It says it right there on the Duluth Trading Company website. "If you're a Duluth Trading fan, when you visit your new store... You'll feel like you died and went to heaven!"
Well, aside from appealing to fans of the quirky catalog and online retailer selling work gear and its Crack Spackle Longtail t-shirts (goodbye awkward moments speaking to plumbers working under the sink), the goal is to introduce the company to a wider range of potential customers.
Duluth Trading's first store is located in Mount Horeb, WI, within driving distance (100 miles) of five percent of its current customers. The 7,500 square-foot store is in a building that date backs to 1882 and was the former home of the Mount Horeb Hardware Co. In addition to its normal goods, the new store also houses the Wally Keller Tool Museum, which has tools dating back to the Civil War.
"I really think it brings our brand to life," Steve Schlect, owner of Duluth Trading, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The concept is a destination store."
While hardware had been Duluth Trading's heritage, the company has emphasized soft goods in recent years. Since 2001, according to the Journal Sentinel report, sales at the company went from 85 percent hardware to the same percentage in apparel.
The company has also seen growth in women's clothing under the direction of Stephanie Pugliese, who joined Duluth after leaving Lands' End a couple of years back.
While Duluth's gear is designed with working people in mind, the vast majority of its goods are bought by non-professionals looking for higher quality merchandise. The company estimates that somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of its business goes to people working in construction and other trades.
The 7,500 square-foot flagship store is the first, but is not going to be the last if the company sees it can increase its customer base and turn a profit.
Discussion Questions: Do you expect Duluth Trading Company to achieve success opening its first brick and mortar outlet? Are there any cautions for Duluth or other e-tailers looking to open stores?