Outdoor and Cycle Concepts

Outdoor and Cycle Concepts comprises four outdoor enthusiast retailers, each with its own niche but differentiated from the competition by the group’s practice of hiring experts. The group is best known for its Cotswold Outdoor brand, which offers camping and travel products, but also operates winter sports chain Snow + Rock, specialist cycling concept Cycle Surgery and running authority Runners Need. The merger of Cotswold Outdoor with Snow + Rock Group in 2015 created an influential force in the UK outdoor enthusiast sector, although this has lessened since JD Sports acquired Go Outdoors at the end of 2016. However, the positioning of its brands – significantly more upmarket compared with its main rivals – along with its expertise in the sector has proved enough to keep the business trekking on.