FIELDREPORT
Foul weather friends
Swedish performance golfwear experts Cross Sportswear are refocusing on the UK in 2016 with strong ranges for men and women. Brand CEO Niclas Valfridsson describes a brighter, more versatile range that reveals a sharper accent on wind and rainwear.
E
very golfer feels the need to let off steam from time to time. But thanks to the rainproof fabric in the latest
Cross Sportswear ranges for men and women, you can do it literally. “The material is called FTX,” says brand CEO
Niclas Valfridsson. “It’s made up of an outer fabric, an inner lining and a very thin membrane between the two. The garment creates what we call steam pressure between the warmer inside and cooler outside, and the membrane releases water molecules from in to out. This makes the material highly breathable, as well as offering great waterproofing, windproofing and four-way stretch.” FTX plays a leading role in Cross Sportswear’s two new men’s and women’s ranges for 2016, ranges that represent something of a comeback for the upmarket Swedish brand. Though they’ve been around since 1986, issues with distributorship have seen the brand’s UK activity stall over the past four or five years. But behind these latest ranges is a new design team that has come up with a more vibrant, more complementing palette, a new team of UK sales agents, and a stronger commitment to the UK market. “We are now taking stock directly from
Sweden,” says UK master agent and PGA pro Steve Shaw. “We quote a week for delivery, but it typically arrives in four to five days. We are determined to work with the green grass retailer to find out what works for them, and will not be asking for any kind of excessive investment commitment. Sell-in is underway
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now, and a popular process is to take three, smaller orders rather than one big hit; a smaller drop for the launch in March, another in May, then a third one in August.” The extent of new product – some 50
garments for men and 40 for women – suggest a confidence in making a positive, fresh start. That said, the scale can partly be explained by the fact Cross have taken the slightly unusual step of launching everything from rain jackets, though polo shirts to base layers, in one go. There will though be a smaller AW launch in August and September 2016. “We’ve done it this way because we now
have 20 markets to cater for, and all have different needs,” Valfridsson explains. “It just makes more sense.” On the style front the clothing has the
understated confidence that marks it out as being unmistakeably Scandinavian. While there is more colour to be found – for example the sunburst orange Classic polo and the motor red Pro Jacket options – designs are typically unfussy with the likes of flexible black, navy and pumice stone widespread. The famously fitted Scandanavian look is also prevalent, aided by the liberal use of stretch materials – though the presence of a more generous second cut, labelled Regular, gives Valfridsson confidence that any golfer can find something in the range to like.
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