P22 ARDLAIR:SGBGolf_NEW_template 01/06/2009 10:08 Page 22
Ardblair brand profile
Ardblair and X-Bionic
Ardblair's stance is a simple one – they distribute and work with quality brands,
"pioneers in their market areas". Well, in the X-Bionic (and X-Socks) brand
they've most certainly got that… SGB spoke to Lilian Sullivan, Sales Director for
Ardblair, about X-Bionic and the company…
O
ne of the privileges of working on SGB is the superb gear we underwear. We say 'no, no, it's not underwear, it's standalone'. They put
see, test and use every day, but even seeing such great them on and realise that actually they are more discrete than using lycra
equipment and apparel, sometimes you see something that shorts, and even a really basic runner notices how well they perform. You
surprises or intrigues. That was the case with X-Bionic, which SGB don't have to be an elite athlete to appreciate how well the shorts perform.
encountered at a recent consumer exhibition, and we came away X-Bionic clothing is very comfortable, but it looks very different and
both impressed and excited. its performance is quite different from anything else out there. Of
We spoke with Lilian to find out more – and check out course, that is an education process, it takes time to get
the box-out, for our conversation with Professor Bodo that over to the consumer, but also to the retailer. The
Lambertz, the pioneer behind the X-Bionic gear. retailer sometimes only sees straight compression or
wicking base layer, they don't necessarily appreciate
SGB: Is there any connection between the brands Ardblair
distributes – X-Socks, X-Bionic, Aku (boots) and Leki (poles
and accessories)? "People have been
Lilian Sullivan: They are quite disparate things, but they are
all top profile. They are all high quality technical products, so in
misled"
terms of where they sit, they all sit at the same level. And, of course,
nothing competes with anything else, so they all support each other. Professor Bodo Lambertz of X-Technology Research and
Most shops stock trekking poles, they stock boots and they stock Development is a passionate man, a scientist whose
base layers. It gives us three good brands to go in with. background is not, he freely admits, in fabric technology.
We have just agreed, and you're the first to hear about it, to Professor Lambertz explained his ideas and the origins of X-
distribute Polaroid Sports Glasses in the sports market. They are Bionic to SGB…
mid-range, £48 - £75, around that, and are the original polarised
lenses; again, they are a technical product, so fit in very well with SGB: How do your garments work compared to other wicking
what we do. systems out there?
Retailers are always looking to consolidate their suppliers. They want to be Professor Lambertz: People have been misled for the last 35 years.
able to buy as much as possible from one supplier who can offer a range of Everybody was writing that it’s important to keep your skin dry. This is an
options for them. absolutely incorrect theory. Everybody is announcing they will keep the
skin dry; this has been announced and advertised for the last 35 years.
SGB: When we first saw X-Bionic, we thought "This is either extremely high We do our research on the kind of solutions that nature developed. We
quality technical gear, or a see that clothing is an interface between the human body and the
great gimmick!" But now environment. The target is that we want to keep you performing under all
we've tried it… Well, we're conditions, if you take only our sports gear. When we started to research
very, very impressed. that, we found that keeping the skin dry was misleading – our body
LS: It is not a gimmick. It has regulation system needs the sweat badly. Put a little spit on your finger
won far too many awards to and put it on your forehead, you feel immediately how the forehead gets
be a gimmick, but it is so cool. Wipe the spit off, and it doesn't cool any more.
different… There is so much Last year a colleague of mine scientifically proved that you need up to
going on, when you look at 97 percent of your energy to regulate your body temperature, not for the
the packaging and you read all muscles. That is a very, very important thing.
the hype about it, you think it It has been scientifically proven that the undergear and all the other
can't possibly do what it says it stuff we are doing, helps the body to regulate temperature. How do we
does. But it does. do this? If you test the running gear or the bike gear, there is something
We have had great results we call the Bionic Sphere system. We collect the sweat – it is too precious
with things like the Energizer to just throw away! You really need it, so we collect the sweat. The
baselayers and the running natural way of cooling is maintained. Then we collect the excessive sweat
shorts. When runners first see in our Bionic Sphere system and bring it back to the skin, cooling the
the shorts, they think it's athlete.
22 SGB SPORTS MAY 2009
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