Helly Hansen

April 18, 2012 – Oslo, Norway

The Helly Hansen Odin Fastpack Jacket has been awarded The Award for Design Excellence by The Norwegian Design Council.

Outdoor clothing brand Helly Hansen’s jacket Odin Fastpack is a waterproof, lightweight jacket designed for fast and easy on/off for trips with rapidly changing weather conditions. The incredibly light (242 grams) jacket was chosen for the prestigious Norwegian Award for Design Excellence by The Norwegian Design Council.

Scandinavian design is the cornerstone in all Helly Hansen gear. The optimal combination of purposeful design, protection and style. We are excited and pleased our efforts have earned us Norway’s highest award for design. It is yet another indicator that we are on the right track as a brand committed to answering consumers needs through great products, said Øyvind Vedvik, Category Manager Outdoor for Helly Hansen.

Scandinavian design

Helly Hansen is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and has grown over the past years into a global outdoor brand with a distribution network of more than 40 countries, including USA, Canada, Japan and China. They continue to focus on Scandinavian Design as a guideline in all that they do and follow the mantra around their “unwillingness to compromise between style and performance”

It is in our Scandinavian nature that things are uncomplicated and comfortable, and that a product performs as well as it looks. This is something we aim to project through all we do - said Vedvik.

Advanced outdoor

The Fastpack Jacket is part of the Odin collection, Helly Hansen’s most advanced outdoor clothing series. The collection was launched in 2008, and recieved the Red Dot award for superior design in the same year. The collection has since expanded and has received

numerous awards from leading magazines and outdoor enthusiast forums around the globe. Most recently, the Fastpack Jacket was included in the Backpackers’ 2012 Gear guide and the Odin Mountain Jacket was awarded Gear of the Year earlier this year in Outside Magazine, America’s leading outdoor publication.

The Odin collection is developed to ensure maximum protection and performance in extreme environments. The products are used on a daily basis by professional mountain guides, free-riders, polar guides and serious outdoor enthusiasts.

- The Odin series is a great example of how Helly Hansen is constantly pushing for innovation. Every concept and product goes through countless rounds of testing - from materials and functionality to design. A lot of the testing is conducted with the help of our professional partners in some of the world’s harshest environments – on mountain tops, oceans or similar. The feedback from our partners is included in the innovation process, making sure that the finished products have undergone the best quality control possible, said Vedvik.

Odin Fastpack Jacket weighs 242 grams, and features a uniquely engineered Helly Tech Professional waterproof and breathable fabric. It is available in colours blue and grey. Retail price is set at 2,700 NOK.

For more information, contact:

Joumana Løvstad Helly Hansen Global Marketing & Communication Manager joumana.lovstad[at]hellyhansen.no

+ 47 90 71 53 93

Henrik Juel Teige Gambit Hill + Knowlton Strategies henrikjuel.teige[at]hkstrategies.com

+ 47 90 73 86 76

About The Norwegian Design Council

The Norwegian Design Council is a national strategic body for design in Norway. The body’s mission is to promote the use of design as a strategic tool for innovation, in order to achieve greater creation of value in Norwegian trade and industry. The Norwegian Design Council (NDC) was established in 1963 by the Norwegian Trade Council and the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO). One of the Norwegian Design Council's main activities is the annual Award for Design Excellence and the Honours Award for Design Excellence given to companies and designers who have developed successful design solutions. For more information, visit www.norskdesign.no

About Helly Hansen

Founded in Moss, Norway, in 1877, Helly Hansen continues to protect and enable professionals making their living on oceans and mountains around the world.

Scandinavian design is the cornerstone in all Helly Hansen gear, and the optimal combination of purposeful design, protection and style. This is why professional mountain guides, patrollers and discerning enthusiasts choose Helly Hansen. The company invented the first supple waterproof fabrics more than 130 years ago, created the first fleece fabrics in the 1960s and introduced the first technical base layers made with LIFA Stay Dry Technology in the 1970s. Today, Helly Hansen is the uniform choice for more than 15,000 ski resort and mountain guiding professionals, and the brand’s outerwear, base layers, sportswear and footwear for winter, outdoor and water sports are sold in more than 40 countries. For more information, visit www.hellyhansen.com

Helly Hansen Official Clothing Partner for Walking with the Wounded’s Everest Expedition

After the great success of the North Pole expedition, Walking With The Wounded looks to heighten the challenge and awareness by taking on Mount Everest. Technical clothing and sportswear brand, Helly Hansen, is the official clothing partner for the expedition to the top of the world.

