Another Castelli :o

[Greg Cowan]

Hi All,

I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Greg Cowan and I'm President of Castelli USA.

I almost never read blogs and this is the first time I've posted to one, but I got a mail this morning from a Team Estrogen customer/blogger and she let me know about this one so I thought I'd take the time to to write.

First, I think it's great that CASTELLI generates so much passion among women. Second, we value feedback. As Team Estrogen has a non-advertising requirment to this blog, I won't try to sell you anything. If you have feedback, you can send it directly to me via our website - www.castelli-us.com. I personally read and answer all of our website inquiries. I've answered questions on virtually every topic concerning CASTELLI and that includes what you do and don't like about our products, and we take that product feedback seriously. If you have some styles that you've liked in the past, let us know and we'll take a look at where we think we're hitting and where we're not. Third, the Koori Jersey and Short is NOT designed by a man. It is a concept drawn up by Niki Gudex (who is a top Australian mountain biker, model and fashion design graduate) and designed from that concept by a designer named Maria Theresa in Italy. Maria Theresa has been with CASTELLI for at least a decade. Hers is the same firm that designed the pieces that some of you have referenced that you liked. We also use outside designers in Portland, Oregon (one of whom is a woman and a leading sports apparel designer here - and she did a couple of the designs for Spring 08) and all the designs are reviewed for whether we include them in the line in both Italy and the USA.

Finally, I noticed a number of comments relative to pricing. We work very hard here to make our products price competitive. I could do a whole dissertation on apparel industry costs and pricing but I won't. I will say though that with the design and innovation we put into our fabrics (most of which are imported from Italy) and pads we feel we're providing great value to consumers both men and women at every price point that we have a product offering.

We won't please everyone - but we try to produce a range of product that includes something for everyone. We're not the biggest company out there so as I said above - we place great importance on our consumers and their feedback. And, every season we try to improve. Feel free to send me a note via our website.

Best Regards, Greg

[blueskies]

Hi All,

I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Greg Cowan and I'm President of Castelli USA.

I almost never read blogs and this is the first time I've posted to one, but I got a mail this morning from a Team Estrogen customer/blogger and she let me know about this one so I thought I'd take the time to to write.

Wow. I sent a short note to the contact email on the Castelli web site, but didn't expect to hear back from the President. Gotta respect the attention to customer feedback.

[SouthernBelle]

Hi Greg,

Very nice of you to come and post.

We really don't much care who the designers are, to be honest. We either like it or we don't.

The kit referenced in this thread, and one from last summer that you could probably find with a search, were not favorites, to put it mildly.

The majority of this group doesn't seem to like girly, as opposed to feminine.

I got past the girly stage about 30 years ago.