Snowboard clothing maker Westlife Distribution USA LLC is beating a well-worn path to Europe.
The Irvine company, known for its 686 and Sepia snowboard-inspired clothes, has taken a page from some of Orange County’s hottest surf and skate brands and opened a small headquarters in Italy.
“We view Europe as one of the largest potential areas for growth for both of our brands,” said Kristin Cusic, director of marketing. “We have only begun to tap the surface over there and look forward to a significant amount of sales over the next five years.”
The company declined to give specific figures.
Westlife’s office in Northern Italy’s Montebelluna is small. So far, it has two workers, one in customer service and the other in marketing and sales, Cusic said.
The company plans to ramp things up as “brand awareness and overall sales increase” across Europe, according to Cusic.
“The number of snowboarding participants continues to rise in all parts of Europe,” she said. “The typical European customer has quite a sharp eye for design and quality product.”
The Italy office will be the hub for Westlife’s independent sales representatives who have been based throughout France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria, Cusic said.
Marketing for those areas is handled from Irvine. Shipping is handled from a Netherlands warehouse, Cusic said.
Licensees in some 20 countries, including Spain and Russia, handle Westlife’s other European sales, according to Cusic.
The company’s clothes are sold in about 200 stores in Europe.
Westlife “hopes to keep growing that number steadily,” Cusic said.
“We felt that an office in Italy would help us continue catering to those markets while also reaching a new customer,” Cusic said.
Westlife is among a slew of OC surf and skate brands that have ramped up their European operations in a bid to increase sales. Several have offices in France, including Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. and Costa Mesa-based Volcom Inc.
Volcom plans to take over its European sales next year and is building a warehouse in Anglet, France.
Westlife has been expanding its 686 line, which includes casual street wear and snowboarding garb, such as jackets and pants with zip-out insulated linings that cost up to $300. The brand targets the 20- to 40-year-old crowd.
686 is sold in more than 1,000 stores worldwide, with about half in the U.S. Local retailers include Sunny Smith in Orange, Jack’s Garage in Huntington Beach and Surfside Sports in Newport Beach.
The brand also gives an artsy spin to its clothes, which helps it stand out from other snow apparel makers, such as San Leandro-based The North Face Inc., a unit of VF Corp., Berkeley-based Marmot Mountain Works and Vermont’s Burton Snowboards, which has its Analog Streetwear unit in Irvine.
Some of 686’s jackets feature artwork, which also is displayed at 686-sponsored art shows that promote the clothes.
Westlife’s Sepia snowboard gear is edgier and slightly pricier than the 686 line. It’s sold mostly in small specialty stores.
Last year, the clothing maker moved from San Pedro to bigger offices in Irvine, where it has room to grow and can be in the hub of surf, skate and snow sports.
Since, Westlife has hired about 13 workers across the board: warehouse and sales, accessories design, graphic design, visual merchandise and customer service.
The company now counts 37 workers. It plans to add a few more in the next year or two across divisions, Cusic said.
