Outdoor retail chain Macpac has opened nine new ‘Adventure Hub’ stores across Australia, bringing the total number of stores to 54 across New Zealand and Australia.

Five of the new format stores are located in Victoria, and are buoyed by a new store in NSW, South Australia, Queensland and the ACT.

The Adventure Hub format combines Macpac’s full range with a curated selection of apparel, equipment and accessories from brands such as Patagonia, Yeti and Merrell.

Acquired by Super Retail Group in February 2018, the Kiwi brand’s chief executive Alex Brandon said the business was excited about the potential the Adventure Hubs format offers.

“We set out to create Australia’s premium destination for outdoor product and adventure advice, and I think we’ve achieved that aim in these first nine stores,” Brandon said.

“The Adventure Hubs offer the full range of Macpac gear alongside other world-class outdoor brands…supported by a friendly, knowledgeable team ready to give everyone adventure advice.”

Macpac’s Adventure Hubs also feature services to make preparing for a trip easier on customers, such as providing packing lists to ensure they don’t forget anything they might need, expert pack-fitting by Macpac team members, world maps to help envision the next big trip, as well as a mini-library providing further travel inspiration.

Former Super Retail Group chief executive Peter Birtles previously said there was potential for the Macpac brand to grow to 75 locations across Australia and New Zealand, with an additional 20 larger format locations.

However, Birtles also noted there was a significant future for the business online, rather than through constant store roll-outs.

“We certainly see that this is a market that has strong opportunity in terms of digital, and so we’d anticipate a high component of the business coming from a digital channel,” Birtles said.