Cotswold Outdoor, an adventure clothing retailer with more than 70 outlets in the UK, is opening its first store in the Republic, writes Gavin Daly.
The group will open a shop at Trinity Street in Dublin city centre this week, in time to cash in on the pre-Christmas demand.
Cotswold sells high-end clothing and equipment from manufacturers including the North Face, Berghaus and Jack Wolfskin.
The company has two stores in Belfast and has been looking at the Dublin market for some time. The opening will provide competition for local retailers such as the Great Outdoors and 53 Degrees North.
Cotswold was bought early last year by PAI Partners, a Paris-based private equity group. PAI later acquired the retailer Snow+Rock, which has a store at the Dundrum Town Centre in Dublin.
The parent company for the businesses, Outdoor and Cycle Concepts, had revenues of £135.5m (€160m) last year, and made £14.2m profit after tax. It employs more than 1,400 people.
