Some brands sell products, whilst others sell passions. And in this consumer world of over-supply and product fatigue it finally seems that customers are being drawn to companies that were never really meant to be retailers at all.
To call them ‘accidental retailers’ is really not fair, because in most cases they have developed assortments which are more specialist, more sustainable, and superior in every way to the commodity clutter of the high street.
Brands like Finisterre are driven by a love and a passion for something that creates a strong and a lifelong bond with its customers.
In the case of Finisterre, it owns the oceans. But not in an exploitative way, commercialising this gift of nature. Finisterre has taken ownership of the burden of responsibility to protect, to enrich, to promote and to share this unique ecosystem with everyone.
Of course, in 2003 when Tom Kay founded Finisterre above a surf shop in Cornwall in response to the lack of design, functionality and ethics of surf brands, he probably never imagined what was ahead.
But through both practical necessity and a personal passion, as the assortment quickly grew from a single fleece, its community and its commitment grew even faster.
The Finisterre Foundation was born to remove barriers to access so everyone can get to and benefit from the transformative power of the ocean. The brand wants to encourage, empower and enable people to connect with the sea not only to improve their physical and mental wellbeing but to help broaden horizons.
Finisterre believes that everyone should have equal access to the ocean.
Amongst the many initiatives it undertakes is to provide swimming lessons to people with disabilities, to allow them to take the first step to discovering the oceans. Its charity work includes transporting underprivileged families from urban areas to see the sea, experience the ocean, for the very first time.
And of course, they organise beech cleaning, recycle litter, and take discarded fishing nets to make materials for clothing. They produce, champion, and show in their shops, films and documentaries to inspire actions to save the oceans.
And let’s not forget the specialist products and customer services that Finisterre has taken upon itself. It adapts any wetsuit of any brand to fit those with special shapes & needs, adding straps, zips and shortening suits for amputees. It has developed full-coverage suits to allow all people of all races to enter the water, and donates hundreds of wetsuits to those who can’t afford them.
It has also developed its ‘Lived & Loved’ program to extend the life of its products and the materials they are made from. This includes videos and manuals on customer product care, and home repair, repair kits, in-store repairs, recycling products, upcycling products and re-selling products.
And at the heart of everything that makes this an amazing and successful brand is a love and a responsibility for the ocean, and for the people who now share and enjoy that same love for the ocean.
A responsibility that extends to ensuring that those same people can enjoy the ocean safely through using the highest-quality, most comfortable & sustainable of products.
When buying a product amounts to owning a responsibility, then that is when customer loyalties are built.