Cotopaxi makes UK wholesale debut for AW20

Fast-growing American outdoors apparel and lifestyle brand Cotopaxi has appointed South Wales-based Unify Brand Partnerships as its UK and Ireland distributor to launch its products with its autumn/winter 2020 collection.

Cotopaxi is the first venture capital-backed ‘Benefit Corporation’, which means the apparel company is a for-profit firm and earmarks 2 percent of its proceeds to its foundation, as well as being a Certified B Corp company.

Since its launch in the US in 2015, Cotopaxi known for its outdoor gear and apparel, has rapidly expanded in North America and in a statement said that the UK was the “next natural step for wholesale distribution, with its trendsetting consumers and innovative retail opportunities”.

The brand currently sells in the EU via its direct-to-consumer website but not via wholesale until now, and the move marks the company’s “next phase of retail, aligning with many consumer views of iconic aesthetic and conscious purchasing”.

“We are thrilled to bring this hot new brand to market in the UK and Ireland, two regions focused on championing proactive and conversation-starting brands, of which Cotopaxi most certainly is,” said Unify Brand Partnerships managing director Damian Cooper. “Cotopaxi is a gamechanger in the outdoor and lifestyle spaces, representing the new wave of consumer-driven brands, empowering the public and advocating for change.”

Cotopaxi director of wholesale, Heath Christensen, added: “We are truly excited to be working with Unify Brand Partnerships. The UK and Ireland have a vibrant outdoor lifestyle culture and Unify Brand Partnerships is the perfect partner with a wealth of experience to help us promote our brand mission abroad.”

Cotopaxi said that the UK company was the perfect choice as its first appointed European distributor to focus on the “important” UK and Ireland market as it has a “core competency in pivotal brands” as it represents brands such as, Teva, Reef, Tretorn, Stance, and Hoka One.

Unify Brand Partnerships will show the new Cotopaxi autumn/winter 2020 collection at the outdoor sector’s key European show, ISPO, in January 2020.

Images: courtesy of Cotopaxi