Jonathan Petty, VP & MD at Osprey Europe talks to Fusion Associates about their mask-making initiatives, retail partner support and company performance during the Coronavirus crisis.

In conversation with Alex Pescott, CEO at Fusion Associates.

Osprey sells in over 30 countries across Europe, which markets have surprised you during the Coronavirus crisis?

The Nordic countries, and in particular Norway, have really surprised us at Osprey. In general, the Nordic countries took a really proactive and decisive approach to handling Covid, more targeted than the UK and elsewhere. As a result they never really closed for business, be that shops or more importantly for our industry ‘the outdoors’ – both the lifeblood of our sales. Norwegians especially have been going crazy for camping, backpacking and planning their summer holidays, all good for sales.

You operate in the hiking, biking, lifestyle and travel categories – how have these different categories performed during the crisis?

Travel has been severely hit for obvious reasons though is seeing a slow recovery as European travel/flights are opening up. Backpacking was also severely hit initially but the in the last month has had a major re-bound as consumers plan staycations and especially in the countries with more space, proper backpacking trips. Run, bike and multi-sport sales have all surged as consumers got re-connected with their local environments and the need to do different type of exercise than normal. If there is one positive outcome of Covid-19 I hope it is that more consumers have been introduced to the outdoors and new activities.

In the USA, Osprey’s own repair team have been sewing fabric masks for Colorado healthcare facilities, has Osprey in Europe participated in anything like this?

Osprey Europe promoted the US mask-making initiative in Europe and we imported some of the masks made by our team in the US which we gave to local organisations.

Several outdoor brands including Osprey are supporting retailers with revenue share programs. Tell us more about your ‘Gift with Purchase’ and ‘Buy Online/Fit in-store’ programs? What feedback have you had from retailers so far?

Retailers are the lifeblood of our sales and we wanted to support them as much as possible during the key lockdown period. In Europe we launched a ‘buy local’ marketing campaign encouraging consumers to support their local retailer. In addition, we partnered with some retailers in our key markets with a gift with purchase, with the aim of driving some much needed revenue for them. In the US we launched a ‘buy online, fit in store’ programme for the independent retailers. Both initiatives worked really well.

Osprey’s support of non-profits serves to educate and inspire customers to get involved with advocacy, volunteerism and financial support. What initiatives have your team been involved in?

As a global company we support many grass roots organisations especially in the area of protecting wild spaces and latterly public lands in the USA which are under threat from large corporations and the federal states. Closer to home in Europe, we support EOCA, have added Rock 2 Recovery who support mental well-being through outdoor activity, and Birds of Poole Harbour who are trying to re-introduce Ospreys to the wild. We also have gifted products to Gear for Good, as well as developing our own Second Life repair programme. Recently we also added our voice to and support for the Black Lives Matters campaign.

You have over 65 staff in your European HQ, how have your staff adapted to this crisis? What challenges have you faced?

Our staff have been amazing. Despite having to furlough some of our colleagues and take pay cuts everyone understands the global crisis brought on by Covid-19 and the impact on our business. There has been a lot of ‘self-sacrifice’ but our team have remained resolute, committed and positive and I am very proud of how they have coped with the crisis itself. The changes brought on from working from home, as well as reduced resources due to cuts in our operating expenses. Now we’re on the road to recovery and everyone is fully focused on climbing back up the mountain.

Lastly, what have you learned from this crisis? If there is another crisis like this in the future what would you do differently?

I learnt that there is no ‘playbook’ so you have to use your experience and do the best you can. As a business we acted quickly and decisively when we were in the eye of the storm, I trusted our processes and people and encouraged the team to remain positive, and that above all strength of character shines through. Moving forwards I would not do much differently as it so hard to plan for a global pandemic but I will certainly be looking at our disaster recovery planning and continuous improvement plans so as to pressure test our future resilience and agility.

About Osprey

Founded in 1974 and based in Cortez, Colorado, in the foothills of the San Juan Mountains, Osprey designs the highest performing and longest lasting carry solutions on the market including technical packs for outdoor, travel and everyday adventures. In addition to creating top-quality packs, the Osprey team is focused on becoming the most progressive, transparent and sustainable hard goods brand in the world. From raw materials and chemistry benchmarks to progressive factory code of conduct agreements and programs that extend a product’s end of life, Osprey is taking a truly holistic approach and looking at every aspect of their business to ensure they leave as little trace possible.

Osprey’s dedication to create innovative, high performance, sustainable gear reflects the brand’s love of adventure, devotion to the outdoors and steadfast resolve to leave the world better than they found it. Osprey Europe sells to over 30 countries in Europe and is based in based in Poole, UK.

About Fusion Associates

Since 1998, Fusion Associates has been placing experienced professionals across the globe within consumer markets including consumer goods, fashion, sporting goods, healthy living and luxury.

Environmental, humanitarian, social and political concerns are close to the Partners both in and out of the business. We pride ourselves in partnering with industry leaders who wish to contribute to a better, more sustainable future. Working with global companies that are at the forefront of innovating and integrating sustainability into the heart of their business, we have helped build purpose-led teams from leadership to subject experts in biodiversity and animal welfare.