Cotswold Outdoor Q&A
Written by Steph
As part of our ongoing partnership with Cotswold Outdoor, we quizzed them with some of our top questions about their aims, the journey they’re on, and some of the challenges they’re facing as a retailer.
How does increasing the range of plus-size kit that Cotswold Outdoor stocks fit with your wider values and vision?
Our mission is, and always will be, to inspire and support anyone to get active outdoors in a responsible way. This mission drives everything we do across Cotswold Outdoor. We believe everyone deserves access to the right kit that supports their outdoor adventures and improves their experience. Embracing diversity and providing more inclusive sizing is essential to creating an environment where everyone can enjoy the outdoors without barriers.
We’re aware there have been gaps and challenges to accessing plus-size kit, especially technical products. We’ve been working across our business to review and extend the size range offered in-store and online, to ensure more customers can access the best kit – including technical products.
What current steps have you taken to work towards plus-size inclusivity in stores and online?
Firstly, we want to acknowledge that this is only the beginning of our journey to increase inclusivity. Even after expanding our product range, there are still limited offerings available for us to offer customers. We decided to focus on the following initiatives: extending the size range, enhancing the online shopping experience and communicating with customers (marketing).
New Size Ranging
We’ve increased the number of items available to customers above a size 18, and we’ll continue to increase our stock with each season. We’re proud to offer sizes up to 24+ in some of the kit we stock. To ensure we can offer the best experience, we’ve nominated 10 stores around the UK where customers can shop more of our extended size range in person. For our spring and summer range next year, this will increase to 20 stores. We then carry a further range on our website, which is available for click & collect to any store or delivery to your home.
Online Shopping Experience
We've created filters for customers to easily browse our extended size range online. In a couple of clicks from the homepage, customers can browse extended sizes within any clothing category. We've also begun using more diverse mannequins in our stores to display our clothing on various body shapes instead of using the standard sample size. We’re excited for more of these to be rolled-out across stores soon.
We’ll continue to help customers find the right kit through our in-store services, such as an adventure kit list appointment or rucksack fitting. Our trained kit specialists can help customers understand their needs and the kit required for their adventure. By increasing our sizing range, we can ensure more customers find the right kit for their specific needs during an appointments.
Communicating & Marketing
We’re proud to feature our own staff and community regularly in our campaigns, many of which don’t fall into the sample size. We’re also very excited to partner with Every Body Outdoors, to celebrate the diverse community accessing the outdoors and feature their stories and experiences across our communication channels. Through our partnership, we’re supporting the kit pool, enabling more of the community to try on products offered above size 18.
We recognise there’s still more work to be done to enhance size inclusivity and will continue to support our customers to find kit that makes them feel confident and comfortable.
What are the major challenges you face in increasing your plus-size range?
There are many steps the outdoor industry is already taking to improve shopping experiences for plus-sized customers. Yet, there is still more to be done to broaden the range of sizes and fits. Challenges across the industry vary from brands to us as a retailer. Many of the brands we stock are undertaking significant development to research new patterns and develop fit-for-purpose clothing for a broader sizing range. The lead times for the industry are lengthy, and we generally finalise our stock a year in advance for the season.
We’ve been working closely with brands to provide feedback and share our ambitions for increasing our size range across stores. We understand this will be an ongoing commitment between us and brands to continue researching and testing, ensuring the delivery of new and improved size offerings across the outdoor kit ranges.
How far ahead do retailers order stock from brands?
We work approximately 12 months in advance for each season. However, the lead times for brand and product development before we review our ranges are much longer and falls before this.
Where would you like to see Cotswold Outdoor in five years’ time with your plus size range?
We’d love more people to feel welcome visiting our stores and website and be confident they can find the right kit for their outdoors adventures. Ultimately, we want plus-sized clothing in all our stores and online. We also want to better represent plus-sizes by featuring more diversity in our marketing and communications.
What in-store services do you offer that might be useful for the Every Body Outdoor community?
We offer a range of in-store appointments to help customers select the right kit - plus our services for protecting and recycling kit.
Boot Fitting Appointments
A few services we think that would benefit the Every Body Outdoors community are outdoor footwear fitting appointments, footwear protection, and Recycle My Gear. All outdoor adventures require the right footwear to ensure your comfort and safety. To help you find the perfect fit, you can book a personalised boot fitting with a trained specialist. A selection of our stores now offer cutting-edge 3D foot scanning as part of the boot fitting service too. After being measured, customers can try on multiple pairs of shoes before choosing the most comfortable pair.
Footwear Protection Service
The footwear protection service is a great add-on that can extend the life of your footwear in just 60 seconds. If you’re investing in your kit, protecting it will keep it performing at its best for longer.
Kit List Appointments
We also provide kit list-style appointments. These are ideal for individuals planning trips and seeking guidance on what to pack, whether their adventure takes them abroad or closer to home.
Our ethos is to ensure customers make the right choice when choosing kit. We would be more than happy to invite the Every Body Outdoors community into any of our stores to learn more about what we can offer. Discover the full list of appointments on offer and book online today.
Additional details
Link to Extended Sizing range lister page (updated as new products arrive in stock):
Store list with extended sizing range
Please note that stock may vary by store. We recommend customers use our store locator tool which can be found on every product page, to check the product is in stock in your preferred store. If the item isn’t in stock in- store but available online, you can always click & collect to any store for free or deliver to your home address.
Cirencester - Cotswold Water Park
Keswick
Aberdeen
Exeter - Darts Farm
London - Covent Garden Southhampton Street
Liverpool
Newcastle
Droitwich
Skipton
Betws-y-Coed - Royal Oak