Karrimor

A Karrimor hiking trainer

Karrimor is a brand of backpacks, outdoor and sports equipment, and clothing, and also refers to the companies of the same name, Karrimor International Ltd (to 2004) and Karrimor Ltd (2004 onward), as well as the separate company Karrimor SF from 1998. The company was initially called the Karrimor Bag Company in 1946, and was founded by Charles and Mary Parsons and her sister Grace Davies, who hand-sewed cotton-duck bicycle pannier bags from the upstairs of their Lancashire cycle shop.

The company went on to build an international reputation for design and build quality of rucksacks, outdoor clothing, and footwear, which for most of its history it manufactured in Clayton-le-Moors, Lancashire, in the UK. Among its successes from 1950 - 2000 were the innovation of the frameless backpack with integrated hip belt system widely used today (although the first internal frame was developed by Lowe Alpine a few years earlier), the innovation of new methods of producing durable waterproof toughened nylon fabrics, the foam mattress, the first lightweight fabric/leather footwear (KSB), and at least one product design award.

Hitting financial trouble in the 1990s, it was sold on twice in 1996 and 1999, before a commercially unsuccessful purchase of the 15-store YHA Outlet retail chain in 2003 led to its financial failure and receivership in March 2004. Upon collapse, Karrimor's assets were rapidly acquired by the Sports Direct group.

History

Original company

Karrimor was founded and based in Lancashire, England, following World War II, with the company moving early on from Rawtenstall shop premises to nearby Clayton-le-Moors. Its history began in 1943, when Waterfoot bicycle shop owner Charles Parsons (1910-?) went blind from an accident that had occurred in 1939. Under war and post-war conditions, he was also unable to obtain bicycle pannier bags for sale, but was still able to buy local raw fabric. His wife and her sister (Mary Parsons 1914-? and Grace Davies) began to make bicycle bags for his shop, which the family also began to sell locally to other shops, leading to the Karrimor Bag Company being formed in 1946. As a cycle bag manufacturer it competed with companies then in the same industry, such as Carradice and Dunlop.

The company was incorporated and changed its name to Karrimor Weathertite Products (named for their Weathertite cycling bags) in April 1952, before diversifying into backpacks in 1958, where during the 1960s and 1970s it made its reputation. It was still small when their son Mike Parsons (1942-) joined in 1960, and began to build the 7-employee company into a renowned international outdoor equipment manufacturer. Mike Parsons' own personal "obsession" with outdoor pursuits, including mountain marathons, led him to be described in the 1990s as the company's "best tester and salesman". For many iconic products Parsons was also the group's primary innovator and designer; the company's success was largely credited to the very close links created by Parson's involvement both in manufacturing and technical research as a manufacturer, and direct engagement with hardened end users, their requirements, and their experiences. A 2006 OutdoorMagic.com article credits Parsons as the "legendary" creator of many of Karrimor's best known products, including the Jaguar, Alpiniste, and Hot Ice backpacks, KSB (Karrimor Sports Boot) footwear, the Karrimat, and the Kimmlite series.

A second fortuitous factor beyond a CEO who was himself an enthusiast, product user and innovator, lay in the firm's location. In the 19th century about 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide had been processed in hundreds of Lancashire mill towns; its legacy in the 1960s included a local abundance of resources, businesses and expertise, allied with a strong traditional focus on product design, and in particular rubberized and coated rainwear, which was exceptionally well suited to the developing of new and improved outdoors textiles and products. Finally, one more factor played a key role, again related to location: the Lancashire region is very close to some of the UK's most popular hillwalking and climbing destinations such as the Lake District and Peak District, and in the 1960s such activities became more popular, causing an influx of dedicated hobbyists and a growth in popular demand and product expectations. The buoyant market and its expansion, combined with an influx of hobbyists seeking equipment, local expertise, and a CEO who himself avidly engaged the hobbyist perspective on equipment and had considerable design skills, proved a fertile combination for the company's expansion and targeting of market demand.

A major example of the synergistic combination of local textile and design traditions and Parsons' intimate involvement with end-user pursuits, was Karrimor's innovation of the first robust - and robustly waterproof - lightweight nylon texturized fabric, marketed as KS100e. Within 1960s textiles, cotton fibres expand when wet, bond to many coatings, and cotton fabrics are therefore easily made waterproof and rot-proof, but remain relatively heavy and cumbersome, and far from an ideal backpack textile, while nylon fabrics are lightweight, tough, flexible, easily cleaned, but technically very difficult to waterproof other than by adding coatings (with such coatings readily wearing away), and when untreated are always permeable to water (its fibres don't expand to fill the gaps when wet). Therefore in the 1960s, robustly waterproof fabrics were still largely based on rubberised coatings, duck-cotton and the like, even though these flexed poorly and added weight. In collaboration with local company BM Coatings, Karrimor developed an elastomer-nylon process in which toughened nylon fabric was waterproofed without significant weight or additional coatings, and without losing its natural flexibility, durability, texture, or other desirable qualities. As well as textiles and other materials, ground-breaking designs were also brought to market in diverse areas such as backpack design, footwear and other areas of equipment manufacture.

