Shrewsbury leisurewear store expands into new premises
A successful outdoor leisurewear company is moving on to bigger and better things in Shrewsbury.
Catmandoo, which specializes in a range of Scandinavian outdoor and sports clothing, has swapped its old store in the town’s Darwin Centre for larger premises just down the mall.
The move, which gives the local company more space both for displaying their new range of winterwear and for storing stock, comes just in time for the busy skiing season.
Peter Seal, former golf professional at Shrewsbury Golf Club, and his wife Jan run Catmandoo which offers a branded range of top quality outdoorwear from Finland.
He said: “We’ve just made the move to bigger premises and we’re already seeing the benefit with more people calling in.
“We felt that to do our range of clothing justice we needed a bigger shop front and more room to display what we have.
“We also have the new skiing ranges coming in now and they’re out and Shropshire seems to be an area where people enjoy skiing and Catmandoo have a comprehensive range.
“Finland has a great outdoors tradition and a reputation for quality and style and that’s what we feel the Catmandoo range embodies.”
Jan said: “These are clothes that look good as well as being functional – they aren’t just for skiing or playing golf, it’s about lifestyle and looking and feeling good.
“We supply high quality, stylish, good looking clothing for the outdoor market and Shrewsbury is the place to do it and these new improved premises will help us reach more people.
“Catmandoo is marketed as having both Fun and Functional qualities’ and it looks good and does the job too and it has a year-round range from snow-wear to fitness wear.”
Peter, originally from Sheffield, who played on the European Golf Tour before becoming a club and teaching professional, added: “Catmandoo is a range of sportswear which includes ski and snow-wear as well as golf, tennis and fitness clothing which is very popular and well-established in Finland.
“They distribute it to 15 countries in the Baltic region but it’s never been available in the UK before.
“Our core business has been ladies golf wear but this is about a much bigger range which appeals to a whole new range of customers.”
The company also markets the range to over 60 outlets across the UK and Ireland and are the only ones in the UK to stock the Catmandoo brand which is very popular in the Baltic and Scandinavian regions.
Peter, originally from Sheffield, spent many years as the professional at Shrewsbury Golf Club before branching out on his own with Jan but he has also played on the European Seniors Tour in recent years.
Back in the late seventies he spent four years on the European Tour and played with greats like Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo as well as Hawkstone Park’s two-time major winner Sandy Lyle and former Masters champion Ian Woosnam.
He said: “Shrewsbury is a lovely town with a lot of independent shops and people seem to like that and we’re supplying something that’s new and very much geared to the great outdoors.”
Kevin Lockwood, Manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said: “We’re delighted to see Catmandoo moving to larger premises, especially at this very busy time of the year.
“They are a quality retailer and as an independent they offer something different which all adds to the mix of what is a very good retail offer here at the Shrewsbury Shopping Centres.”
