Following the introduction of a new integrated strategy, which included paring down about a third of its SKUs over the last two years, Royal Robbins is back in growth mode, with a focused product line and a commitment to returning the business to its founders’ adventure roots.
Purchased in 2018 by Fenix Outdoor, the Swiss-based parent company of Fjällräven, Hanwag, Devold, and Tierra, the brand’s resurgence is spearheaded by Erik Burbank, who was hired as the global brand president of Royal Robbins in January 2023. The industry vet’s past roles include Keen’s general manager of outdoor and chief marketing officer at Helly Hansen. He was also a former board member for The Conservation Alliance.
Burbank told SGB Executive that the company’s move to rationalize assortments marked a shift in its focus to emphasize products that differentiate Royal Robbins in the marketplace. “We had to move away from ‘chasing’ and focus on those products and styles where we can be best-in-class,” said Burbank.
Among those products is the Desert Pucker, introduced by Royal Robbins in 1999.
“Puckers are perhaps the all-time best-selling shirt in outdoor specialty, with more than one million sold over the past twenty-five years,” said Burbank. “It’s made with Tencel Modal, which gives it great sustainability qualities. Consumers love them because it’s simply a super comfortable shirt that’s versatile enough to wear every day, whether you’re climbing in Yosemite or hiking the PCT. We focused on the Pucker and expanded the offering to include women’s and several new styles within the family. This led to Puckers becoming our largest collection in the line.”
Another category receiving increased attention from Royal Robbins is its adventure dresses, where “the Spotless already ranks as the number one adventure dress in Europe, and is gaining momentum in the U.S.,” added Burbank. “The response from consumers, and sales figures, bear that out.”
For fall, the company has prioritized categories it sees as key to healthy growth, including the brand’s 100 percent RWS-certified merino wool sweaters, led by Westland’s Fairisle and its Shacket range. Burbank said about shackets, “These comfortable, versatile products draw on workwear heritage while remaining consistent with our design ethos over the last 50-plus years. It’s a category we believe we can be a leader in, and it’s great to see the market responding favorably.”
Royal Robbins is also delivering on innovation with its Mosquito Protection Technology (MPT) featured in several apparel collections. Launched in spring 2025, MPT utilizes tight-weave fabrics to provide chemical-free mosquito protection, garnering attention in Time’s “Best Inventions of 2025 and Popular Science’s recent annual list of “50 Greatest Innovations.”
To build on MPT’s success, Royal Robbins is launching the Salathé lightweight hoodie in 2026, named after the climbing route on El Capitan. Said Burbank, “We believe it’s the world’s only lightweight, breathable hoodie that combines both UPF 40+ and chemical-free mosquito protection. The feedback from Salathé wear testers over the past six months has been outstanding. MPT is a program we’ll continue to invest in.”
Burbank’s broader mission is to better reposition Royal Robbins around its roots in outdoor and sustainable design. The brand was founded in 1968 by climbers Royal Robbins and his wife, Liz Robbins. The brand helped establish “the birth of the outdoor industry as we know it today,” noted Burbank, alongside The North Face, which launched in 1966, and Patagonia in 1973. Royal and Liz Robbins were friends with the founders of those brands and shared adventures.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Royal Robbins was joined by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard on several first ascents, including the North America Wall on El Capitan. Robbins and Chouinard were instrumental in establishing the clean climbing ethic by advocating for minimal impact on rock faces during climbs. Later in the 1980s, Robbins was joined by The North Face founder Doug Tompkins, as well as Chouinard, in tackling numerous first descents in whitewater rafting.
One of the brand’s initial breakthrough products was directly tied to the founders’ climbing roots with the introduction in 1975 of the Billy Goat shorts. Said Burbank, “The Billy Goat shorts were the first ‘bespoke’ climbing shorts and pants. There was nothing like them. They needed to satisfy the climbers’ needs for flexible, versatile, durable shorts and pants that would withstand the abuse of climbing on granite.”
However, the founder’s ambitions were to serve a broader sense of adventure and the outdoor experience, with an emphasis on offering versatile products that could handle a range of pursuits.
“Royal was known for saying, ‘Nature and adventure are good for the soul,’” said Burbank. “And the business has always been about helping people feed their souls and live more meaningful lives. We aim to provide both inspiration and extremely versatile gear that can support them in whatever they choose to do outdoors.
Versatility remains a top-selling point for the brand.
“We have a 90/90 rule. Essentially, we aim for 90 percent of our consumers to be able to undertake 90 percent of their outdoor adventures with our gear. It’s all about versatility. We leave the technical hard shells, ice-climbing gloves, ultra-minimalist’s kit — that last 10 percent — to other brands,” said Burbank. “There are plenty of good places for consumers to go for those niche items. We just focus on those products that deliver a tremendous amount of versatility so people can lead adventurous lives without filling up their closets.”
Burbank also believes Royal Robbins has built a strong reputation for comfort and style that emanates from the founders’ vision. He said, “Having Royal as your first name already lends a certain air. And while he spent the bulk of his time outdoors, he had a very definite level of style about him. I love a quote from one of our fans when talking about our product, ‘I’m always adventuring, but I don’t always want to look like I’m adventuring.’ We craft all our clothes with a level of style that helps people look good while in the outdoors.”
The versatile nature of Royal Robbins’ line also appeals to travelers looking for multi-purpose gear. Burbank believes the founders’ initial vision became diluted at some stage as previous owners of the brand chased the travel opportunity.
Burbank sees a bigger opportunity to celebrate the founders’ outdoor legacy. He said, “One of the things that I’ve done in the last few years is to try to change the mentality within the company from a chasing mentality to a leading mentality. We took the time to understand exactly who we are, what our purpose is, and who our consumer is. And then focused on leading so that we can represent and serve our fans from a unique perspective.”
Burbank said that demographic data shows Royal Robbins’ customers skew slightly towards women, as opposed to men. The brand’s sales also lean more toward spring/summer offerings than fall/winter, which runs contrary to the offerings of outdoor brands. The brand also attracts a slightly more educated consumer.
However, Burbank views Royal Robbins customers more from a psychographic than a demographic perspective, stating, “The common denominator, whether somebody is 18 or 60, is we’re attracting and serving people that truly want to live adventurous lives and feel that emotional connection with nature.”
To help introduce the brand to new generations, in 2024, Royal Robbins launched its first social and affiliate influencer programs to drive user-generated content. The move included hiring its first social content creator and has contributed significantly to an increase in the brand’s reach.
“We believe we have a unique story to tell, and we need to create the assets and develop the relationships to get the word out,” said Burbank. “And it’s working. Our brand awareness is growing rapidly, though we’re still very early in our journey.”
At the grassroots level, Royal Robbins has received a strong reception with the launch of its “Hangboard Challenge.” The brand showcases a specially designed hangboard at consumer and trade events, providing an opportunity for people to see how long they can hang. Burbank estimates that Royal Robbins has likely seen between 6,000 and 7,000 attempts at the Hangboard Challenge across 12 events this year. Hangboards were recently introduced to two retail partners for local activations, again “yielding great results.” Royal Robbins is working on building more hangboards to support additional retail and consumer events in 2026.
“It’s very unique and a great conversation starter,” said Burbank. “Every time we show up with the hangboard, it garners a lot of attention, and we’re figuring out how to build around it. It also stems from our climbing heritage. At last month’s Yosemite Facelift, we had approximately 1,000 people visit, and about 650 tried the hangboard. It’s just a fun, cool, social kind of thing. And most people who try it are non-climbers. It’s just a great way for them to experience what hanging by their fingers feels like. It’s really challenging, but everyone walks away smiling.”
Burbank expects Royal Robbins to see growth this year, with order book projections heading into 2026 also on the upswing. He said that while outdoor specialty stores are buying conservatively, given the uncertainty surrounding tariffs and the economy, many of the brand’s core outdoor specialty dealers are expressing appreciation for Royal Robbins’ focused product line, and significant numbers of new accounts are discovering the brand.
“We have 56 new accounts on board for Spring 2026. For us, this is really meaningful. It speaks to the confidence that consumers and retailers are showing us in these challenging times. We don’t take that for granted,” said Burbank.
Images courtesy Royal Robbins/Fenix Outdoor
