PROFILE - DAVID WHITLOW: The outside edge.(Ellis Brigham)

Marketing director at Ellis Brigham, David Whitlow, believes that active customers want to see products in action, and reality theatre and expert staff help achieve this. Maeve Hosea reports

A blast of air chilled to -12 degrees C hits as you approach the ice wall in mountain sports specialist Ellis Brigham's Covent Garden store. The retailer wants to take customers on a journey, starting with a climb up the two-storey authentic-looking rockface. At a height of eight metres, made of real snow and kept cold by weather simulation turbines, the artificial cliff provides some adrenaline-fuelled shopping trips.

The ice wall is one way the retailer can show its enthusiasm for the equipment it sells. David Whitlow, marketing director of Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports says: "Ellis Brigham is all about modern mountain sports retailing with an end-user-driven passion, a leftfield edginess and a fashion-savvy commerciality. Communicating the passion that we share with our customers for the greatest sports and lifestyles out there is key to all of our marketing activity."

Demonstrating an ability for retail theatre …