In 1989, two Minnesota brothers introduced their Bucket Boss tool storage product and thus established Duluth Trading Company.
Duluth Trading Company has excelled during this retail apocalypse by opening 31 stores and plans to open another 15 this year. They’re also expanding their workwear and outdoor recreation business through AKHG.
What is Duluth Trading Company?
Duluth Trading Company is well known for its humorous marketing, cozy flannels, and long-wearing soft goods. A quick look through their billboards and commercials reveals their playful spirit. At the same time, their products remain hardworking enough for people who take their jobs seriously – such as an advertisement detailing how to fix “plumber’s butts” or those that promote tool belts as examples of playful promotion by Duluth.
Beginning its operations in 1989 in Belleville, Wisconsin, ‘s outfitter specialized in tool carriers and workwear for tradespeople; its flagship product is a canvas tool belt attached to a bucket for easy transport of tools around a job site. Their initial headquarters were on Lake Superior near Duluth’s shipping district. They now employ over 2,400 workers and sell their gear at 65 retail stores throughout the U.S. (Kennesaw being one of them!).
“Triple-Stitching a Better Business” is their tagline, and they strive to create an environment where employees feel welcome while offering customers high-quality, long-lasting products at fair prices. Furthermore, they invest in local businesses while using their resources for public service projects in local communities.
Duluth Trading is an exception in an otherwise dismal retail landscape by expanding store count and sales. Last year it opened 15 new stores; this year, plans call for another 15 openings; additionally, Duluth is working towards growing its women’s business, which currently accounts for 30 percent of overall company sales.
Target strives to make each customer feel part of its family by offering free returns and exchanges on online and catalog orders and matching customers’ sizes when shipping their purchases. Following in the footsteps of many retailers, it has also expanded delivery options in specific markets to offer same-day deliveries and works to deliver more tailored experiences using Adobe Experience Cloud solutions.
Why is Duluth Trading Company famous?
Duluth Trading Company customers tend to love its quality products and customer service representatives who are friendly and helpful; its return policy also makes shopping with confidence much simpler.
Duluth Trading Company is a performance workwear brand with 65 stores nationwide. Known for their humorous ads featuring products like their Longtail T-shirt – with three extra inches to cover any “plumber’s butt.” Duluth Trading Company hails from Wisconsin with a clear mission of creating better versions of what hardworking people desire – it’s no wonder Duluth Trading Company has become so acclaimed.
This company prides itself on having a slogan of “stronger than steel, but not as dumb as brass”; its ads utilize humor to illustrate this notion. Headquartered in Belleville, Wisconsin, and serving men and women who live a more hands-on lifestyle by appreciating hard work while approaching problems creatively, in addition to selling workwear, the company also sells outdoor equipment and tools.
Duluth Trading Company continues its rapid expansion and has taken steps to diversify its offerings to reach more people. They have recently introduced casual wear, workwear, and activewear tailored explicitly for women and made a significant investment into infrastructure through headless architecture.
Duluth Trading Company now benefits from an improved architecture that allows them to deploy website changes more rapidly and simplify third-party component integration for engineers. As a result, they can enhance their website and better meet customers’ needs.
Duluth Trading Company may target male consumers with its entertaining ads, but it has also successfully attracted female shoppers. Their ads feature several women wearing products from Duluth Trading Company, while its clothing appeals to those who enjoy the outdoors and being active. Furthermore, the company works to promote its Made in the USA section, which features apparel like shirts, pants, outerwear, footwear, and tools made in America.
What is Duluth Trading Company’s target market?
The products sold by this Wisconsin-based company are targeted toward individuals who live life with both hands and need tools and gear that are tough, reliable, and made for real-life use. Products like Duluth Workwear and Buck Naked underwear to outdoor-minded AKHG and meticulously constructed Best Made are created here with one goal: helping users embrace more hands-on living.
People define who they are through their lifestyle choices and the products they prefer to wear or use, including how a brand advertises itself. While its advertising may portray customers as rough-and-tumble tradespeople, 80 percent of its customers do not belong to that profession – including shoppers like Fredrickson as well as office workers who rely on rugged gear like this for both their daily jobs as well as enjoying wild adventures during weekends or after work with their families or friends.
Many men and women are drawn to Duluth Trading because the advertising is humorous, their Wisconsin roots feel genuine, the products are built to last, and they feel connected to its story of innovation and hardworking heritage.
Duluth Trading provides shoppers with value and quality that stands above the competition, creating a genuinely feel-good shopping experience whether visiting Wixom, Michigan; Noblesville, Indiana or Waukesha stores in Wisconsin or Michigan. Their employees ensure every customer feels welcomed wherever they see, from Wixom to Waukesha stores!
Duluth Trading has built its business through humorous advertising and providing products that work, both online and in-store. Duluth Trading’s products for women now account for 30 percent of sales; Sato believes his company could even more rapidly expand by continuing to invest in innovative women-specific items across both brands – an effort that could see Duluth Trading overtake L.L. Bean in appealing to male shoppers.
What is Duluth Trading Company’s strategy?
The company’s mission is to craft products that enable people to achieve their ambitions. They do this by crafting functional yet durable goods made to withstand everyday use – their product lines include performance workwear, clothing, and footwear – they deliver value through online and offline customer services while investing in innovation through research & development, new channels, and expanded distribution.
Brand loyalty has seen rapid expansion; record second-quarter sales and adjusted EBITDA of $9 million is a testament to this fact, an enormous leap over last year’s net sales totaling just $137.4 million with a loss of $5.9 million reported during that same time frame.
Duluth Trading Co has Wisconsin roots and an aligned vision to offer hardworking men and women better versions of what they need and want, including belly laugh-worthy ads. Their attention to detail can be seen in their shirts: For instance, Duluth placed three inches of extra body length not to cause Plumber’s Butt, which can be an issue among tradesmen bending over while working. Duluth created this shirt so tradesmen wouldn’t need to bend over as often while working – saving tradesmen time while saving from this situation bending over while working.
Duluth is committed to creating a digital-first mindset that will radically alter how they operate and provide value to their customers. This involves investing in innovative marketing channels like localized digital, deeper behavioral-based social targeting, and connected TV tests. Furthermore, they’ve implemented their new OmniStore omnichannel platform, ensuring customers enjoy seamless shopping experiences across channels.
OmniStore not only features omnichannel capabilities but is also the source of truth for all in-store sales and inventory, enabling Duluth to utilize data analysis across channels to create personalized recommendations for customers that help increase overall sales while improving customer satisfaction. Duluth also invested in a new software hosting solution that gives store associates real-time access to universal carts, promotions, orders, and pick-up speeds – this has allowed Duluth to reduce checkout and pickup speeds which should help offset higher inbound receipts while alleviating wage pressure as a result of these improvements.
