The Camp & Climb timeline

Camp & Climb: Outdoor icon resurrected

In the 1970’s and ‘80’s the Camp & Climb stores were places where outdoor enthusiasts could go to get a unique blend of specialist equipment and advice, together with a great range and atmosphere. These iconic stores are fondly remembered by many customers, and all the people who worked there.

John Fontyn and Mark Campbell worked for Camp & Climb in the eighties, and experienced it as a very special business. The more they talked about the old days, the more they realised that they wanted to try and recreate that same atmosphere in a new retail business.

When they discovered that the original Camp & Climb cc still existed, they decided to resurrect the iconic store.

Fontyn says that one of the things that made Camp & Climb special was its wide range of equipment. “We sourced great equipment from local and international distributors to make shopping at Camp & Climb a unique and rewarding experience,” he says.

“We also thought carefully about the position of our stores — we wanted a store that could be easy to find, near a landmark or on an arterial, and that you could drive up to with your car instead of dealing with all the issues that come with a shopping mall. To this end, the Paarden Eiland store on Marine Drive is in a perfect position for those commuting between the West Coast and Cape Town — as well as being easily accessible from the nearby N1 highway. The second store, opening in July 2010, is located on the Main Road in Retreat, Cape Town.

“These two stores service markets where there is a call for a specialist outfitter — and will give Camp & Climb a critical mass to operate efficiently in Cape Town,” says Fontyn.

The Camp & Climb story starts in 1925 when a company, Canvas Workers to the Trade, was formed to manufacture canvas products like tarpaulins, tents and a variety of bags. Percy Goldman bought this company when he returned to SA after the war in 1945, determined to be his own boss because he did not want to take orders from another person ever again.

Goldman had experience working with canvas as he worked for SA Canvas before the war. Apart from manufacturing certain stock items, they also responded to customer requests for specialist products like sleeping bags and rucksacks. Goldman also started importing products from leading international manufacturers like Bergans of Norway (backpacks) and Thomas Black of Scotland (sleeping bags). These manufacturers had access to more sophisticated materials and manufacturing techniques and they could therefore satisfy customer needs for high-end products.

Canvas Workers went into a long and healthy growth phase, mainly because they could supply product ranges that were different to that of their competitors. Import logistics were crude by today’s standards: in most cases they had to obtain an international exporter’s catalogue, place orders from there, which would then be sent by normal parcel post through the post office.

Percy’s two sons, Michael and Adrian, joined their father’s business in 1955 and in 1967 respectively. Percy stayed actively involved until his death in 1983.

As the business grew, they decided to split it into a manufacturing and a retail division. Canvas Workers continued manufacturing and they started Camp & Climb to look after the retail side.

The first Camp & Climb shop was in Plein Street, Cape Town, and after moving premises to a few different locations in the same street, they moved the shop to Loop Street, where it became a landmark for many years. This store was very progressive in design and they also made a point of employing people who were outdoor enthusiasts as sales people, with the result that Camp & Climb became a destination store for customers who became loyal supporters over many years.

“Our staff regarded it as a privilege to work for Camp & Climb — we probably did not pay them enough, because they gave good service and excellent advice to our customers”, says Michael Goldman.

In the late 1970’s and 80’s Camp & Climb opened a number of new stores — the first in Cavendish, followed by shops in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth. They also opened store within store concepts in the Mowbray and Bellville branches of Sportsmans Warehouse.

In 1987 Camp & Climb merged their operations with ME Stores, who at that stage had about four stores in the Transvaal area.

The Goldman brothers took a minority shareholding in the new business and stayed involved in the business, although it soon became obvious that they had made a serious mistake.

Differences in business philosophy boiled to the surface and in 1989 they sold their shareholding in ME Stores.

The closed corporation Camp & Climb was not sold as part of the merger, but did not trade again. The Goldman brothers remained the shareholders of the dormant company.

They were very pleased when John Fontyn approached them to buy the company, because they would love to see the name again take an iconic position in the South African outdoor retail market.