Snowgum is the oldest adventure brand in Australia, originally founded as The Scout Shop in Melbourne in 1924.

In the days before schools embarked in outdoor education, and independent adventure was uncommon, Scouting was the institution for outdoor activites and adventure in Australia.

For many in those early days, the Scout Shop became the sole source of outdoor clothing and equipment and remained so for decades. As schools and individuals began to embrace the wilderness through the 60’s and 70’s, the Scout Shop expanded across the country. To broaden the business appeal to the general public the name was changed first to the Scout Outdoor Centre in 1978 then to Snowgum in 1992.

The transformation to Snowgum in the early 90’s led to the expansion of manufacturing & rapid growth of the retail franchise model.

As overseas travel became more affordable, Snowgum became a destination for functional travelwear and it is in this niche of the market Snowgum has flourished.

In 2004 the Scout Association sold the business to General Manager Ross Elliott and a private consortium. Ross first worked in the business as a student casual in 1979, joined it full time in 1984, was appointed to manage the business in 1990 and remains the Managing Director of the privately owned business to this day.

During this period of private ownership the business rapidly expanded its network, moving into shopping centres and broadening the appeal of the Snowgum brand to the general public. Snowgum expanded into New Zealand and operated several stores there for 10 years but made the decision during the GFC to exit that market and focus on Australia.

In 2011 Snowgum launched a brand new store concept incorporating the Snowgum tree into a layers of experience theme. The new store in Belconnen Westfield, Canberra, is unique in its presentation and has been extremely well received by our customers. The concept will be gradually rolled out across the network.

In 2012 we launched the new Snowgum website, and replicated the benefits of the instore shopping experience in a new and refreshed web design, one that is now more functional for customers than ever - making your shopping experience better with each purchase.

Today Snowgum is travel & adventurewear designed to enhance your outside and travel experience. Every garment and every product is built with a performance purpose in mind. Fabrics are selected to travel well and perform in extremes of climate – to ensure the wearer enjoys maximum comfort – wherever they may travel.