German outdoor retailer Bergzeit is focusing on these trends for the FW25 season

Winter is the season with the highest turnover for the sports and outdoor industry. At the same time, given the unpredictable snow conditions, it is difficult to plan. This has always been the case, but is becoming increasingly challenging due to climate change. Moreover, the outdoor market has changed, especially since the corona pandemic, and has reached new target groups. These target groups have discovered classic outdoor leisure activities such as hiking, camping and running and want to continue with them. This target group is looking for collections that also function in everyday life and are versatile.

Christl Haigermoser, Head of Buying at the German online outdoor retailer Bergzeit, explains what priorities she wants to set for the coming winter season, how the current season has started and how she implements the underlying idea of ​​’products that last a long time’ in purchasing.

When does your purchasing season for autumn/winter 2025 start? Which segments start, what comes last?

The order phase starts in October and, depending on the size of the supplier and the range, continues until March. Clothing and shoes start, equipment completes the ordering phase. Large suppliers prefer to complete their orders early to reserve capacity and achieve early delivery dates.

What do current sales tell you for the upcoming order?

The early arrival of winter in September gave us a good start to the season. In general, snow conditions are becoming increasingly unpredictable. We remain true to our core sports – mountaineering, ski touring and cross-country skiing. However, snow-independent sports are also gaining in importance for us.

There is generally a lot of inventory on the market. What consequences does this have for your order?

In general, we see that suppliers’ stock is stabilizing earlier than this year (2024). For us, this means that our forecasts must be even more accurate in order to pre-order the right goods and thus prevent poorer availability during the season.

What trends do you see in clothing for the coming autumn/winter 2025?

We see that our suppliers want to become more snow-independent by expanding other segments. For example, trail running/running is being expanded among multi-sport providers and in the cycling sector, some suppliers are moving towards urban styles. In the past, more specific sporting goods were sold, but nowadays sportswear is often popular in everyday life and there are more lifestyle products. Jackets, hoodies and backpacks are fashion items that are not only worn when practicing mountain sports. As a result, many fashion-conscious customers now also often buy outdoor clothing.

Because the trend for outdoor activities has become so great, clothing has also become more common in everyday life. Many athletes also practice multiple sports and focus less on one discipline – we notice this multi-sport approach. The ski collections are getting smaller. The focus is on technical products, the looks lean towards a simpler appearance.

Which segments or sports are doing very well? Are there segments or product groups where you want to expand?

As a specialist mountaineering equipment supplier, we continue to see strong results in the mountaineering, hiking and skiing categories. In addition, we will expand the cycling and running segments in 2025.

The outdoor target group has changed in recent years, it has become younger and more fashionable. How do you respond to that?

We see ourselves as a mountain sports provider for the whole family, from young to old. However, classic outdoor manufacturers have also started designing collections especially for younger target groups. This is reflected in more casual fits and specific styles for this generation.

What role do newcomers play for your range? Is the current situation suitable for trying new things?

We are always open to new brands and trends within our portfolio and see it as our job to obtain these for our customers and to draw their attention to them in the context of our consultancy work.

Do you see that the theme of sustainability is relevant for your customers when making a purchasing decision?

We see that customers are increasingly concerned with the theme and demand in the webshop, via our customer service or in stores is also increasing. At the same time, it is difficult to identify sustainable products at all and to recognize possible greenwashing. That is why we installed the MUT filter in the webshop in 2020.

The filter function is based on official quality marks selected and checked by us – such as Grüner Knopf, Fairwear Foundation, Responsible Wool and Responsible Down Standard, but also the statement that recycled materials are used or that the product is PFC-free (per- and polyfluorinated). chemicals) – and makes the ecological, social or animal welfare added value transparent. We cover the most important categories through independent quality marks and traceable criteria.

What exactly is the MUT filter?

MUT is a sustainability filter for the webshop that we implemented in 2020. Via this filter function in the Bergzeit webshop, our customers can filter products under the project name MUT according to the principle Human – Environment – Animal (in German this is Mensch – Umwelt – Tier, ed.). The products can be filtered by social (e.g. Fair Wear Foundation), ecological (e.g. Bluesign) and animal welfare-related (e.g. Responsible Wool Standard) properties. We thus meet the needs of our customers who consciously choose a sustainable product and for whom controlled and certified production and choice of materials is important.

Even customers who have not yet studied the many quality marks in this segment immediately understand the benefits this product offers. At the same time, they will of course also receive more detailed information about the subject on the relevant product detail page.

Do you pay more attention to more sustainable products when purchasing? On what exactly?

Certainly – the focus on a product that can last a long time partly starts with the formation of the range and we anchor this as a strategic goal at Bergzeit. With our involvement in the field of reuse, which we launched in 2022, we show that resource-friendly business operations and reuse play a major role for us. Finally, we have set ourselves the goal of achieving 80 percent of our turnover with suppliers that are SBTI (Science Based Targets initiative) – or similar – certified by 2026.

Ultimately, the introduction of the MUT filter also plays a role in purchasing decisions: The MUT filter ensures transparency and should increase the demand for sustainable products – because from our perspective, increasing demand is the best lever for the respective range development.

Bergzeit is one of the largest online retailers for the outdoor segment in the German-speaking region and, in addition to the webshop, also operates two physical stores in Bavaria. In the 2023/24 financial year, Bergzeit achieved a turnover of 148 million euros, an increase of twelve percent compared to the previous year. Since 2012, Bergzeit has been part of the South Tyrolean Oberrauch Gruppe, which also includes the sports store chain Sportler AG and Oberalp AG with the mountain sports brands Salewa, Dynafit, Evolv, LaMunt, Wild Country and Pomoca.