Bob Neville on Berghaus, Manchester culture and the British brand everyone thinks is German

Berghaus opened its doors in the Manchester Arndale this morning, marking a new chapter for the British outdoor brand that has been around for more than 60 years.

Selling its latest collections, technical gear and even dog accessories, it promises to be more than a retail space. Like a "gateway to the outdoors" in a city that made Berghaus famous in the '90s, when the cool kids started wearing the gear on the streets. (Liam Gallagher famously wore a Berghaus jacket on stage in Oslo in 1997, no less.)

What adds to Berghaus's charm is that people often mistake it for being German. Instead, climbers Peter Lockey and Gordon Davison founded it in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1966, selling other people's kit from a shop called the LD Mountain Centre, until they could make it better themselves.

A brand worth more

I'll be honest. I've always had a soft spot for Berghaus. But it's not something I'd consider adding to my own wardrobe.

Maybe it was the mid-market ubiquity – placing itself deliberately below the premium technical labels and above supermarket brands. Maybe it was because it was sold everywhere by everyone. That's fine if you're a wholesale business (Pentland is a majority shareholder in JD Sports, after all), but it can mean a weak brand signal overall. Perhaps it's just as simple as not feeling a connection to the name.

And that's a damn shame... because Berghaus does have heritage. A backstory. Real founders who cared passionately about something. I always felt it was going to waste, especially as the outdoor gear market is on fire right now. How did it ever lose its way?

A new approach

Enter Bob Neville. Pentland's global head of retail and the man behind Berghaus's new chapter. He's got quite an interesting backstory of his own. He has a degree in product design, has won a few design competitions, and even had a toy sold at Toys R Us for a while.

That got him thinking about how people interact with products on the shelves and led him to a career in retail. He was born in France, raised in the UK, then spent about three decades based in Hong Kong across Adidas, New Balance and Under Armour. He's probably the reason why you're wearing brands you'd never have dreamed of entertaining a few years ago. He was the former MD of Clarks. And now he's on the top team at Pentland.

I met Bob at today's Manchester launch and went straight in with the hard question. The thing everyone wants to know: how did Berghaus, such a brilliant heritage brand, ever lose its way?

"Brands go in cycles. People come and go. And there's always a reset at some point," he says. "This Manchester store marks a reset for Berghaus and a new chapter in its story."

Was it a matter of wholesale brand dilution – something we see so often in fashion? Bob wasn't drawn on specifics. But he did talk about the power of storytelling with heritage brands. "There's a great story to tell here. Berghaus is a brand that has real heart and roots in northern England. So it felt right to launch here, close to so many beautiful spots."

That makes sense when you realise Bob has spent much of his career on one question: what makes a person, standing in a room full of stuff, reach for one thing rather than another? "It's about emotional connection," he says. "If people understand where you come from, where you're based and why you even exist, that's a story worth telling. It gives them a reason to buy."

Brands go in cycles. People come and go. And there's always a reset at some point.

What can a shop do that a shelf can't?

So what makes this new store a "gateway to the outdoors"? If you've popped into outdoor clothing store Outsiders in the Northern Quarter, you'll see it's more than clothes – it's community. Berghaus wants the same magic. That's why there's a community hub with a 'Repairhaus' inside, where the team repairs well-loved gear free of charge. There are events planned, too. You can imagine outdoor enthusiasts (and the cool kids) hanging out here.

I told Bob it was about time Berghaus embraced the outdoor boom; the fells are packed full of youngsters discovering hiking and all the brilliant activities you can enjoy in the hills. "The pandemic reminded everyone what was important," he says. "And that's community. Being with others and spending time outside. We all realised what mattered. And people found the countryside was something we could all belong to."

Does it have plans to expand elsewhere? Japan, perhaps, where outdoor clothing is thriving? "We've never had our own space like this before. It means we can invite people in, show them what Berghaus is about, and share its story. And then we'll see."

60 years and a new chapter

Today had a nice symmetry. Cutting the ribbon was Sir Chris Bonington – one of the most celebrated figures in British climbing, and part of the Berghaus story for decades – alongside adventurer and brand ambassador Ed Jackson. That's sixty years of credibility, in a shopping centre in Manchester, on a drizzly Wednesday morning, holding a pair of scissors.

Which brings me back to my own wardrobe. I walked in this morning thinking Berghaus was meant for northern ravers and hardcore Oasis fans. Blokes mostly. That it was a JD Sports brand, long forgotten. What I found instead was a brand with heart and soul. An impressive new women's collection, too. I left rooting for it.

I'm not going to pretend that one store changes everything. But as the man who helped to make New Balance cool again says, there's a lot to be proud of, and after 60 years, the story finally has somewhere to be told.