On May 2, 2008, Nau announced that it was closing shop. The reason? They could not get financing to continue operations. If you don’t know who Nau is, they’re a uniquely new business—selling eco-friendly clothes with a unique business model: brick and mortar stores that displayed examples of their product but the purchases were online.
Ironically last August 06 when they launched, as a groundswell of environmental consciousness grew the economic capital markets were collapsing.
The latest as of September 8, 2008: The Road to Relaunch – Part 5
Who is Nau? In their own words…
Who are we and what are we trying to do here?
Good question. Nau is an outdoor apparel company born out of a desire to do business differently. From designing our clothes and developing our fabrics, to the way in which we build our stores, to our dedication to supporting organizations working for positive change, we are striving towards a more sustainable approach to being in business. At the core of our enterprise is the desire to expand the nature of the outdoor experience beyond athletic endeavors, and redefine what it means to align oneself with the outdoors.
We believe in the power of the collective, and we seek to turn that power towards the goal of positive change, in a variety of forms. Basically, we like to learn. And nothing furthers learning more than listening. So we’d like to listen to the people whose opinions we respect—like yours. We’re pretty sure there are a lot more folks like us out there—concerned, inquisitive people, looking for engaging, challenging and potentially transformative dialogue.
