Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2016 - 34

IDEAS
Being outside is my biggest source of inspiration. It's my therapy. No
matter where I am in the world, I'm outside almost every day.
Growing up, my parents would bring me and my two sisters on many of
their business trips, and combine them with a few days of shopping and
then outdoor activities. They're both very sporty. I grew up traveling the
world and, needless to say, had some pretty sweet outfits.
Gary Neptune, the founder of Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder,
Colorado, taught me how to rock climb and telemark.
I love brands that have a rock-and-roll attitude. A strong aesthetic
and humor are also crucial. Very few corporate American brands have
any of this.
I can feel a generational shift starting to happen and when it takes
hold, a lot of things are going to change.

THOUGHT LEADERS

Making Good
Who says you can't start a new type of outdoor
store right in the middle of Manhattan?

We started talking with Woolrich about a collaboration about a year
ago. They wanted to tell a story about women in the outdoors. I was an
obvious good fit. Together, we've built a story about the modern outdoor
woman. I invited my two friends (and modern outdoor women) Jeanine
Pesce from The Range and Lizzie Garrett Mettler from Tomboy Style to
help with the project. They're brilliant. We have so much fun together.
I told the first guy who ever shopped at our store that he was our first
customer. He was so excited that he told all of his friends to shop with us.
It was so sweet. I started to realize that building the actual business is a
story people love to hear about.
Buy fewer, better things.

Westerlind followed in the family footsteps at the age of 21, starting a distribution company and introducing foreign brands such as
Fjällräven and Snow Peak Apparel to North America. Her shop on
Spring Street in Manhattan's Nolita district mixes a sense of style with
a love of being out and playing in the wild. Her online business (westerlindoutdoor.com) follows suit, selling a smart, functional aesthetic.
There aren't a lot of outdoor shops for people like me and my friends.
It takes a long time to build a brand, so you'd better enjoy it. You have
to make sure all your employees are in the same key. Without that, it
doesn't matter how good your product is, or how strong your marketing
is. You have to learn how to do a little bit of everything.

34 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ Winter 2016

I pay out unusually high commissions and I give twice-as-long vacations. My staff is worth it. They're the best asset I have.
Summit Series in Utah invited me to open a shop for them on
Powder Mountain. One of their designers, Griffin Loop, designed and
built the store for me (at no charge). GQ named it "the most stylish outdoor brand in America" earlier this year.
I'm Swedish. Being an immigrant and starting a business was hard.
I felt like I had to start from scratch. Today, I think it's my biggest advantage. I can't believe I made all these friends.
Margins are important but they're not everything. It's one of those
things that you need to pay attention to in secret. It becomes very obvious when a brand focuses too much on margins. It's not a good look.
I'm a tough cookie for sure. You kind of have to be to live in New York
City for a decade and build a business. O.R.

Photo by Zach Allia, Courtesy of Andrea Westerlind

Name: Anna Westerlind
Shop: Westerlind
Opened: 2014
Title: Owner
Location: New York, New York
Downlow: The granddaugher of the owners of a Swedish fashion house,

http://www.westerlindoutdoor.com http://www.westerlindoutdoor.com

Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2016

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