Fall - InsideOutdoor Magazine

Waterproof
Wars 2.0
Waterproof/breathable competitors
face new market conditions
by Martin Vilaboy
The breathable waterproof fabric market has
always had its fair share of attackers challenging
the supremacy of category pioneer and firmly
established incumbent, W.L. Gore and its Gore-Tex
brand. Numerous textile companies and proprietary apparel
brands have taken Gore-Tex to task on its effectiveness and
relative high cost for as long as we can remember. Some
have gained traction, others, not so much.
During the last few years, however, the industry has
witnessed an aggressive push into the space by some large,
well-funded and highly familiar contestants. That’s not
to suggest the recent moves by the likes of GE, Columbia
Sportswear and Polartec suddenly make a discussion of
waterproof/breathable technologies more important than
when folks such as Sympatex and Nextec and apparel
company house brands were leading the charge. Rather,
the current shake-up in the waterproof/breathable market
is worth following because it’s indicative of sweeping
forces and trends that are disrupting the entire retail and
consumer products landscape, including shopper behavior,
marketing and branding, global supply chains and
customer relations.
Of course, Gore’s dominant position in the space has
been legendary. For most avid outdoor participants, the
name Gore-Tex is synonymous with wet-weather protection.
And when a group of Inside Outdoor readers were
surveyed recently regarding their familiarity with several
fabric brands – as part of a CORDURA-sponsored study
– a full 92 percent of retail respondents said they were
“very familiar” with the Gore-Tex brand. The closest fabric
brands in the survey in terms of aided awareness were
nearly 20 percentage points behind: Lycra, for which 75
percent were “very familiar,” and CORDURA, at about 73
percent “very familiar.”
Notwithstanding Gore’s impressive awareness levels,
there are some who are questioning the value of third-party
component branding altogether. There was a time, these
folks would argue, when a consumer who was ready to buy
a product simply would make a trip to the store, consider
the selection and complete the purchase. In this scenario,
a hangtag calling out trusted technology was an important
way to push out technological information. Not only
an educational tool, the same component logo or hangtag
across five or so jackets on the racks brings a commonality
14 | InsideOutdoor | Fall 2011