Stanley Outdoor, a brand of PMI, unveiled a new retailer campaign – “Thermalware 101” – at the 2012 Winter Market Outdoor Retailer Show. The campaign is designed to educate buyers about Thermalware, its importance as a new category, and its relevancy for buyers and their consumers.
Stanley will be located at booth #18010 at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market trade show, which takes place Jan. 19-22 in Salt Lake City, UT.
The brand believes that Thermalware defined as insulated food and beverage gear, such as vacuum food jars, vacuum bottles and double wall mugs represents an untapped category and a huge potential for retailers as this gear plays a major role in making the consumers’ adventure the best possible.
“Right now beverage and food gear is left in the catch-all category of “miscellaneous” or “cookware” consumers don’t intuitively know where to locate the food and beverage gear in a given store,” explains Neil Burch, vice president outdoor sales for Stanley brand. “We organized these types of products into the ‘Thermalware’ category and shared this concept with our retailers; they were excited and believe this solution will help their stores.”
Like the right footwear, tents or packs, consumers are looking for the best equipment for their chosen adventure including food and beverage containers. Different journeys and destinations require different gear. The needs of a car camping family are not the same of a solo backpacker on the Appalachian Trail. Stanley recognized this need and has responded with the Thermalware category initiative in order to provide consumers a solution.
More than just the consumer, the retailer will also reap the benefits of this newly defined category. Educated shoppers who visit a store with an organized Thermalware section will be able to locate the products in one place instead of all over the store; it becomes less of an impulse buy. In turn they will purchase the most suitable product for their adventure. This all translates to happier customers, better sales and increased sell through.
“With a down economy and a greater sensitivity to the environment, reusable Thermalware products continue to see steady growth in sales however the ability to find and purchase these items continues to be difficult for consumers at retail,” states JoAnne Anderson, global marketing manager for PMI’s Stanley brand. “In 2012, we are introducing POP solutions to help retailers’ better merchandise the Thermalware section within their stores. We expect this to help drive sales for this growing category.”
The Thermalware category initiative will be rolling out to retailers throughout 2012 supported by educational and merchandising pieces.
