Why Woodland is selling outdoor adventure to Indian youth

The name Woodland brings to mind the heavy, tough, all-terrain shoes. But the company that began in the early 1990s has widened its portfolio over the years to include jackets, backpacks and other products. And now, it is eyeing the growing market for outdoor adventure equipment.

Woodland currently earns nearly 60 per cent of its Rs 1,000 crore revenue from footwear, with apparel contributing 30 per cent and accessories the remaining. It sells its products through 480 exclusive showrooms and 4,000 other retailers. The company recently started selling sleeping bags, tents, backpacks, climbing gear, harnesses, hydration bags, walking sticks, water sippers, and mountain bikes. Whatever little demand that these products have in India are met by imports. So, what attracted Woodland to adventure equipment?

"Woodland is today seen as an outdoor brand. Our average age profile [of customers] is 18 to 25 years," says Harkirat Singh, Managing Director, Woodland. "This line of business [adventure equipment] is in line with the brand's positioning, so we ventured into it. Also, we wanted to take advantage of the market which is in a very nascent stage."

However, the challenges far exceeded the opportunity that Woodland saw. Not many in India, even among the youth, are keen on outdoor adventures. The infrastructure limitations were also significant in terms of trekking or water surfing despite the country being endowed with many mountains and water bodies. To make adventure activities popular, the company began organising events in various colleges across the country to popularise adventure sports such as slack climbing, bungee jumping, water surfing and trekking. "We hold at least one or two such programmes across the country," says Singh. "We decided to sell outdoor adventure to start with rather than the equipment," he adds.

The company is also leveraging social media. It has more than three million fans on Facebook. Recently, it asked people to share pictures of their adventure activities. "The idea is to inculcate the desire for adventure," says Singh. He hopes that such efforts, along with increased desire among youngsters to explore, should translate into demand for Woodland's outdoor equipment.

The other big challenge for Woodland is to ensure that its equipment is affordable. High-priced equipment will smother the nascent growth in demand. The company is dealing with this issue by leveraging its integrated manufacturing facilities and embracing innovation. "By this dual strategy, we want to bring the right products at the right price," says Singh.

The innovative products the company has introduced include the ResQ embedded jackets, which have an advanced rescue technology to locate an avalanche victim, and warm grip shoes that contain a lithium-ion battery and coil in the sole to keep the shoes warm. Woodland also sells solar-powered outdoor bags which convert sunlight into energy for charging cell phones and Step-up, a technology that will count the number of steps and calculate the distance travelled or calories burnt.

Singh is hopeful that the dual strategy of facilitating demand and developing the right products at the right price will ensure that adventure equipment sales will account for 10 per cent of Woodland's overall business in the next five years.