Did you hear?… MontBell America to open company's first retail store in October

MontBell America will be opening the company’s first retail store on Oct. 1 in Boulder, Col., Jim Heiden of MontBell USA told SNEWS®. Heiden said the MontBell store will utilize 4,500 feet of the 6,700-squre-foot space, which was a Banana Republic store, for retail space, and the remaining area will be office and backstock. The store will carry a significant percentage of MontBell’s Japanese line with a little fill in of peripheral products to ensure the store is well-balanced, Heiden said. MontBell will also be at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market seeking to open a select number of retailers. SNEWS® View: Since 1975, MontBell has operated under the trademarked tag of “Light and Fast,” so there will now be two Boulder, Col.-based companies targeting the ultralight market. Though MontBell product is very well made, it is currently available only in select REI stores. We would expect that to change as retailers become more aware of the line. However, perhaps not in the Boulder area, which is already a saturated retail climate and, we would pose the question, what retailer in the area would want to now carry it. But perhaps that’s all part of the strategy.