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Recommended retailer: Poppy Sports

Posted By weatherfairy On 21.07.10 @ 11:21 am In kit bag, kit-spotlight | 1 Comment

Melanie Mitchell, founder of e-tailer Poppy Sports is a champion of “active women living in fortunate times”. The philosophy behind Poppy Sports, the Colorado-based online store set up by the British Mitchell, is to celebrate women in sports as role models.

As they say, in the Poppy Sports world, “moms are also triathletes, grandmas pick up surfing, and wives coach swimming technique in the spare time.” Which could be a little daunting if the ethos wasn’t delivered so encouragingly – and if the clothes weren’t so covetable.

Poppy Sports goes beyond existing as a mere gear store stocking performance sportswear and lifestyle clothing, also offering a web-based community for activity enthusiasts, and triathlon training camps (of which more anon).

In fact, their enthusiasm for revelling in life and sport’s challenges and images of strong, athletic, capable and fun-loving women had me browsing for my first tri-suit with the intention of upping my triathlon game from “training” (ahem) to partaking.

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More recommended retailers on Sportsister:

Recommended Retailer – Running Bare [1]

Recommended retailer – Eve Activewear [2]

Recommended retailer – Gear for Girls – outdoor focused women’s store [3]

Recommended Retailer – Sheactive – women specific multi sport retailer [4]

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But this website is not just aimed at those women who participate in their activities at near-professional levels. Poppy Sports is keen to appeal to “real” women, not superwomen – those amongst us (of which there are many) with a healthy love of fresh air, embracing new challenges and active lifestyles – wives, mothers, professionals and students, the likes of whom make up the cogs behind the Poppy Sports wheel.

They aim to cater for all levels – although criticism might be levelled that their products are aimed at high-level sportswomen and are frequently described in terms of training and competitions, race seasons and high performance, which may put off the novice.

The product information is extensive and informative, with detailed sizing guides for each brand and including all the design details important to us girls.

Their mission in selecting stock is very much on finding sportswear that is hard-wearing, long-lasting, practical and dependable, rather than flaunting mere fashion statements. This is reflected in their choice of brands, which are known for a commitment to performance, many exclusively for women’s clothing.

And here is the icing on the cake: they source brands that are unavailable – or at least very hard to find – in the UK, and have a limited but well-chosen selection from each of the 19 featured brands, including Cloudveil, Descente, Dude Girl and Skirt Sports.

And so onto another unique facet of Poppy Sports: the training camps. These extend the community aspect of the site, which is all channelled into supporting your goals – an important part of any active and competitive lifestyle, so the premise goes.

The camps consist of an online and offline community, as well as a week-long intensive training programme run in conjunction with IMJ Coaching coach (and Ironwoman triathlete) Teresa Rider. The camps are held in the stunning summertime setting of Boulder, Colorado (in winter, a popular ski resort) at the base of the Rocky Mountains. It’s the perfect place for an introduction to triathlon as well as for the more advanced – as something of a Mecca for the sport, it is quite a location for training motivation.

Best of all, the camps are limited to 8-10 participants (all female) so you are guaranteed guidance and attention. At $1300 for a week (including accommodation, meals – nutritionist-devised of course – seminars and coaching, some equipment and a Poppy Sports luxury goody bag), it would certainly give you smug points while the rest of the world is zoning out on a Mediterranean beach.

Poppy Sports also creates custom camps, so if you can persuade your mates to join in, it would make for a holiday with a difference! Custom camps can be tailored for specific age groups, abilities, and even preferred activity (swimming/cycling/running only). Inspired? I am.

Factfile

Address: Poppy Sports, c/o Key Fulfilment, 11111 E.53rd Ave, Suite A, Denver, CO 80239, USA
Phone: 1-877-657-9794 (toll free for US customers)
Email: [email protected] [5]
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/Poppy-Sports/325334800452 [6]
Twitter: www.twitter.com/poppysports [7]

Store:

Online: www.poppysports.com [8]

Poppy Sports work with Bundle Box to get orders across the Atlantic. As Bundle Box consolidates shipments to the UK, the shipping costs are lower than usual. Hooray! Delivery is (on average) 8-10 business days.

Sports catered for:

Running, cycling, swimming, triathlon, yoga & fitness, outdoor, lifestyle & travel. Poppy Sports also has a dedicated area for sports underwear.

Strong on:

Sourcing more unusual brands for women, with a focus on high performance, durability, and fun styles.

Celebrating women who love sports and an active lifestyle, and who integrate their passion into the rest of their lives – or “balancing what they love to do with what they have to do, and doing so beautifully!”

There is a strong “girl power” element to the company, which emphasises the relationship between women, their bodies, and the items encasing them that allow us to indulge our active sides. The epitome of life-style!

Special features:

Being able to join the Poppy Sports Training Camps gives an attractive physical element to their community spirit – and the descriptions of the camps are certainly encouraging. Where do I sign up? www.poppysports.com/Training-Camps/1000/1000/dept [9]

Although there were no news items on the site at this time, there is a newsletter that customers and window-shoppers can sign up to, which sends recipients special offers, training camp dates and top tips for better performance.

Anna Young, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine



Article printed from Sportsister: http://www.sportsister.com

URL to article: http://www.sportsister.com/2010/07/21/recommended-retailer-poppy-sports/

URLs in this post:

[1] Recommended Retailer – Running Bare: http://www.sportsister.com/?p=7785

[2] Recommended retailer – Eve Activewear: http://www.sportsister.com/?p=1197

[3] Recommended retailer – Gear for Girls – outdoor focused women’s store: http://www.sportsister.com/?p=947

[4] Recommended Retailer – Sheactive – women specific multi sport retailer: http://www.sportsister.com/?p=813

[5] [email protected]: mailto:[email protected]

[6] www.facebook.com/pages/Poppy-Sports/325334800452: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Poppy-Sports/325334800452

[7] www.twitter.com/poppysports: http://www.twitter.com/poppysports

[8] www.poppysports.com: http://www.poppysports.com

[9] www.poppysports.com/Training-Camps/1000/1000/dept: http://www.poppysports.com/Training-Camps/1000/1000/dept

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