Published: June 11, 2007 11:41 pm         

Sailing apparel company set to make a splash

MARBLEHEAD, Mass. — On the shores of this historic seaport, a small group of sailing enthusiasts is preparing an unlikely assault on the business of sailing apparel.

Chaz Bertrand and his team are revitalizing Atlantis WeatherGear, a foul-weather apparel line that has had a stormy history since its founding three decades ago.

“It was once the quintessential U.S. apparel brand,” said Bertrand, CEO of Atlantis (though he said titles don’t matter much among the company’s five employees).

Atlantis’ history has been one of ups and downs. The company was founded in 1973 and soon developed a sailing product line using lightweight ski apparel material. At the time, before Gore-Tex was adapted for salt water, sailors had to choose between waterproof gear or comfortable gear. Atlantis became known as the “leaky gear that was comfortable,” said Bill Lynn, Bertrand’s partner and chief marketing officer.

“Eventually the owners built it up to number one or number two in North America,” Lynn said.

Then the Timberland Corp. bought Atlantis in 1985, and the apparel line bounced from owner to owner for a couple decades, gradually losing market prominence along the way.

In April of last year Bertrand and Lynn, both lifelong sailors, bought the Atlantis line from Cran Barry, Inc., a sports clothing and equipment manufacturer.

“A lot of people remember it fondly, to my surprise,” Lynn said. “It has that resonance with people. You don’t get that with other brands.”

The Atlantis team plans to capitalize on that reputation and the lack of major competitors in North America. The challenge will be re-establishing its name in a small niche market traditionally dominated by three British companies: Henri Lloyd, Douglas Gill and Musto.

The team will have to develop foul-weather gear that strikes a balance between the performance and lifestyle markets, much like Nike has done in the shoe industry, or Patagonia in the outdoor apparel business, Lynn said. Professional sailors are looking for a product that protects them from the elements, while casual boaters want something they feel comfortable wearing on and off the water.

“These people want something more versatile,” Lynn said. “Something they can wear from the boat to the dock to the bar. Something they won’t mind wearing to the soccer field.”

Local customers seem to appreciate the new Atlantis gear, said Wayne George, owner of F.L. Woods, a nautical clothing store in Marblehead. The innovative watch windows on the sleeves and the armpit ventilation zippers are big selling points, he said.

“It’s sailing gear made by sailors,” George said. “It’s actually designed by people who use it. ... We’re selling a bunch.”

The Atlantis team knows that making attractive apparel is just as much about appearances as it is comfort. In a business where prevalent colors are red, black and yellow, Atlantis provides a few alternatives. Their outer layer jackets come in a variety of hues they hope will appeal to more people.

“As a small brand it’s important that we stick out,” Bertrand said. “There’s a place for color here.”

However, the Atlantis team is quick to point out that their top priority is making reliable and effective products, Lynn said.

“We have to make high-quality, functional, high-performance apparel,” Lynn said. “We have to build gear that works great.”

Pleasing both the performance and lifestyle crowds is a tough job, and one that few foul-weather gear companies have successfully done in the past. The British companies only sell high-quality gear for serious sailors, while companies like Nautica sell casual apparel that doesn’t perfom well in sailing conditions, Lynn said.

“If we try to be Nautica, we’ll get tortured by our friends,” Lynn said. “We don’t want to be in the business of that type of gear.”

If any piece of gear bridges the two audiences, it’s Atlantis’ new Aegis jacket. The waterproof jacket is made of Teflon-coated material and has several useful features, including extra pockets and a low-sweeping back that keeps pants dry. The Aegis also has an athletic fit for added comfort.

While Atlantis’ new gear will be manufactured overseas in countries such as Vietnam and Guatemala, older product lines will still be manufactured in Lynn, Mass.

Meanwhile, Nashua, N.H.’s Alternative Logistics distributes the company’s products throughout the country, and especially the Northeast.





Zac Cummings writes for The Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass.