Festive spirits move into shopping centres
Published: 23 September, 2010
Cosy Camper has been a fixture on the music festival scene for 15 years, and now it is trading from shopping centres
Cosy Camper’s colourful stand, packed with quirky yet practical merchandise, has been a fixture on the UK festival scene for the past 15 years. More recently it has traded all-year-round from RMUs in Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries and other Scottish malls. And this Christmas it is expanding into eight centres in Scotland and the North of England.
Founders John and Marsley Robertson began selling inflatable furniture at the T in the Park festival, south of Glasgow, under the Drastic Plastic banner. But it soon became apparent that festival campers needed far more than an inflatable armchair and the solution was the Cosy Camper brand.
Over the ensuing years the brand has built a strong following, and best-sellers include blankets, funky wellies, hats and socks.
“Our age range goes from on to 80 or 90,” explains co-founder Marsley Robertson. “And we’re always looking to expand our product range: next year we’re moving into own-brand tents, sleeping bags
and airbeds.”
Corporate Social Responsinility is important to the Robertsons, and an increasing proportion of their merchandise is Fair Trade certified. For instance, the Black Yak range of hats are hand knitted in the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal.
Equally important is an emphasis on quality merchandise, even if it is more expensive. “We stay on-site after a festival has ended and the campsites are just littered with discarded tents and other stuff,” explains John Robertson. “We don’t find our stuff left behind because it’s of a quality that people want to keep.”
However the May-to-September festival season only provides limited sales opportunities, even though the company has from time to time extended outside the UK to events like the massive Rosskilde festival in Denmark.
“We decided to take an RMU in Buchanan Galleries,” says Robertson. “It turned out to be the best thing we’ve done. We’ve extended our target market by going into a fashion centre.”
Since opening in Glasgow three years ago Cosy Camper has opened in Silverburn, East Kilbride and the St James Centre in Edinburgh, and now it is looking to extend into England.
And the added profile from trading in high-footfall locations in shopping centres has had other benefits. “It’s definitely driven an increase in our online sales,” says John Robertson. “Customers can order online and then collect at the festival, or from the RMU on their way to the festival.”
Trading from an in-line store remains an option for the future, but at this stage, Cosy Camper is happy to carry on trading from RMUs. “RMUs work well for us,” explains John Robertson, “if you’re in the right place everyone has to go past you.”
And according to Annette Paterson, deputy manager at Buchanan Galleries, Cosy Camper has made a positive contribution to the centre as well. “The space they occupy is unique for RMU activity,” she explains. “It’s now home to an attractive unit that has visual impact.”
So will the move into mainstream retail mean the end for the Robertson’s annual pilgrimage round the festival circuit? Not according to John Robertson who explains the festivals are now as much about product development as they are about retailing.
“Festivals are ideal for us,” he explains. “We see what the kids are wearing and feed that into next year’s products.”
