2010/11 Outerwear A-To-Z: ThirtyTwo’s Brad Alband

mike lewis

• November 27 2009
• 16 comments

After pulling itself up from its roots in boots ThirtyTwo is launching an expanded line of outerwear for 2010/11 based on strong retail responses to its initial offering this season. Running deeper than its 15 years of boot DNA is Sole Technologies skate heritage and Sales and Design Manager Brad Alband and his team have used that legacy as the inspiration for a strong new line. Not one to pull punches, we put the questions to Mr. Alband to find out what to expect from his brand, and the answers are a refreshing nod to what he dubs “The Man Movement.”

Tell us a little bit about The Man Movement.

For 2010, we see the Man Movement increasing its presence. This is a shift back to more classic silhouettes, colors and overall style. Looking like neon circus clowns or children in their printed footsie sleepers is a thing of the past. 
Sales 
ThirtyTwo took our two premiere outerwear riders, JP Walker and Joe Sexton, and designed two separate looks that pay homage to this movement under the ThirtyTwo name - Exposure Series and the Cascade Collection.  Exposure has an athletic feel, with larger logos and brighter colors.  Cascade is designed around a more vintage outdoor look, with earth tones and slimmer fits. 

I’m excited about the opportunity for whoever we have joining the 32 team, we will have something in the line that they’ll find fits their style.

What will that look like in the line?

ThirtyTwo is still focused on lightweight design, innovation and premium materials.  A  large portion of the line uses fabrics that fit with ThirtyTwo’s eco-friendly TR32D LIGHTLY value utilizing Recycled PET.  We also brought in more dobby, stretch oxfords and developed our exclusive Stretch Striped Dobby fabric - reminiscent of a striped pant Wooderson wore in “Dazed and Confused.”

How about pricepoints? Will those give a nod to “Dazed and Confused’s” era too?

At ThirtyTwo we are snowboarders first and we know that in today’s economy consumers don’t have as much expendable cash as they use to so our pricepoints are obviously coming down, but that doesn’t mean product is being sacrificed.  It goes back to that Man Movement – keep it functional. Give me what I need and leave out the excess.  I think of it as value.  Our line grew to 37 skus and we have everything in between $140-$250 U.S.  retail. This is where business is being done. We design product for people who love to snowboard and have no aspirations to be something we’re not. There’s no peacoats, man bags or satin scarves in this office.

ThirtyTwo www.thirtytwo.com 949.460.2020 Shiloh Jacket - $165 Blahzay Pant - $145

How were prebooks for your first season?

We hit our global goal. Response was better than we had hoped and early signs this fall show product is selling through above many of our competitors. We are cautiously optimistic.

Ah, the old cautious optimsim - where are you seeing the most optimism and least caution on the horizon?

ThirtyTwo’s 15th anniversary is in 2010, and it is year two for outerwear. We have pushed, kicked, and clawed our way to the number one or two boot brand on our retailers floors. Snowboarder’s know ThirtyTwo for innovation, performance and design. We see this mindset moving into how they view our outerwear. A few years down the line, we hope ThirtyTwo outerwear will be mentioned as a top five outerwear brand.

For next season I feel that ThirtyTwo’s product, marketing and sales team are really together.  The product is the best we have ever brought to market. We are working to strategically build the team and some MAJOR team additions are happening very soon.    We are not expanding distribution to look for dollars!  ThirtyTwo is strengthening our current retail partnerships to let our end consumers truly find the ThirtyTwo experience in the best snowboard shops across the country.

How are you working with those shops to improve sales on both sides?

Right now we are doing what we can to be better partners to our retailers including evaluating terms and credit limits. We’re still an independent brand owned by a snowboarder, competing against public monsters trying to knock us out. We worked long and hard to get where we’re at and we think great years are directly ahead of us. We just need to be innovative, humble and above all, not forget to get out and ride with the guys who got us here.

ThirtyTwo www.thirtytwo.com 949.460.2020 TQ Jacket - $170 Wooderson Pant - $140