Comfortable Digs For C.C. Filson's Hardworking Clothes -- Seller, Maker Of Outdoor Wear Settling In At Its New Location

David Hicklin, a resident of Chester, England, was no accidental tourist during a recent three-day trip to Seattle.

Armed with a lengthy shopping list, the 39-year-old Hicklin bypassed the Space Needle and Pike Place Market and instead headed directly for a different kind of tourist attraction: C.C. Filson's outdoor-apparel store in South Seattle.

Describing Filson clothing as hardworking and good quality, Hicklin said he would probably spend more than $1,000 on coats, jackets and hats during his stay. "If you want a garment that's going to stand up," Hicklin said, Filson is "the best."

Hicklin's pilgrimage was not out of the ordinary. Filson customers frequently travel from Europe, Japan and various parts of the United States.

But while traffic is up and sales appear to be on the rise, some say Filson customers are lucky to find the store at all, particularly since the company was forced to leave its previous location last year to make way for construction of Safeco Field, the new Mariner baseball stadium scheduled to open in July.

A 100-year-old, internationally known manufacturer of outdoor clothing and luggage, Filson had been on First Avenue South since 1985. There, the company focused on manufacturing garments for distribution to hundreds of retailers, including L.L. Bean, Eddie Bauer and REI. Longtime employees say the company's modest retail store was something of an afterthought, so small that they fondly referred to it as "The Closet."

Even so, the company was reluctant to relocate, and decided to put up a loud legal fight. As a result, Filson's was the last property owner to reach an agreement with the Public Facilities District, the agency charged with overseeing construction of the stadium.

Helped by a $3.45 million out-of-court settlement, Filson has been comfortably situated since January in its new 36,000-square-foot location at 1555 Fourth Ave. S., 4,500 square feet of which is retail display area, more than four times the size of the old 950-square-foot store. The company ended up with about 21,000 square feet of manufacturing space, roughly the same amount it had on First Avenue.

Filson's owner Stan Kohls surveys the space and says now he is optimistic the new store will generate brisk business. But Kohls is quick to add that the move was costly in more ways than one.

"We weren't against the Mariners," Kohls said. But "it would've been much better for us to stay where we were. Long term, this location is going to be real good for us. But we would've much rather not gone through it."

Filson is a privately owned company, and Kohls is reluctant to share many financial details. But he says that the move cost $2 million more than it received in the settlement, leaving the company with debt it would not have had otherwise.

"It was a real tough year for us," Kohls said of 1997.

Perhaps most troubling was the lost sales opportunities and the difficulties associated with operating out of multiple locations for months at a time, said other Filson employees.

"Last year was not as good as it should have been," said assistant store manager David Perry. "A lot of people didn't know where we were."

That problem, however, seems to be easing. Kohls said store traffic this year is up 60 percent over 1997. New and old customers are discovering the shop through various combinations of luck, word of mouth, and the enormous, lime-green neon Filson sign atop the building.

But while the location is new, Filson continues to stock much of the same sturdy outdoor gear it has sold since Seattle became a jumping-off point for the Alaska gold rush 100 years ago.

The decor in the new store reflects the region's history. Murals and other displays show prospectors in the Yukon and Grand Coulee Dam workers, all wearing Filson clothing. Parts of it look more like a log cabin than a store, with exposed wood ceiling beams, a fireplace, mounted buffalo and elk heads, and leather chairs perfect for lounging. Videos titled "Training Pointing Dogs" and "Fish and Game Cooking Made Easy" play continuously on television screens near the fireplace. And a small library features "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry, "Arctic Dreams" by Barry Lopez and dozens of other adventure novels.

Ambience aside, Filson apparel is not cheap. A pair of 100 percent virgin-wool pants, for example, run $151. Pullman luggage, made of 100 percent cotton, costs a cool $310. Leather hunting boots carry a $255 price tag. One of Filson's classic coats can cost up to $250.

Kohls said customers don't mind paying a little more for clothing that lasts a lifetime and comes with a repair or replacement guarantee.

"We're not at all (into) fashion," Kohls said. "It's for that guy out there who needs something rugged. Our fabrics are expensive, but we believe you get what you pay for."

Customers seem to agree. Shawn Benedict, a 37-year-old Wallingford resident who works as a commercial-construction structural inspector, said tough jobs require tough clothes.

"We call it body armor," said Benedict. "Guys don't mind spending $500 if they know it's going to last."

Robert Marshall Wells' phone message number is 206-464-2412. His e-mail address is: rwells@seattletimes.com