Shegear Opens Retail Store In Rhode Island: Creates Premier Shopping Destination For Women’s Athletic And Sailing Gear

Newport, R.I. (February 24, 2004) – SheGear.com, the popular women’s sports equipment and apparel website, has merged with the Newport, R.I. retail store Aloha Experience to create New England’s premier shopping destination for women’s athletic gear and equipment. The new retail store, called SheGear, will feature the same athletically chic clothing and designed-for-women gear for which its online namesake is known as well as offering guidance and instruction for women interested in trying new sports. Located in the heart of Newport, at 433 Thames Street, the store will open on April 1, 2004.

“We wanted to create a store where women can find the beset women’s equipment available and the latest in clothing trends typically not offered in retail stores,” said Carrie Fletcher, founder of SheGear.com and co-owner with Karen Vaccaro of SheGear. “Newport is a natural place to base our store as it is a wonderfully active community and a favorite play spot for women from Boston to New York.”

Fletcher and Vaccaro say they know personally the frustration women experience when trying to find the “right” gear. “Most sporting goods stores carry very few pieces of women’s equipment and often times sales personnel are unfamiliar with the differences between men’s and women’s equipment,” said Fletcher. “At SheGear, we find products that address the physical differences between the sexes so that women can have the best equipment to maximize their performance in their chosen sports.”

SheGear offers equipment and clothing for many sports, including biking, climbing, fitness and yoga, kayaking, sailing, skiing, snowboarding, surfing and more. The primary focus in on water sports and the store will feature women’s wetsuits, drysuits, life jackets, custom women’s surfboards, kayaks and other water sports gear.

SheGear stocks high-performance brands such as Water Girl, Horny Toad, Isis, Immersion Research, Reef, Gravis, Sanuk, Rampage Swim, Point Conception, L-Space, Toes on the Nose, Velvet Eyewear, Rip Curl, Neil Pryde, Northwest River Supply, Lotus Designs, Prana, Scout Performance, Douglas Gill Sailing Apparel, Kokotat, Technica and Columbia Shoes, Siren, BYB, Hobie and Walden Surfboards.

“Newport offers so many great places to surf, kayak, bike or just be outside,” said Vaccaro. “Whatever the sport, SheGear will have clothing and gear that is stylish and, more important, functional and well fitting. We want to give our customers gear that will promote their ability, yet still look feminine and stylish.”

About Carrie Fletcher
Carrie Fletcher knows her sports. Born and raised in Hawaii, Fletcher’s love of water sports was fostered from an early age. She began sailing as a child, gaining experience in open ocean sailing and racing before her sixteenth birthday, and is still a competitive sailor today. Fletcher also windsurfs, scuba dives, and surfs. Now a resident in Rhode Island, she has taken up additional sports to satisfy her athletic nature, including whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, and climbing. Her love of sports combined with her struggle to find quality equipment and business background led to the creation of SheGear.com.

Karen Vaccaro is the quintessential beach girl, having grown up in Ft. Lauderdale and later residing in California, Hawaii, and the Caribbean. Early on, she started her sporting lifestyle, learning to sail, dive, surf, and more. She was a nationally ranked swimmer and is a trained Dive Master. Vaccaro is a formally trained yoga instructor, teaching Ashtanga yoga since 1999. Karen’s love of the beach lifestyle and passion for design and fashion led her to open Aloha Experience, a surf boutique, in 1998, which specialized in internationally influenced swimwear and clothing.

About SheGear.com
Founded in 1997, SheGear is an online women's sports shop that specializes in technical gear and clothing for outdoor sports. In addition to offering equipment, the website provides background information about each sport, gives an overview of the equipment required, and a directory of associations, organizations, travel companies and clubs. SheGear serves as a community for athletic women of all experience levels.

For more information, contact Carrie Fletcher, carrie@shegear.com, or Karen Vaccaro, karenv@shegear.com. SheGear, 443 Thames Street, Newport, R.I. 02840, 401-619-0072, www.shegear.com.