Analysis of Parka Brands for Canadian Winters

ANALYTICAL REPORT

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

The purpose of this report is to introduce the most popular parka brands for Canada’s cold winters and identify which one is the most preferable. It is also provides some context for understanding the factors that are involved in choosing a parka. The report has been completed with the best of my knowledge gathered from different mediums. I believe that the efforts put into the content of this report will help the reader gain some information about the research topic.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This research topic talks about finding the best parka brand for Canadian winters. Parkas are winter jackets which are built in such a way that it can withstand freezing temperatures and howling winds. Primary research has been done on finding out the most popular brands out there that people like to wear popular brands out there that people like to wear or have heard about. This has been done by asking different individuals in Toronto (across various age groups) via phone and in-person. Another method of finding data is done through the internet – different blogs, articles and news on popular brands and their qualities have been searched.

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After finding four to five most popular brands, further research has been done on finding the criteria for analysing the best ones. Evaluation factors such as the price of the parka, its intended use, resistance to temperature and water has been included to compare which parka stands out from the rest. We are hoping to find a correlation between the warmth and weight of the parka and how it can affect the customer’s choice of buying a winter jacket. Thus, a lot of variety in comparing parkas to one another is expected in this report.

INTRODUCTION

Winter jackets, also known as parkas are like a hip-length coat that are generally used in cold weathers and are typically stuffed with down or very warm synthetic fibre. This research topic is to analyse about the best brand to buy a parka for Canada’s wind chilling, bone-biting cold winters.

Shopping for a winter parka is a kind of experience that puts an individual in the middle of several options and complicating factors. Certain factors such as the design, price, colour, intended use, temperature resistance, warmth and much more, makes it confusing for a customer to find a parka that fits all. For instance, ski jacket for person A can work out for an all-round use but person B might prefer a warm outer chic wear for daily errands or commuting in a bus. It all depends on the individual’s choice and which factors do they consider.

Finding a parka that will help keep one warm doesn’t automatically mean that it will forego the style and fashion wear trending in the market. Different kinds of parkas offer style and qualities adhering to both males and females. Some may like puffy coats and some may like ones that appear cool and are durable. Five popular parka brands are chosen and described in this report. Characteristics that each brand possess are also enlisted such as their cost, durability, warmth, etc. These five brands are the North Face, Canada Goose, Patagonia, Rab Neutrino and Columbia. Starting with the first brand;

• The North Face:

The North Face is a pretty warm parka brand that looks good in design. It is water-resistant and decent to wear even in chilly temperatures. Priced at $300, it is a little heavier in weight and less packable for carrying out, in terms of its compressibility.

• Canada Goose:

Priced at a whopping $925, this is a very expensive brand for buying a parka. Apart from its cost, it is really warm, well-built and fashionable. Canada Goose has extra insulation and has a great value for its quality.

• Patagonia City Storm Parka:

With the new “City Storm Parka”, the Patagonia is popular for its warmth, comfort and water-resistant quality. The brand offers more of casual wear and not performance-oriented fabric if one is likely to go on a mountaineering trip with friends. It costs $499 and may seem a little pricey for a casual piece of jacket.

• Rab Neutrino Endurance:

To block wind and cold air, this parka brand does justice to the warmth it offers. It is made up of relatively thin material as compared to the previous parka brand. Priced at $375, it is one of the lightest jackets (merely weighs a pound) and also offers a good sense of style.

• Columbia Barlow Pass:

Columbia offers a budget-oriented option. Its top pick – The Barlow Pass is priced at $280. It seems to have everything one would look for, in a parka – good amount of warmth, synthetic wear, water-resistance, plenty of pockets, budget-friendly, a hood and much more.

Apart from brands, analysis, and comparison is also done in the report to find out which of these five brands are preferred the most by Canadians. Criteria such as price, warmth, intended use and resistance to water and temperature are described.

Moving ahead, a survey has been created that consists of ten questions to find out which brand is most preferred by Canadians. The questions are as follows:-

Q1. and Q2. Q3. Q4.

Q5. Q6. Q7. Q8. Q9. and Q10.

BODY OF REPORT

When buying a cloth, people look for certain factors such as the design of the cloth, the colour and price, how fashionable it looks and how well is its quality. Following are few evaluation criteria to keep in mind before finalizing that worthy winter jacket:-

• Price:

Budget comes first! It is very important to see whether the parka fits the price range of the individual, unless one has a lot of money to invest. While the Canada Goose comes at a price of $925, the Rab Neutrino is almost half its price (and even less) minus the material and quality.

