SITKA

charlotte . chicago . atlanta . minneapolis . dallas . depot bozeman

case study:
brand experience and retail environment

Objective:

SITKA Gear was evolving from a highly technical hunting brand into a broader lifestyle and performance-driven retail experience. The strategy was to create an environment that maintained authenticity with the core consumer while making camouflage and technical products more approachable, elevated, and accessible to a wider audience. 

The retail design strategy centered around transforming camo from something intimidating or niche into a premium lifestyle experience rooted in storytelling, celebrating outdoor culture, and everyday versatility. 

A clothing display in a store featuring men's outdoor apparel, including camouflage jackets and hats, with promotional posters and signage in the background.

Premium brand experience

  • Created a premium flagship store concept in Bozeman, Montana, that captures the essence of the brand, with dedicated space for the care and repair of Gore-Tex products and built-in space for community events. 

  • Tested and learned from the flagship model to develop a scalable retail concept that supports SITKA’s “365” everyday wear strategy and year-round lifestyle positioning. 

  • Integrated logo wear, impulse products, and everyday outdoor essentials alongside technical hunting systems 

  • Simplified navigation of highly technical assortments through approachable merchandising and storytelling 

  • Highlighted key categories, including wader systems, hook-ups, layering systems, and performance kits

  • Developed immersive feature zones balancing technical credibility with lifestyle aspiration

Inside a retail store with military camouflage clothing on display, including jackets and backpacks, with mannequins and shoppers visible through the large front window.

Retail Rollout & Scale

  • Led the design and rollout of eight retail store environments across markets over five years 

  • Created a flexible merchandising and fixture system scalable across both owned retail and wholesale environments

  • Established cohesive visual standards and storytelling frameworks across channels 

Store display featuring outdoor apparel such as jackets, hats, and shirts, with a large nature-themed photograph on the wall showing hikers and a seaplane on water with mountains in the background.

brand impact

  • Expanded accessibility to capture new customer beyond the core hunting audience

  • Elevated perception and ease of shopping for highly technical product systems 

  • Strengthened cross-category engagement and lifestyle positioning

  • Created a retail environment that felt modern, immersive, and emotionally connected to the outdoors

  • Each store opening was buzzworthy, with long lines at grand opening generating significant media buzz

Interior of a clothing store with wooden beams, mannequins dressed in camouflage and outdoor apparel, and green plants.

the result

a retail experience that helped reposition SITKA as more than a technical hunting brand, establishing a premium, scalable, and emotionally resonant outdoor lifestyle experience without sacrificing authenticity.