Alabama's Southern Waters Outfitters, a regional outdoor and lifestyle apparel retailer, said it has begun a planned expansion throughout the southeast.
Their latest store location is at “Grand Boulevard” in Sandestin, FL, which opened in December 2007. This store will be followed by another at “Pier Park” in Panama City Beach, Fl. slated to open in February 2008. It also stores in Foley, AL; Spanish Fort, AL; and Fairhope, AL.
“We are planning on unveiling our new updated version of Southern Waters Outfitters at these two new locations, which will include lots of new goodies,” said president and CEO Richard Haag, in a statement.
Southern Waters sells brands including The North Face, Patagonia, Napapijri, Kavu, Mountain Hardwear and Luminox, and has a very different look than traditional outdoor retailers. Its Spanish Fort store replicates an “old warehouse” with exposed brick walls, stained concrete floors, mismatched antique tables, and very little in the way of “vendor branded” fixtures. It also has retailer's trademark antique, a 1963 Land Rover.
“Most outdoor retail shops lean more toward the look of a hardware store,” said Haag. “We offer our customers a more finished and exciting experience, not unlike what Anthropologie did for women's boutiques.”
The company also recently launched an e-commerce site at www.southern-waters.com.
“We have kept it kind of low key and under the radar while we've been tweaking it these last couple of months, but we plan on a grand opening and launch party this holiday season,” said Haag. “The Sputnik Agency out of Victoria, Australia built it for us, and it is quite unique for our line of business. We wanted a site that would stand out from the rest and they delivered us just that. We are excited at the response and feedback thus far.”
