In this edition of Straight Talk, Editorial Director Kristin Hostetter sits down for a free-wheeling Zoom conversation with Jeremy Jones, pro snowboarder and founder of Protect Our Winters and Jones Snowboards. The two, who are first cousins, talk about how Jones’ new ...read more

• By Kristin Hostetter
  Oct 19, 2020

Speaking with brands about their challenges with supply chains this year, you hear the word "whiplash" thrown around pretty often. "Roller coaster" comes up a lot, too. Both feel highly appropriate. In March and April, as retailers shut down and consumer demand for outdoor ...read more

• By Andrew Weaver
  Oct 16, 2020

Industry headlines: Intriguing reads from around the web Tommy Caldwell bashes Trump: The president is going to “ruin rock climbing,” the pro climber wrote in a recent op-ed. [Rock and Ice] The North Face invests in diversity: The brand has put $7 million into a new initiative ...read more

• By SNEWS
  Oct 16, 2020

2020 will go down as the year of the pivot. The year of Zoom. The year of social distancing, masks, hand sanitizer. The year that we didn’t think we’d ever adapt, but we did. Remember a million years ago when we last convened for Outdoor Retailer Winter Market + Snow Show last ...read more

• By Peter Sachs
  Oct 15, 2020

When it comes to trade shows, we're still in limbo across most of the industry. The old way of doing business—thousands of people gathering in a convention center—is still a long way off. Outdoor Retailer announced yesterday that its winter trade show, originally scheduled for ...read more

• By SNEWS
  Oct 15, 2020

Industry headlines: Intriguing reads from around the web Taking a stand: Sunlight Sports in Cody, Wyoming, posted an admirable and unequivocal message on Facebook this week. Customers who exhibit intolerant, hateful behavior will no longer be welcome in the store, the owners ...read more

• By SNEWS
  Oct 14, 2020

It was hard not to see this coming. Outdoor Retailer announced today that, in light of ongoing challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 Snow Show will adapt to a completely virtual format, just as the 2020 Summer Market did in July. The original show, scheduled ...read more

• By Andrew Weaver
  Oct 14, 2020

VF Corporation announced today that, as part of wider organizational changes meant to better align the company's leadership, Steve Murray will be promoted to global brand president of The North Face. Murray replaces former TNF president Arne Arens, who will leave VF to pursue ...read more

• By Andrew Weaver
  Oct 13, 2020

Despite a large grassroots effort organized in recent weeks to save the struggling Canadian co-op MEC from being sold to an American investment firm, it appears the acquisition will proceed. This month, British Columbia supreme court justice Shelley Fitzpatrick green-lighted the ...read more

• By Andrew Weaver
  Oct 13, 2020

The Bureau of Land Management's controversial acting director, William Perry Pendley, has refused to comply with a judge's order requiring that he step down from his post at the agency—a job he has held unlawfully for more than 400 days.  Brian Morris of the U.S. District Court ...read more

• By Andrew Weaver
  Oct 13, 2020

Industry headlines: Intriguing reads from around the web “Reparations” for Black customers: Rivendell Bicycle Works in California has implemented a program to offer Black consumers a 45 percent discount on bikes and frames, an effort the brand is calling its “Black Reparations ...read more

• By SNEWS
  Oct 12, 2020

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day this year, SNEWS talked to four Native and Indigenous designers who bring their wisdom and talents to the outdoor industry. Dewayne Dale Jr., Diné, freelancer and former innovation designer at KEEN and Chrome Industries Before becoming a ...read more

• By Amelia Arvesen
  Oct 12, 2020