• Warmth:

When looking for a parka, it is realistically logical to search which is the warmest of all. Technically, warmth can be determined by something called fill power and fill weight. Fill weight is mostly overlooked but fill power is significant to understand about warmth of the parka. For example, the higher the fill power, the more warmer that parka will be. Rab Neutrino parka brand has an 800-fill since it’s a performance-oriented jacket. For casual ones, the North Face possess a 550-fill power which is pretty good and warm.

• Intended use:

An individual’s intent and mood is a major factor to decide which parka to buy. Casual parkas are designed for everyday use, for instance, in the city or going to work, but performance parkas are technical in nature and often lightweight, for example, going for a mountain trek or a trip up in the hills. That is why the Rab Neutrino is light in material but the Columbia Barlow Pass (being half of Rab Neutrino’s fill-power) is thicker for casual wear.

• Weight:

Perhaps another important criteria to choose a parka is how heavy or light it is. For instance, the North Face weighs 3lbs 2oz while the Patagonia City Storm Parka weighs only 2lbs 7oz and is much warmer than North Face in terms of its fill power.

• Temperature and water-resistance:

Both of these factors are significant since winters not only dig down the temperature levels but snow and moisture is another accompanying factor to figure out some respite from. For this purpose, Canada Goose is a great option as it possesses a DWR finish (i.e. it repels water from fabric surface) and reduces cold air penetration. The Columbia Barlow Pass is known for its proprietary Omni-tech waterproofing but is not warm and penetrates cold air into its fabric due to the absence of the Arctic Tech shell quality and insulation which is there in the Canada Goose parka.

To sum up the above criteria, the following table will provide a clearer picture about these brands:

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1^st Graph:

This survey was conducted on 40 Canadians out of which 42.5% were males and 57.5% were females.

2^nd Graph:

Majority of the respondents (42.5%) belonged to 26-40 years of age category and the rest from 17-25 and 41-55 years respectively.

3^rd Graph:

Almost 45% of the people surveyed chose The North Face as their most preferred brand of Parka, followed by Canada Goose (22.5%) and Columbia brand (12.5%).

4^th Graph:

57.5% of the people preferred Black as their parka colour choice which was closely followed by Grey with 42.5% of respondents.

5^th Graph:

The most important factor for these respondents while choosing their parka brand was the warmth of the parka. They considered warmth as the most significant criteria while choosing a parka. Almost 28% of the respondents chose price as another important evaluation factor. Other factors such as weight of the parka (12.5%), temperature/water resistance (10%) and intended use of parka (5%) were also taken into consideration by the respondents.

6^th Graph:

Almost half of the respondents (52.5%) marked their parka brand to be of a very high quality.

7^th Graph:

50% of the respondents felt that their parka brand met their needs very well and the rest felt their brand met their needs extremely well. Only 10% of the respondents seem to be reluctant with their parka choice meeting their requirements.

8^th Graph:

Majority of the participants (58%) described their parka brand as useful. Positive responses were obtained for descriptions like unique (35%), good value for money (55%), reliable (52.5%), high quality (40%), etc.

Only 22.5% of the participants felt that their choice of parka was a bit overpriced.

9^th Graph:

90% of the respondents felt satisfied with their choice of parka brand.

10^th Graph:

When asked about rating their choice of winter jacket and recommending it to a relative or friend, almost 58% of the participants were extremely likely to recommend their closed ones to buy the same brand.

According to my survey results, the best and most popular parka brand to buy for Canadian winters is The North Face as it has a good value for money, it is warm enough, is useful and has high quality. While Canada Goose might have all the qualities but due to its overt and unaffordable price ranges, it is less likely to be chosen by majority of the Canadians.

CONCLUSION

The in-depth analysis of the survey conducted on Canadians found out that majority preferred The North Face parka brand over other brands as it offers a good value for money, it is warm and reliable in winters and they seem to highly recommend this brand to their loved ones. Furthermore, it was also seen that warmth is considered as the most important factor for choosing The North Face parka brand.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. ‘Best Winter Jackets of 2018-2019’, Switch Back Travel, [website], 2018, https://www.switchbacktravel.com/best-winter-jackets#hood, (accessed 21 November 2018).