The company set up its first retail outlets in Australia, whilst manufacturing most of its original clothing range in New Zealand.

In 1992 Kathmandu, having established a strong operation in Australia (with stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra) re-entered the New Zealand retail marketplace, purchasing Alps Sports from its receivers and brought in Bernard Wicht to join John Pawson and Jan Cameron as a third shareholder.

[citation needed] In 2006, Quadrant Private Equity bought the company for NZ$275 million, after Cameron had previously sold half of her business.

This was part of a wider policy of economic stimulus for large and small businesses following the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting downturn in the economy.

[16] Kathmandu's decision was also labelled as an example of the "waste" and "fraud" in the wage subsidy scheme treasury had earlier warned of.