In this way, between 1960 and 1990 the company innovated successfully and gained international recognition for many of its products (see 'pre-receivership recognition' below). Its first factory opened in 1965, in nearby Haslingden, with two more following. In line with its growing global reputation and prominence, in 1975 the company changed name once more, to Karrimor International Ltd. By then, Karrimor was supplying an estimated 80% of the UK backpack market, and exporting some 40% of products. (After the company's 2004 collapse, its assets were acquired by a new company, Karrimor Ltd, and as of 2013 trades under that name.)

The early 1980s recession and pressure on manufacturing and exports were difficult, or even disastrous, for Karrimor, as for many other manufacturers and exporters in the UK. Two of the company's three factories closed and 100 of the 300 workforce were made redundant. Determined to remain focused on the manufacturing strengths of the business, a core selling and reputation point, Parsons sustained the business by investing in product lines that would sell counter-seasonally to backpacks, and modernized Karrimor by visiting the United States to learn newer business practices, where manufacturing and business practices were often far advanced from those commonplace in the UK. According to Parsons, the changes cost the family owned business over £1 million by completion, but left Karrimor at the start of the 1990s as "the industry's most significant supplier", and it continued to win awards and renown.

Pre-receivership achievements and recognition

Karrimor's pre-receivership highlights included the 'Alpiniste' backpack of the 1960s and purple 'Haston Alpiniste' pack of the 1970s - widely described as "dominating" the decade in terms of climbing packs, or "the most famous alpine sack ever" - leading to Chris Bonnington's 1975 ascent of Everest using Karrimor equipment (Peter Habeler likewise used the same brand three years later for his oxygen-mask-free ascent); Ks-100e, a pioneering waterproof nylon-based fabric invented in 1973; a British Design Award in 1991 for the Condor backpack; the design of the ubiquitous 'SA' backpack support system; and pioneering development within lightweight fabric footwear (the "footwear revolution" of the 1980s) with the KSB range. Backpacks at that time were often made from heavy fabrics or with a solid external frame; the Alpiniste and its relatives were was the first 'modern' non-frame backpack, in the sense of being lightweight with the weight transferred to an integrated hip belt via a close-fit back support system. This was the forerunner of all non-frame modern packs of this kind. During this period, Karrimor offered a lifetime warranty on its products, and was reputed for its in-house warranty and repairs service, often many years after the product purchase had taken place. Other highlights also included the introduction of closed cell foam mattresses (1965) known as the "Karrimat", and Karrimor's first exports and first experiments with nylon backpacks in 1967, leading also to the first marketed waterproof nylon cycle bags in the 1970s (Karrimor later switched all its cycle bag production from cotton to nylon in 1980).

For many years during the second half of the 20th century, Karrimor was a world-status innovator and brand in its field of outdoor equipment. Its range covered backpacks, clothing, hiking boots, and other camping, clothing and mountaineering equipment for outdoors activities. At the time of its 2004 receivership, OutdoorsMagic.com website described Karrimor as having a "tremendous tradition", a history that included "legendary" products, and a "very strong brand name", Past owner Industrialinvest concurred, stating that the company had an "international reputation for outstanding [products]", and in a 1996 review of top British manufacturers, The Independent described Karrimor as "a leader in its... field", albeit one that it felt had (like other businesses) "failed to invest and expand". The company was one of 15 winners in the 1993 "Best UK factory" awards, with Management Today describing Karrimor as a "world-renowned manufacturer" that had responded to the 1980s recession by investing heavily in automated production, U.S.-based stockflow processes, and production flexibility.

In 1999, Cullinan's acquisition documents stated of Karrimor that it was:

"[O]ne of the leading European designers and distributors of technical rucksacks, outdoor clothing, footwear and related accessories. In its 52 year history, Karrimor has built its reputation for excellence on the back of innovative and ground breaking product development. Much of the research that went into this development was carried out on headline making expeditions. These include a host of Everest ascents, exploration of the world's deepest caves and lost wildernesses and, most recently, the "grand slam" trek to the north pole, south pole and the highest peak on each of five continents. Rucksack sales currently account for almost 30% of Karrimor's business and, thanks to their technological "halo", the company has been able to extend the brand into other categories of outdoor living such as tents, sleeping bags and technical outerwear. The clothing range extends from thermal base layers, fleece mid-layers and waterproof breathable outerwear to footwear and accessories ... Karrimor is one of the few outdoor brands that carries a full product line ... [and] enjoys international brand recognition among the outdoor enthusiasts and ... the most extensive retail distribution of any European outdoor company. Its products are sold in over 450 shops in the UK and exported to 22 countries."

Karrimor SF

Around 1995, Karrimor conceived, along with outside party Deric Gollop, a "special forces" range, Karrimor SF, which was launched as a separate company around 1998. It targeted police and military equipment needs. Being outside the Karrimor International group, the company was unaffected by Karrimor's later 2004 breakup and remains commercially active as of 2013.