Last year the Walking With The Wounded project was launched with its first expedition, to the North Pole. The expedition saw 4 wounded British soldiers make it all the way to the polar point raising awareness and funds for servicemen and charities along the way.

This year, a team of ex servicemen and crew aims for the top of the world. The expedition to Mount Everest will take place in April and May, and consist of two parts. The first is a 10-day trek from Lukla in Eastern Nepal to Base Camp at 5380m, where the team of 6 will overcome terrain challenging for even the fittest of trekkers. Part two of the expedition will then continue on with 5 servicemen – for the assault on the summit.

Exclusive gear provider
Erik Burbank, VP Marketing at Helly Hansen says “Climbing Everest is one of the toughest physical and mental challenges you can imagine. We’re humbled and inspired by what the WWTW team is attempting. Helly Hansen is thrilled to once again supply the team with the equipment, gear and clothing necessary to enable them on their quest to conquer the top of the earth”. 

Helly Hansen has worked closely with the Walking With The Wounded team to supply a full range of technical kit and accessories suitable for the climb. The team will be using brand new designs from coming inline collections where the experiences from the North Pole expedition have been incorporated. Helly Hansen has also made an especially developed down suit for the high altitude of the Everest climb.

HRH Prince Harry continues his role as patron for Walking With The Wounded. The prince accompanied the team for 5 days during last year’s polar expedition.

Key pieces
Helly Hansen clothing used by Walking with the Wounded includes:

A new design of the award winning Odin Mountain Jacket planned to be launched autumn 2013. The jacket is made from a new generation of the Helly Tech professional waterproof breathable fabric; with higher durability, more stretch and better breathability whilst providing full protection against the elements.

The team keeps warm at altitude with the Verglas Expedition Down Jacket that is launched next autumn. Being the pinnacle of the new winter 2012 line of down jackets from HH, it is a boxwalled expedition style jacket and like the entire line featuring high quality goose down from Allied down.

The team’s performance is secured wearing Helly Hansen base layer.
Latest Dry Revolution base layer technology from Helly Hansen has extraordinary moisture management properties that will keep the ex-servicemen dry even when working hard. For cold days in high altitude, with a lot of waiting, they will combine with HH Warm wool base layer.

For more information, contact:
Joumana Løvstad
Helly Hansen Global Marketing & Communication Manager
joumana.lovstad[at]hellyhansen.no
+ 47 90 71 53 93

Henrik Juel Teige
Gambit Hill & Knowlton
henrik.teige[at]hillandknowlton.com
+ 47 90 73 86 76

About Helly Hansen
Founded in Moss, Norway, in 1877, Helly Hansen continues to protect and enable professionals making their living on oceans and mountains around the world.  Their apparel, developed through a blend of Scandinavian design and insights drawn from living among some of the harshest environments on earth, helps provide the confidence professionals need to step out into the elements and get their job done. The company invented the first supple waterproof fabrics more than 130 years ago, created the first fleece fabrics in the 1960s and introduced the first technical base layers made with LIFA Stay Dry Technology in the 1970s. Today, Helly Hansen is the uniform choice for more than 15,000 ski resort and mountain guiding professionals around the world. The brand’s outerwear, base layers, sportswear and footwear for winter, outdoor and water sports are sold in more than 40 countries.

About Walking with the Wounded
Walking with the Wounded is a project aiming to raise funds to assist with the re-training and re-education of British servicemen and women. The project sees a group of wounded military servicemen embarking on adventurous expeditions around the world. The group’s first expedition was last year’s trekking over 400 nautical miles to become the first ever team of war wounded amputees to reach the geo graphical North Pole. Individuals can make donations to WWTW’s Everest Expedition at www.walkingwiththewounded.org.uk.

Oslo, Norway January 2012
Leading  Outdoor brand Helly Hansen joins forces with tourism board Fjord Norway to promote outdoor adventures in the Norwegian fjord region.

