoors as it continues to expand and build upon its market presence and brand connections. The company is ready to support outdoors enthusiasts at every level of the hobby, but it is not doing this just by selling them products. The company also works closely with Mountain Rescue, which it has donated over a million pounds to, and is supporting other charities as well, such as the £200,000 it raised for MIND last year. So GO Outdoors is showing that the outdoors can be good for mental health in more ways than one.
