Andrew Weaver

Outdoor Research has pledged to start producing masks for medical workers at a substantial clip—200,000 a day by June, according to an announcement the company made Monday. To do so, the gear and apparel brand will convert its Seattle factory to comply with FDA Class II ...read more

It's no surprise to learn that David Billstrom, the CEO of Kitsbow, worked as an EMT for 38 years before taking over as head of the premium cycling apparel company in Asheville, North Carolina. As the coronavirus emergency has developed in recent days, Billstrom has responded ...read more

Skiers and snowboarders, we get it. You want to be outside right now. You weren't ready for the season to come to such an abrupt end, as it did in Colorado and virutally everywhere else. You're tempted to pull out your backcountry setup and keep the fun going yourself. Plenty of ...read more

As the White House resists calls to mandate the production of masks and other resources to fight the coronavirus, some companies have stepped up voluntarily to help. In the outdoor industry, Eddie Bauer and Flowfold are among the first. "Just a few days ago, we learned that some ...read more

The specter of layoffs and permanent closure hovers over small, independent outdoor retailers even in the best economic times. With the coronavirus dampening consumer spending and forcing temporary shutdowns, disaster scenarios are closing in for local shops whose every sale, ...read more

We are living through a scary, confusing, and consequential moment. Many of us have never routinely considered the existential and ethical implications of, say, going to the supermarket or setting up a playdate for our kids. Life inside the pandemic has proven itself a minefield ...read more

Emerald Holding, Inc., the parent company of Outdoor Retailer and one of the outdoor industry's largest event organizers, has released some dismaying numbers as the coronavirus crisis continues to rattle the economy and disrupt plans. Among the group's most consequential recent ...read more

Last week, Toad&Co rolled out an ambitious program to help small retailers weather the economic uncertainty of the coronavirus crisis, becoming one of the first brands in the outdoor industry to do so. Now, the California-based company has taken its efforts a step further with a ...read more

With independent retailers closing down across the country, store owners are searching desperately for ways to keep products moving during the coronavirus crisis. Locally, which supports online sales for stores without dedicated ecommerce platforms on their websites, has ...read more

Yesterday, a recommendation from the CDC dramatically changed the in-person event landscape for the outdoor industry for at least the next two months. In a statement released on the agency's website, experts advised cancelling or postponing all gatherings of 50 or more people ...read more

In response to the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the U.S., Patagonia has taken the unprecedented step of temporarily closing all stores, shutting down its website, and suspending all orders. The company effectively ceased all operations at the end of the business day ...read more

On Friday, Outdoor Industry Association announced that it had decided to postpone Capitol Summit, its April conference in Washington, D.C., in light of the coronavirus pandemic. A statement from OIA reads, "As the coronavirus outbreak continues to grow as a public health concern, ...read more

Everest is now closed. Following an announcement from China that it would restrict climbing on its half of the mountain due to coronavirus concerns, Nepal followed suit today with a full shutdown of the mountain's southern side, completely closing off the peak to climbers hoping ...read more

With growing clout in the outdoor industry and multiple large-scale DEI projects in the works, including a new initiative with Outdoor Gear Exchange in Vermont, it's hard to believe that Massachusetts-based Venture Out Project is only five years old. In half a decade, the ...read more

To prevent the spread of the coronavirus in base camps around Mt. Everest, China has indicated that it will close access to the sides of the mountain that fall within its borders, effectively cancelling the plans of many climbers and guide companies currently preparing to summit ...read more

As coronavirus spreads across the globe and alarm builds, stranger news seems to break by the day. On Monday, a Patagonia employee in Reno, Nevada, reported to the company that his roommate had contracted the virus, resulting in the employee's exposure and potential infection. ...read more

In an unprecedented move, the California brand Toad&Co has announced that it will help its brick-and-mortar retailers survive the economic uncertainty of the coronavirus outbreak by sharing 10 percent of its new-customer ecommerce revenue for at least the next two months. “I ...read more

Few industry leaders can lay claim to a resume like Casey Sheahan's. The longtime veteran's positions have included CEO of Patagonia, President of KEEN, President of Kelty, and now CEO of Simms in Bozeman, Montana. Over a four-decade career, Sheahan has modeled empathetic, ...read more

As brands and retailers understand all too well, supply chain transparency in the outdoor industry can be, in some cases, a bit of a mixed bag. Though efforts at accountability have improved dramatically in recent years, misreporting on dirty practices and even outright ...read more

One year ahead of its 50th anniversary, the paddlesports and technical apparel brand Kokatat has undergone an aggressive expansion of its Arcata, California, headquarters. To support 7,500 square feet of new factory production space and 3,000 square feet of new warehouse space, ...read more

If there's one word industry vets use to describe Bruce Franks, 72, the longtime GM of Asolo USA, it's "legend." Time and again over the last quarter century, Franks reinvigorated the U.S. market for the heritage footwear brand in ways that shaped the company's direction, its ...read more

The Trump administration handed a small victory yesterday to outdoor brands hurting from the ongoing trade war with China. A new round of product exclusions has exempted some key categories of outdoor goods from tariffs imposed by the White House. The newly excluded products ...read more

Eddie Bauer has officially joined the outdoor industry’s Century Club. Like Orvis, L.L.Bean, Helly Hansen, and about three dozen others, the legacy retailer has stuck around long enough to celebrate its 100th birthday. From a tiny shop in Seattle that repaired wooden tennis ...read more

The Boy Scouts of America, a fixture in the American tradition of outdoor education for more than a century, filed for bankruptcy this morning in response to the hundreds of sex abuse lawsuits that have forced the 110-year-old organization to the brink of collapse. A change in ...read more

The victim of the February 9 murder at Timberland's New Hampshire headquarters has been identified as Catherine “Cassie” Heppner, 46, a director of marketing at the outdoor apparel and footwear company. Heppner had worked as a senior marketing manager at Timberland for more than ...read more

In the 84 years since the first mechanical ski lift opened in Sun Valley, Idaho, the U.S. has never seen a ski resort with no form of motorized transport. On February 15, that will change with the opening of Bluebird Backcountry, a “human-powered” resort 20 miles north of ...read more

A 20-year-old security guard, Robert Pavao, was charged with second-degree murder on Monday for the stabbing death of a 46-year-old woman at the headquarters of Timberland, in Stratham, New Hampshire. The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon, with multiple law enforcement ...read more

The people have spoken. One month ago, we asked you to vote on the coolest retail shop in the nation from our list of 15 standouts featured in last year’s #CoolShop column. We received more than 42,000 votes—the largest poll participation in SNEWS history—and the results are in. ...read more

It’s hard to fully comprehend the sheer size and imperial power of the Grand Canyon unless you’re standing on its rim, looking down. More than a mile deep and 18 miles wide at its extremes, this wonder of the natural world is so massive that it exposes 40 percent of earth’s ...read more