In a fully integrated communications campaign, outdoor brand Helly Hansen and Fjord Norway teams up to give consumers from around the world the opportunity to experience one of the world’s most spectacular destinations. The campaign builds on the ”Helly Hansen Catwalk” theme, by offering consumers the chance to win a trip to the ”catwalks” of  Fjord Norway. The campaign kicks  off in August 2012 and will, among other things, feature a breathtaking presentation of Norway’s western fjords as a catwalk for Helly Hansen.

Erik Burbank, VP Marketing for Helly Hansen said: ”We’re humbled to have the fjords region in our back-yard and extremely excited to be partnering with Fjord Norway.  The fjords are recognized as one of the greatest outdoor destinations in the world and the perfect place to experience the Helly Hansen lifestyle”. We are extremely excited to be able to share that expereience with consumers from around the world.

Consumer competitions
The initiative will consist of a global consumer marketing campaign including acitivities such as in-store promotions in Helly Hansen stores, special-made product packaging and competitions where consumers can win both travels to the fjord region as well as the latest outdoor clothing and technical gear from Helly Hansen. The campaign will utilize a wide variety of channels, including travel-, outdoor- and lifestyle magazines, digital media outlets and social media.

Kristian B. Jørgensen, CEO for Fjord Norway said: "We are delighted to be able to secure this partnership with Helly Hansen. As the leading Scandinavian outdoor brand, they represent the perfect balance of performance and style. The partnership, and this campaign will further strengthen the fjord regions position as a premier destination for those looking to experience the most beautiful travel destination in the world”.

For more information, contact:
Joumana Løvstad
Helly Hansen Global Marketing & Communication Manager
joumana.lovstad[at]hellyhansen.no
+ 47 90 71 53 93

Henrik Juel Teige
Gambit Hill & Knowlton
henrik.teige[at]hillandknowlton.com
+ 47 90 73 86 76

About Helly Hansen
Founded in Moss, Norway, in 1877, Helly Hansen continues to protect and enable professionals making their living on oceans and mountains around the world.  Their apparel, developed through a blend of Scandinavian design and insights drawn from living among some of the harshest environments on earth, helps provide the confidence professionals need to step out into the elements and get their job done. The company invented the first supple waterproof fabrics more than 130 years ago, created the first fleece fabrics in the 1960s and introduced the first technical base layers made with LIFA Stay Dry Technology in the 1970s. Today, Helly Hansen is the uniform choice for more than 15,000 ski resort and mountain guiding professionals around the world. The brand’s outerwear, base layers, sportswear and footwear for winter, outdoor and water sports are sold in more than 40 countries.

The international, performance clothing company, Helly Hansen, will continue its long association with offshore sailing as the official clothing sponsor of the double-handed, Class40 Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR).

Established in 1877, Helly Hansen maintains a strong connection with offshore sailing as supporters of Sweden’s multiple-circumnavigator, Magnus Olsson; the Ericsson Racing Team during the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race and – most recently – French solo sailor, Thomas Coville, during his solo round the world record attempt on the 32 metre maxi-trimaran, Sodebo. The company already has a connection with Class40 following their support of Norwegian yachtsman, Rune Aasberg, winner of the double-handed Class40 division of the 2010 Shetland Round Britain & Ireland Race with co-skipper, Arild Shei, on Solo and  continued their relationship with Aasberg during his single-handed Route du Rhum campaign last year.

As official clothing sponsors of the GOR, Helly Hansen will offer a pro-clothing deal to the 19 double-handed teams currently entered in the race and will supply the race organisation’s logistics, support and media teams with offshore and onshore clothing.

Emma Russell, UK Marketing Manager at Helly Hansen, is delighted with the new arrangement: “We are extremely proud to be supporting the GOR,” commented Russell. “Helly Hansen is renowned for protecting professionals who live and work in some of the most extreme environments known to man,” she continues. “As a technical brand, we continue to learn from the feedback from these professionals, providing assurance to the consumer that our kit has been put through its paces by those that need it the most.”

Josh Hall, Race Director of the GOR, is an experienced solo circumnavigator and fully appreciates the benefits of effective offshore clothing upon performance, health and morale: "We are delighted to welcome Helly Hansen aboard for the GOR,” says Hall. “Staying warm and dry in highly practical, technical clothing is an essential ingredient for success with an offshore racing campaign, and with Helly Hansen we could not wish for a better or more enthusiastic partner for our skippers in this important area.”