Financial distress and post-receivership new company history

During the 1990s, Karrimor struggled more than once financially. Some years later in 2002 it was described by 21 Invest as a "strong brand that was mis-managed", and similarly in 2004 by Bikebiz.com as having had a "troubled recent past". It was sold in 1996 to investment group 21 Invest (now Investindustrial), part of the Italian Benetton empire, for £7 million. Andrea Bonomi, the venture capital company's 31 year old owner, felt that Britain was "a fantastic place" for manufacturing, but under-appreciated by British people themselves, and considered Karrimor an exemplary family business, owned by a "hardworking" family with a "fiercely loyal" workforce, and a good choice for UK investment. 21 Invest ultimately reported a substantial return on their investment by focusing on Karrimor's existing retail stores (initially branded 'Karrimor' and from 1999 Mountain Warehouse) and international sales, before selling Karrimor's core business onward in 1999 to South African leisure group Cullinan Holdings, who immediately cut manufacturing with the loss of 80 jobs; 21 Invest also exited Mountain Warehouse 3 years later in 2002.

In March 2003, the company bought YHA outlets, a chain of 15 outdoor products retail outlets. The acquisition was not a success - partly due to misjudged price cutting at stores of products including Karrimor's own - and Karrimor were unable to recover. The company went into receivership in March 2004. At the time it had around 250 employees and sales of around £18.7m. Within 24 hours, by 9 March 2004, its assets were bought out for £5 million by Lonsdale Sports, part of the Sports Direct group of companies, who broke up the company, sold the outlets (both YHA and Karrimor's own), retaining mainly the rights to the brand name, which was licensed to such events as the long standing Karrimor International Mountain Marathon (which later became the Outdoor Mountaineering Marathon), and the company's intellectual property.

Following completion of the transaction, customer service activities such as lifetime warranties and repair services on previously sold goods were cancelled or outsourced. Manufacturing in the UK largely ended. Some of Karrimor's previous management started a business under the name "Zero Degrees" which for a short time also produced outdoor equipment. Some warranty and repair workers remained active with Karrimor products at the associated company Lancashire Sports Repairs, which until around 2012 acted as Karrimor's warranty, repair, and after-sales service provider and as of 2013 provides paid repair services of Karrimor equipment.

As of 2013, the Karrimor brand remains and is licensed and used for marketing and product branding purposes. Sports Direct continue to sell Karrimor branded products, which are as of 2013 largely made in China rather than the UK, across all their UK stores.

External and post-Karrimor activities of key figures

Mike Parsons (MD 1960 - 1996, chairman and self-described 'chief innovator')

• founder and innovation director for OMM Ltd, the owner of the Original Mountain Marathon from 2004 - 2010 (OMM had previously been a Karrimor branded and sponsored event)
• Appointed Entrepreneurial Fellow (2004), later Innovator in Residence (2010), at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (IEED), part of Lancaster University Management School.
• Developed for renaissance of Swiss mountaineering company Tricouni.
• Co-founded the 'Innovation for Extremes' conference in Lancashire
• Authored books and papers covering in particular the history of innovation and textiles in outdoor equipment, and research into the equipment quality and fate of the ill-fated 1924 attempt on Everest by Mallory.
• As at 2013 states on his web profile that he has competed in over 30 mountain marathons, and climbed on all 7 continents including 18 summits not known to be climbed before.

Eddie Creig (designer for c. 20+ years, 1960s to ?)

Larry Olmstead (designer prior to receivership, 1998 - 2003)

• Karrimor Japan (2003 - 2010)
• Founder/designer of bag and travel luggage designer Entermodal.

External links

Company specific

• Official site (and Karrimor SF official site)
• Various "History of Karrimor" pages - OutdoorFreedom.co.za, Innovation-forExtremes.net, inov8.com.au-The Evolution of outdoor gear, Karrimor website 'About' page
• From Humble Beginnings (December 1996) - a 50th anniversary history of Karrimor, pub. Geographical (Campion Interactive Publishing);December 1996, Vol.68 issue 12, p10
• Gallery of historic Karrimor products and clippings on inov8.com.au
• Example page from Karrimor prior to 2004 receivership - showing highlights of product build/design at that time (Archive.org, August 2000)
• 1975 coverage of Chris Bonnington's visit to Karrimor in preparation for his attempt the same year on Everest- pub. Textile Institute & Industry; March 1975, Vol.13 issue 3, p68

Other related books and papers

• Creig, E., The development of rucksack fabrics - Climber and Rambler, pp.49-50 (1980) and also paper presented at WIRA 1982 (Woollen Industries Research Association Conference) within 'Design for Survival' by Karrimor designer Eddie Creig.
• Invisible on Everest and related author commentary - 2003 book on the history of innovation in mountaineering equipment, co-authored by Karrimor founder Mike Parsons
• Parsons M. & Rose M.B., The neglected legacy of Lancashire cotton: Industrial clusters and the UK outdoor trade, 1960-1990 (2005), pub. Enterprise and Society, 6(4), 682-709.