“Let’s go camping!”
Those three words elicit excitement and images of the open road, sights unseen, and a relaxing getaway for millions of people in our country. North America’s Camping 2022 Annual Report states that a whopping 40% of leisure travel in 2021 was camping. That equates to 93.8 million U.S. homes, with a camping population as diverse as the country’s demographic. While the COVID-19 virus may have slammed the brakes on travel in general, camping and the great outdoors remain a crowd pleaser.
Many within the outdoor space see the pandemic as a driving force in the industry’s growth since 2020. With the popularity of “glamping” and living off the grid through “overlanding,” the market is hot and doesn’t show signs of tapering off.
When CORE Equipment formed in 2015, its mission was to create a gateway for everyone into enjoying the great outdoors. The company’s founders came from the expansive outdoor industry. They launched CORE because they wanted to take a different approach to sell camping gear. Why not make camping accessible to everyone by offering simple-to-use products made from quality components? The company also wanted to communicate with potential campers every aspect of its products to educate and inform so even novice adventurers could feel confident to embark into the great outdoors.
Despite its steady growth amongst seasoned outdoorists, the camping lifestyle can feel unattainable or confusing to the curious bystander. A considerable slice of the U.S. population would go camping if they knew how to purchase the best equipment to fit their desired experience and then know how to actually use it.
CORE checks all the boxes and more. Since its inception, customer focus has driven their growth in more ways than one. The company enjoys flexibility in being a privately-owned movement. Listening to customers’ ideas and issues after using their products drives CORE to implement that feedback quickly; over the years, it has modified and reimagined several products.
It seems like such a simple concept to design quality camping and outdoor equipment that’s simple to use but for decades, other companies developed products sometimes forgetting about the people using the equipment. For example, tents may have been easy to set up but lacked certain features or were not durable. Other times, manufacturers made tents from high-quality materials, but the difficulty of setting up the product intimidated or excluded a potential group of customers, especially first-time campers.
CORE removes those obstacles by making quality, easy-to-use equipment with features to make every camping experience enjoyable. No one wants to hassle setting up a tent or fight with an outdoor table or chairs when they really want to enjoy the view and maybe have a campfire-cooked hot dog or s’more. They want their gear to be easy to set up and comfortable away from home, not create a frustrating frenzy that leaves everyone frazzled.
It’s refreshing when a company gets it. CORE absolutely understands their growth and expansion are a two-way street with their customers. It realizes it must back every product feature and claim to remain relevant and credible in the market. CORE designs all its gear in-house and knows every detail about every product. It also doesn’t outsource its customer service, so it’s the CORE family answering questions if you need assistance.
Taking their customer service approach to the next level, CORE’s in-house creative team recognizes that communicating every aspect of every item is how to make the camping experience less stressful. Something that seems simple to one person might flummox another, so CORE crafts videos to show how to use and set up equipment. CORE also posts blogs featuring the ins and outs of its products and writes clear and concise instructions for even the rookie camper to implement. CORE’s goal is to demystify how to use camping equipment and eliminate the fear of the unknown.
The company’s product line includes dozens of tents and shelters, chairs and tables, unique and highly useful light sources, comfy-cozy sleeping bags and camp blankets, logo t-shirts, and parts and accessories. It thinks of every camping aspect to provide an inclusive shopping experience for any adventure. The end of 2022 will see two new product category débuts like Outdoor Tables and Coolers.
Currently, CORE retails at Costco and Dick’s Sporting Goods, but be on the lookout for them in other spaces in the coming months. CORE plans on expanding into more brick-and-mortar spaces without losing its original passion and purpose to give everyone the tools and knowledge to embrace camping. So, go forth and pitch your tent, CORE’s got you covered.