About Helly Hansen

Founded in Moss, Norway, in 1877, Helly Hansen continues to protect and enable professionals making their living on oceans and mountains around the world. Their apparel, developed through a blend of Scandinavian design and insights drawn from living in some of the harshest environments on earth, helps provide the confidence professionals need to step out into the elements and complete their jobs. The company invented the first supple, waterproof fabrics more than 130 years ago, created the first fleece fabrics in the 1960s and introduced the first technical baselayers made with LIFA® Stay Dry Technology in the 1970s. Today, Helly Hansen is the official uniform partner for more than 35 ski resorts and mountain guiding operations. The brand’s outerwear, baselayers, sportswear and footwear for winter, outdoor and sailing are sold in more than 40 countries. To learn more about Helly’s latest collections, visit www.hellyhansen.com

Technical clothing and sportswear brand, Helly Hansen, is chosen as exclusive gear provider for Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Oceanic Expedition. 

Today, Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson announced the company’s new exploration, Virgin Oceanic. In a historic, pioneering expedition Sir Richard Branson and his team will attempt to explore the deepest points in each of the world’s five oceans, beginning with the 10,924m deep Mariana Trench off the Pacific island of Guam, pending receipt of all required regulatory approvals.

Collaborating with an exclusive selection of different partners, the historic expedition is set to inspire, entertain and enlighten the world. Through a team of world class scientists, the expedition aims to provide the scientific community, along with the rest of the world, with the data to better understand the oceans. Innovative media solutions and open source platforms will help people access and share the experience, and a variety of like-minded brands will develop exclusive, unique content from the project.

Helly Hansen was selected by Virgin Oceanic as the expedition’s exclusive provider of apparel, footwear and accessories to the team members. The company was chosen as a result of its renowned reputation, and unparalleled heritage in protecting and enabling professionals who make their living in extreme conditions on oceans and mountains around the world.

Sir Richard Branson says “Virgin Oceanic is an exciting and demanding project that will put our teams in some of the world’s most extreme environments – above and below the ocean’s surface. Extreme environments demand the right gear, and so we’re thrilled to have Helly Hansen as part of the Virgin Oceanic team.”

Throughout the expedition, the team will encounter extreme conditions. Exploring the deepest depths of our oceans can cause physical and mental exhaustion, so the need for appropriate kit is of paramount importance for the expedition’s safety and performance. 

Erik Burbank, VP Marketing at Helly Hansen says “Helly Hansen was founded by a sea captain 135 years ago, so the sea is in our blood. Since then, our mission has been to protect and enable professionals that make their living in extreme environments, and to do so with a real sense of Scandinavian style. We are personally and professionally inspired by the Virgin Oceanic team and are both humbled and motivated to be associated with this project”.

Key pieces of Helly Hansen clothing used by Virgin Oceanic include:

The scope of the expedition means the Virgin Oceanic team will rely on a breadth of HH’s products; from technical offshore sailing suits used on Cheyenne, to technical baselayers used on board Deep Challenger, to the “team outfits” developed in collaboration with Virgin Oceanic.

For more information, contact:

Henrik Teige  henrik.teige[at]hillandknowlton.com 

Joumana Løvstad joumana.lovstad[at]hellyhansen.no

Helly Hansen

Founded in Moss, Norway, in 1877, Helly Hansen continues to protect and enable professionals making their living on oceans and mountains around the world.  Their apparel, developed through a blend of Scandinavian design and insights drawn from living among some of the harshest environments on earth, helps provide the confidence professionals need to step out into the elements and get their job done. The company invented the first supple waterproof fabrics more than 130 years ago, created the first fleece fabrics in the 1960s and introduced the first technical base layers made with LIFA Stay Dry Technology in the 1970s. Today, Helly Hansen is the uniform choice for more than 15,000 ski resort and mountain guiding professionals around the world. The brand’s outerwear, base layers, sportswear and footwear for winter, outdoor and water sports are sold in more than 40 countries.

Virgin Oceanic

Virgin Oceanic was formed by the Virgin Group to act as a sponsor of and partner on the Five Dives Expedition.  Chris Welsh, though his company Deep Sub LLC, owns and will operate the submarine.  The expedition will require various regulatory approvals, including export licenses, which Deep Sub LLC will obtain.