Corey Buhay

Attendees flooded into a standing-room-only ballroom for the OIA Industry Breakfast featuring a speaker lineup filled with star power.“It’s good to be among friends,” said Sally Jewell, former Secretary of the Interior, prompting a roar of applause as she approached the podium. ...read more

The spotlight was never part of the plan. With his June 3 free solo of Yosemite’s El Capitan, Alex Honnold secured his place as the outdoor industry’s biggest celebrity—a height he never meant to ascend to. Even so, it’s a platform he’s learned to embrace. Over the past decade, ...read more

On June 27, over 200 backpackers take off from the starting line for the first leg of a three-day, 40-mile journey through the Colorado backcountry. More than half wear Fjällräven pants, shirts, or jackets. The rest ...read more

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Bears Ears National Monument stands quiet. Sunbaked terracotta pillars hold sentinel like broken chess pieces over a sandy board. Wind stirs the pinyon pine, flicking drifts of sand at the feet of thousand-year-old petroglyphs. Waves of heat vibrate in the valleys, a soft pulse. ...read more

In the outdoor industry, wool has been gaining popularity for several years, as more and more apparel brands start to incorporate it into everything from undies to puffy jackets to shorts to shoes. But the reality is that as a global commodity, wool has been waning in popularity ...read more

A visionary of both conservation and recreation, Mary Anderson helped launch one of America’s biggest outdoor gear distributors and shaped the growth of legendary climbing club The Mountaineers. In many ways, Mary Anderson created the modern outdoor industry as we know it. She ...read more

If urban athletic brands like Under Armour and adidas ever truly break into the outdoor realm, their diverse appeal might be just what the industry needs. Under Armour has started to stretch its spandex wings, exhibiting at Grassroots Connect, kicking off a summer 2017 UA ...read more

Rife with lone wolves and adrenaline fiends, the climbing community has historically operated as a loose collective rather than a united front. But in the face of rising popularity, educational inconsistencies, and political threats, that could start to change. The American ...read more

Ted Manning got an early start in the outdoor industry, first pinning on an Eastern Mountain Sports name tag at age 17. Now the CEO of Ibex, Manning’s a far cry from that sales floor-roaming kid, but he’s yet to forget his roots.In the past year, Ibex has worked to bridge the gap ...read more

You get to keep the money and the inventory? In theory alone, the rental business seems like a pretty good gig, but here’s some news to sweeten the deal: rentals were up nearly 300,000 units and over $16 million in the 2015/16 season, bringing total revenue to $238 million. ...read more

Donald Trump’s party might be bent on selling off public lands, but no need to panic just yet: Even among Republicans, not everyone is behind the movement.The GOP declared a new platform priority at the Republican National Convention this July: returning public lands to the ...read more

Business travel is getting pricier, and costs will continue to rise through 2017. Scroll down to our infographic and see how your Outdoor Retailer expense report stacks up to the average attendee’s, and use these tips to save money on future travel. Outdoor Retailer is the ...read more

WHEN PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA STEPS OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE, he’ll be leaving some big shoes to fill. Half a billion-acre shoes, to be exact. Our current POTUS made headlines again last week when he designated the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the ...read more

Conservation is a hot topic for the public land-dependent outdoor industry. Even President Barack Obama’s efforts - more than any other U.S. president in history - aren’t enough, given the rapid pace of development in the U.S., said Kristen Brengel, VP of government affairs at ...read more

Tours aren't just for rock bands. With direct sales eating away at specialty shop bottom lines, road shows featuring retail events offer a symbiotic solution. Here’s how to do them right.IT WAS STILL DARK when Stormy Kromer’s president, Bob Jacquart, pulled out of his driveway. ...read more

As much as the outdoor industry might hate to admit it, the shutterbug wandering the streets of Rome has many of the same needs as the guy waiting for his backcountry skis to come through baggage claim. The overlap between what travelers and outdoorists want is even bigger than ...read more

Teen trips with organizations like Big City Mountaineers and NOLS open a window on some of the daunting challenges facing outdoor recreation growth among underserved youth. Getting the boys to the first day of the trip is the hard part. Their lives revolve around the familiar ...read more

Adventure travel is on the rise, and outdoor retailers are poised to take advantage of the growing market. How do you get travelers into your store, or market your gear to them? The first step is understanding who they ...read more

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PUNCTURE-WOUNDED WALL MAPS are no longer suffering in vain: More Americans than ever are putting their money where their pins are. For this new breed of tourists, actualizing their wanderlust in plane tickets and scrolling odometers, the goal is more than just sightseeing. ...read more

With gas prices falling to a 10-year-low this spring, more Americans than ever are hitting the road for summer vacation, boosting revenue for parks, campgrounds, and—for retailers—certain gear categories.THERE HAS BEEN NO RITE OF PASSAGE LIKE THE GREAT AMERICAN ROAD TRIP, a ...read more

Where's the diversity in the great outdoors? SNEWS crunches the numbers.Part 2 of a 2-part series on diversity in the outdoor industry. Earlier this week, author James Edward Mills wrote about the challenges we'll face if we don't become more inclusive - and fast.  In spite of ...read more

Whether attracting customers with water bowls and leashes or employees with dog-friendly office policies, the way to a millennial’s heart is through their pet’s. Millennials start families later than other generations. In the meantime, they tend to fill the void with something ...read more

