Nau chose to roost its new Pearl District headquarters steps from the Portland Streetcar line in a certified green building.

A start-up outdoor apparel company aims to change no less than the very way people shop.

The past decade has seen the rise of Internet commerce, where a new car or a used book is just a few clicks and a credit card number away. Early next year, Portland-based nau (Maori for “come to me”) plans to open four “Webfronts,” a concept one company executive describes as hybrid brick-and-mortar/online stores.

“This reflects increasingly how people are shopping,” said Ian Yolles, nau’s vice president of marketing.

The initial 2,000-square-foot Webfronts — a term nau has trademarked — will be located along urban arterials in some of the Western United States’ largest cities. The company, which began life earlier this year under the name UTW — shorthand for “Under The Wire” — has yet to finalize exact locations, but it has already fleshed out how the Webfronts will work.

Patrons who visit the Webfronts will be able to try on a wide selection of waterproof jackets, durable cotton shirts and other staples of the outdoor apparel industry. Sales associates will be there to answer questions, but the touch-screen Webfronts add a new dimension. Shoppers will be able to use the on-site computer terminals to read technical details about Nau’s products, or to purchase the products for a 10 percent discount.

Products purchased online — whether at home or in the stores — will be shipped from a Portland warehouse to the consumer within days, Yolles said.

“From a business perspective, it adds efficiencies,” he said.

Under the retail-direct model, nau plans to ship products from just one warehouse, so in-store inventories don’t have to be as deep. What’s more, each store’s comparatively small footprint will be roughly 40 percent more efficient than a traditional retail store, on a sales-per-square-foot basis, he said.

The company’s business plan echoes a commitment to efficiency and environmental innovation [see “New adventures in urban and rural business,” SIJ, November 2006]. Most of the company’s executive team hails from Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) and Patagonia, companies renowned for the corporate social responsibility efforts. Nau’s CEO Chris Van Dyke (son of entertainer Dick Van Dyke) has worked as a product development and marketing executive for both companies. Jil Zilligen, nau’s vice president for sustainability, headed up a corporate social responsibility consulting firm with Van Dyke after a stint with Patagonia. Yolles, too, has worked within the top ranks of both companies.

Nau’s Northwest Portland headquarters is in a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Gold-certified building, designed by Portland-based Opsis Architects, and nau’s Webfronts are designed to feature green building elements as well, Yolles said. In addition, the 120 clothing styles featured in nau’s initial spring line are set to incorporate recycled plastics, organic cotton, corn-based polyester and other environmentally preferable materials. The company is also seeking to design a “paperless, automated office,” according to a position announcement posted earlier this summer.

But perhaps the company’s coup d’etat is its pledge to give 5 percent of its gross revenue to social and environmental groups. Shoppers will be able to use the Webfronts to select which groups get a share of the sale revenue.

“All customers in all locations will see the same choices for national and global organizations, but customers will see different choices for local organizations,” said Zilligen, who said nau is in the final stages of selecting its philanthropic beneficiaries.

In a recent slate of job postings, the company announced its philanthropic goals to potential applicants. “This blending of profitability and philanthropy is the new measure of success,” according to the postings. “We intend to assume a leadership role in corporate responsibility while providing maximum return on shareholder investment.”

If the company meets its sales and growth goals, nau could have as many as 150 Webfronts in the United States by 2010, Yolles projected. The company would also be the 46th-largest corporate philanthropist in the nation.

Those may be big goals, but nau execs say Webfronts have big potential.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see variations on the theme in other venues,” Yolles said.

Earlier this year, nau staff projected the company’s first line of products to be released sometime during 2007.