12/08/2000

A Winter's Tale

Small companies that start in somebody's basement can grow to multi-million dollar international enterprises. Just ask Millie Merrill, Chief Turtle at the Turtle Fur Company in Morrisville, Vermont.

Merrill got her start by finding an untapped niche in 1983, making and selling fleece accessories. Seventeen years later, Turtle Fur is the largest supplier of fleece to the ski and outdoor markets, with 65 employees and revenues topping $10 million annually.

Its fleece is a brushed, double layer of soft, lightweight acrylic fabric that Merrill says is softer and less likely to pill than fleece made of polyester. The inside layer wicks perspiration away from the body. The outside layer permits quick evaporation, keeping the wearer warm and dry.

The company has grown from one-product shop to multinational wholesaler, sending its fleece accessories and blankets year-round. The products - manufactured in America, Canada and Mexico and shipped from Vermont headquarters - land worldwide, and are carried by such big-name retailers as REI and L.L. Bean.

Thanks to broad distribution and ahead-of-the-pack innovation, Turtle Fur has gained a strong following among snow sports enthusiasts. The first American woman to scale Mt. Everest and the first person to snowboard down Aconcagua in the Andes both wore Turtle Fur.

Originally called Turtle's Neck, the company was founded as a wholesaler of fleece neck warmers, or "necks." The company's expanded product line of necks, headbands, hats, mitts and specialty items for adults, children and infants is now sold in a variety of colors by hundreds of U.S. and foreign retailers.

"Turtle Fur stands out for its consistent high quality at a fair price," says Brad Ryder, owner of Cadillac Mountain Sports in Bangor, Maine. "They never offer a discount grade to increase margins, and they keep up with the times by improving the performance of their fabrics and designs."

The company also stands out for its light-hearted advertising.

"One year we did a take-off on the famous Demi Moore Vanity Fair cover with a pregnant turtle posed on the cover of our catalog called 'Vanity Fur,'" Merrill says. "Another year we featured a giraffe wearing a neckwarmer saying, 'It takes a high-fashion model to show off our long line of necks.'"

The company keeps its campaigns humorous, in keeping with the fanciful tale of its fleece's origin. Back when the company was still named Turtle's Neck, each hangtag told the story of the first "necks," created of "fur" harvested from turtles' nests on remote islands in Lake Champlain and woven into soft cloth to protect the turtles' scrawny necks from the cold. Merrill credits the whimsical story with part of the company's popularity, and renamed the company Turtle Fur as a result.

Every year Turtle Fur introduces new accessories, colors and fabrics. Industry firsts include the original necks, fleece headbands and hand-knit wool hats lined with fleece (to fend off the "wicked itch" of wool on skin).

New this year are golf mitts, long underwear for children and adults, and the "Shellaclava," a face and neck mask that fits under a wearer's helmet. The Shellaclava is made of a new fabric called Windtech 2000®, manufactured exclusively for Turtle Fur and tested by mountain climbers in extreme weather conditions.

Turtle Fur hires snow sports professionals to test products year-round -- in the Chilean mountains during the Southern Hemisphere's six months of snow and in Alaska and Vermont during North American winters. Backcountry guide Chris Morris, who owns Mountains & Rivers in Wasilla, Ala., is one of the company's testers. He used the Shellaclava while climbing Alaska's Mt. Foraker.

"We consistently had low temps of minus 25 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit," Morris says. "Add some wind to that and we're talking frostbite. I lived in the Shellaclava and think it's a great piece."

To expand its customer base and stay abreast of industry competition, Turtle Fur joined Snowsports Industries America, a trade association of 800 manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of snow sports equipment, clothing and accessories. Investment in industry association membership makes sense for any company, says Merrill.

Most companies in the Snowsports association join for its annual trade show, where members display their product lines and take orders from retailers and distributors. For Turtle Fur, the benefits of participating in trade shows are twofold: it gets a chance to create industry buzz about its new products and to show personal appreciation for its customers.

At a 1999 trade show, for example, Turtle Fur rolled out a new line of face masks that offered exceptional warmth and wind protection. Cadillac Mountain Sports owner Ryder had already placed an order, but phoned from his hotel room to increase it. The additional masks were waiting for him when he got back to Maine three days later.

New products don't always sell well, of course. In 1997, Turtle Fur introduced a line of fleece children's clothing that was pulled a year later, mainly because the weather in both winters was so mild. But Turtle Fur found a silver lining. In response to falling sales, executives brainstormed and came up with a new product that would cut costs and increase revenues.

Each year fabric suppliers offer reduced prices to customers who buy a minimum yardage of each color or print. Turtle Fur routinely takes advantage of the discounts, but the company's accessories are small (mostly hats, headbands and mitts) and require little fabric, so the excess yardage fills warehouse shelves at the end of the season.

The cost-cutting idea was to make blankets with the extra fleece -- bed blankets, stadium blankets and lap throws - and sell them through Turtle Fur's Web site. Steady sales fluffed up the bottom line in no time.

Turtle Fur has stayed ahead of the curve by creating, testing, and successfully marketing new products to keep snow lovers - daredevils on the slopes or snugglers in their beds - warm ever since.

Despite stiff competition, Merrill is now looking to crack the running market. Runners -- sold on the sweat-wicking fleece -- already grab Turtle Fur headbands when they hit the track. Merrill also hopes to expand into other outdoor markets, such as hiking and backpacking.

Merrill never forgets her ultimate goal: Turtle Fur for all. "I'd love to sponsor a storm," she says, breaking into an announcer's voice: "Blizzard by Turtle Fur. We'll fleece everybody!"

If you own a small business, perhaps you can take a chapter from Merrill's winter tale. She took a simple idea to keep people warm and dry outdoors and turned it into a great success story.

Links:

The Turtle Fur Company

Alaska: Mountains and Rivers

Cadillac Mountain Sports

Snowsports Industries

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.