After more than three decades at the helm, Bivouac Outdoor owner Wayne Martin has sold the popular outdoor retail chain.

“Bivouac’s success has been around the staff. I had a lot who were with me for 20 years.”

How does someone with a PhD in chemistry become a gear retailer?

I specialised in the handling of radioactive isotopes, and I came out of university as New Zealand went nuclear free. I had done a lot in the outdoors – tramping, canoeing, rock climbing, diving. I travelled through China in the early 80s, and when I got back, I started working as an outdoors instructor to fill in time, and then I got a job at ALP Sports, New Zealand’s first chain of outdoors stores. 

How did that lead to Bivouac?

Bivouac was started by Bernard Wicht, who later part-owned Kathmandu. Bernie owned a clothing manufacturing company called Alpine Accoutrements. He opened a factory outlet store in Christchurch in 1987, which he called Bivouac. Bernie employed my friend Penny Hazard, and they decided to open more stores. I came on board about six months into it. When Kathmandu bought Alpine Accoutrements’ manufacturing plant, we had to look elsewhere for supply, so we began to buy from the likes of Macpac and Fairydown. Later, Penny and I bought out Bernie, and years later Penny left also. 

What was it like in the early days?

The industry grew very fast, there was lots of innovation – the first seam-sealing on raincoats, the first waterproof coating on sleeping bags, Arc’teryx making the first harness that didn’t have any stitching on the inside of the leg loops; no one could figure out how they did it. Technology has progressed a lot over the last 30 to 40 years. 

What is behind Bivouac’s success?

Its success has been around the staff. I had a lot of staff who were with me for 20 years or so. The store managers are very experienced, they’re a great bunch of people. I’m also really proud of the purchasing team, they are committed outdoors people and think hard about what to stock. 

There’s a lot of online competition now. If you want to buy a pack, a dozen online retailers will sell you one, but if you want to get it fitted and make sure it’s right for you, you can’t beat coming into a store. 

I also need to acknowledge the support of my wife Charlene and children Rob and Alice. Thirty years of me working too hard and being late home. I couldn’t have done it without them.

You sold Bivouac to New Zealand distributor Brittain Wynyard in March. What changes can customers expect to see?

Hopefully, there won’t be any noticeable changes. I went with Brittain Wynyard because I wanted to make sure my staff were protected. It is a family business with a similar structure. They import running shoes and fishing and camping gear, and have stores selling Asics and Birkenstocks. They’ll bring their own gifts to the mix. We were talking about [the sale] for about four years, so it’s not a rushed thing.

What are some outdoors places close to your heart?

Although I’ve lived in the South Island for the past 30 years, I still have a bit of nostalgia for Tongariro National Park. 

But it’s events in the outdoors industry I’ll remember more than the places. For example, I was with ALP Sports when the Rainbow Warrior was blown up. I was called into Auckland Central Police Station to identify carabiners that were used to attach the mines to the side of the boat. I was shown a carabiner and asked if I knew what it was. I said yes, it’s a Kong carabiner, they aren’t imported into New Zealand, it’s probably from overseas. A small thing, but quite exciting at the time.