Leroutard.com, a leading French travel website associated with a range of travel guides, has started selling outdoor apparel, footwear and equipment in partnership with a marketplace operator, Boutwik. Leroutard.com describes the online shopping facility as an added service to its customers. It provides significant exposure, since Leroutard.com boasts about 2.5 million unique visitors per month, most of them presumably active travelers. The marketplace currently features about 2,000 items from brands such as Millet, The North Face, Icebreaker, Salomon and Lowa, but the company says the number will increase. The offering is split into seven categories: hiking and trekking equipment, accessories, apparel and footwear, health and hygiene, luggage, quirky gift items and travel guides. Boutwik is a French start-up that focuses on the launch of specialist marketplaces for websites, blogs or Youtube channels targeted at specific communities. Boutwik manages the relationships with partners in the marketplace. Leroutard.com says it does not intend to launch its own label in outdoor products, although the Routard name is already used for a range of small travel accessories, such as plugs and earphones. They are available through another entry on Leroutard.com, which takes customers to the website of Fnac.com, a French retailer specializing in music, books and electronics.

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