THE OUTDOOR INDUSTRY IS FULL OF PASSIONATE PEOPLE, and passionate people have a lot to say. But as with any adolescent, the young industry has had trouble being heard.Since 2013, local outdoor industries have been fighting for state-level recognition and a representative to bring ...read more

Blazes are growing more costly – both to forests and to the Forest Service’s checkbook. In 1991, fire suppression consumed only 13 percent of USFS allocations. Last year, it devoured over half—52 percent—for the first time, according to a 2015 USFS analysis. On average, the ...read more

As a writer, photographer, and skier coming into her own as a professional athlete, Kalen Thorien knows more than a thing or two about succeeding as a woman in the business of adventure. Kalen Thorien became an athlete by accident. In high school, she played hooky and snuck ...read more

Patagonia representative Kathleen Gillett is often the only woman in the room (or on the mountain). She offers her tips for changing that ratio. Kathleen Gillett is Patagonia’s only East Coast sales rep. There are 26 wholesale reps total, and 22 of those are men. Though women ...read more

PrAna ambassador Olivia Hsu is a master of both rock climbing and Ashtanga yoga. Through the lens of her dual expertise, she offers wisdom for balance – in life, in climbing, and in navigating the gender gap that still exists in both.A thousand feet off the ground, the wind ...read more

Betty Reid Soskin worked her way up from Jim Crow laws and bleak employment options to become the oldest (and one of the most respected) rangers in the National Park Service. Betty Reid Soskin has lived a number of lives. She’s been a clerk in a segregated boilermaker’s union, a ...read more

As a world traveler, mountaineer, and leader of a multibillion dollar company, Mary Anderson has done it all. As the co-founder of REI, Mary Anderson could be credited with shaping the American outdoor industry into what it is today. Her contributions to the industry began even ...read more

The women behind National Park Experience are on the cusp of releasing their second film. Their perspective on succeeding in the male-dominated film world? “It’s not about being women filmmakers. It’s about being filmmakers.” Amy Marquis and Dana Romanoff form a duo as dynamic as ...read more

Renowned big mountain freeskier Alison Gannett left the professional world to do what was right – for the environment and for her health. But that doesn’t mean she’s slowing down.  When she’s not skiing the world’s hardest big mountain lines, mountain biking, designing ...read more

In the years following the release of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild, first as a novel and then as a star-studded Hollywood production about one woman’s journey on the Pacific Crest Trail, the number of PCT hikers quadrupled. Publications from The Wall Street Journal to Mashable suggest ...read more

Sure, subscription boxes distribute samples, but the benefit to product providers isn’t always tangible. Cairn is changing that. These days, there’s a subscription box for everything. You can sign up with Birchbox for cosmetics, Dollar Shave Club for regular razors, Bark Box for ...read more

In the last decade, Bend, Oregon, has become an outdoor retail Mecca. Snowcapped volcanoes split the horizon and the sun always shines, but the real secrets to Bend’s success are things any town can replicate. There’s something about Bend. Transplants are pouring in, flocking to ...read more

Lighter gear and more diverse participation has sparked a surge in backcountry interest, a windfall for retailers catering to the growing ranks of alpine tourers and riders. The backcountry beckons, bringing more thrill seekers than ever out of bounds in search of deep, untouched ...read more

Find out more about Capitol Summit and how you can attend from the Outdoor Industry Association. ...read more

The number of climbing gyms in the U.S. is clambering upward, having more than doubled in the past decade. In 2015 alone, the U.S. indoor climbing industry saw 10 percent growth, according to data from the Climbing Business Journal, with 40 new gyms bringing the total up to 381 ...read more

Wearable device shipments in 2015 rocketed up 171.6 percent over 2014 shipments, according to market intelligence provider International Data Corporation (IDC)’s preliminary Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device tracker. IDC names two drivers of the enormous growth: the fitness ...read more

Ten years ago, anyone with a plastic hat glimmering in the sunlight faced sneers from lidless skiers. Today, it’s the opposite. About 78 percent of resort skiers and snowboarders wear helmets, according to recent data by the National Ski Areas Association. A good thing, too—the ...read more

The outdoor industry is overwhelmingly white, but white consumers aren’t the biggest spenders. According to OIA’s ConsumerVue research, for example, Latino outdoorists spend about 27 percent more annually than the average outdoor consumer, and Asian and Pacific Islanders spend 20 ...read more

Thanks to Hollywood, thru-hiking interest and numbers are on the rise. The Pacific Crest Trail saw a 92 percent increase in prospective thru-hikers in 2015 following the film release of Wild, and Appalachian Trail Conservancy officials expect as much as a 60 percent increase in ...read more

Gross Margin Return on Investment (GMROI) is the only financial formula that generates a dollar amount instead of a percent, directly illustrating the fruits (or failure) of your invested dollars. GMROI measures the return on your investment—a GMROI higher $1 means a gain. ...read more

The American West is outdoor recreation’s cash cow, according to state-by-state data collected by the Outdoor Industry Association and Southwick Associates. The data cover activities like hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, biking, kayaking and climbing as well as purchases of ...read more

Snow brings relief to northern California resorts while East Coast ski shops eye hopelessly blue skies. Western retailers offer secrets for surviving the lull.If we could ski like Candide Thovex, maybe we wouldn't be so bothered by the lack of snow. Along the Atlantic seaboard, ...read more