Ryan Wichelns

Whether you beat the traffic out of town or crammed in meetings until the final bell, here’s what you missed today: Have a news tip? Email us at [email protected]. Stay up to date and get Industry Buzz delivered to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter. Have we ...read more

Combing through the season’s new gear can be like bushwhacking through a jungle: slow going. Consider us your personal guide. We spent weeks poring over press releases and product shots, watching embargoed videos, and asking questions about materials, features, and design. Then ...read more

Meetings are cranking, pedometer steps are skyrocketing, and happy hour drinks are flowing. Here’s what you missed in the mix: Have a news tip? Email us at [email protected]. Stay up to date and get Industry Buzz delivered to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter. ...read more

The aisles were rocking on Day 1 of Outdoor Retailer Snow Show 2020. Here’s just some of what went down. Have a news tip? Email us at [email protected]. Stay up to date and get Industry Buzz delivered to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter. Some hard truths: The ...read more

Is your product one of the 50 most exciting pieces of gear coming out next year? There’s only one way to find out: Submit it for consideration for The Voice 50, a.k.a. TV50, our exclusive, highly-curated guide to the most covetous new outdoor products. The Voice 50, which ...read more

Jordan Jones Powder7, Golden, CO 1. What specific steps are you taking to be more inclusive of all types of people in your shop? We try to have this general ethos where even though your shop has great skiers, you're there to serve all skiers and not just great skiers. Welcoming ...read more

“It’s time to disrupt ski hardgoods,” said former Burton executive Clark Gundlach—and that might be exactly what he’s helping to do. Ski boots have always faced the same predicament: They need to be really stiff to give users better control over their skis, but that can make ...read more

According to Frank Hugelmeyer, the outdoor industry has an elitism problem. The president of the RV Industry Association—and former CEO of Outdoor Industry Association (OIA)—believes that both groups need to relax how they define themselves, because the outdoor and RV worlds are ...read more

In a roundtable with reporters Wednesday afternoon, VF Corporation CEO Steve Rendle brought his company’s decision to move to Denver in line with the conglomerate's employee-centric ethics, attributing the move to a push to attract and keep talent in a location that matches ...read more

“Purpose-led” was the term of the day at the Camber Outdoor Thought Leader Keynote during Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, when the VF Corporation's CEO Steve Rendle detailed the company’s plans to redefine the conglomerate’s internal mission. “What’s that common thread that’s ...read more

Forget idyllic reservoirs and hour-long drives. This year's Demo Experience took the pre-show trials to Confluence Park in the heart of the city to highlight all the ways that outdoor and urban get together. The overwhelming message? The outdoors are bigger and more inclusive ...read more

After leaving a management position at a mountain sports store in 1979, Rick Wilcox was looking for a new mission—and he didn’t have to look far. Right down the street in North Conway, New Hampshire, was the small International Mountain Equipment (IME), started five years ...read more

The newest store associate at Boulder, Colorado’s Go Far posts up near the wall of shoes on the store’s far end. Her job description at the running and active lifestyle specialty retailer is fairly specific: She’ll measure and analyze your foot, track your stride and gait, and ...read more

Nomad Ventures in Idyllwild, California, was supposed to be a short-term, weekend gig for founder Bruce Damon. At the time, the then-26-year-old had a good, full-time job as a production manager at a local machine shop. But his passion for backpacking and paddling piqued his ...read more

A workshop at a Utah school is ablaze with sparks as a young designer welds together the skeleton of a burly roof rack meant to sit atop an even burlier overland vehicle. The idea is that the rack will lug equipment or will be the mount for a rooftop tent—perfect for four-wheeled ...read more

Normally, you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover. But for the slew of publications handing out “Best in Show” awards to Outdoor Retailer’s top new products, that might be the only way to get a handle on the bleeding edge of the industry. Compared to more ...read more

Andrew Brewer likes to say that working at—and owning—Onion River Sports has been the only job he’s ever known. Now 51, Brewer joined the team prior to going away to college and returned to manage and then (in 2000) buy the shop. But nearly 18 years into his ownership, Brewer’s ...read more

Shop dogs are nothing new in the outdoor industry. In fact, they’re almost a prerequisite for the coolest and most popular specialty retailers. But The Hiker Box in Eagle River, Wisconsin takes it to a whole new level, playing host to upwards of five dogs and even litters of ...read more

So you want to open an outdoor retailer, but you’re bedridden with a broken back. Shopping for real estate, hauling boxes of product, and merchandising a show floor is a no-go for a while. Where can you start? Well, there is one retail space that’s already set up: Amazon.com. ...read more

The increasing popularity of climbing gyms isn’t a new story, but gym-specific gear is finally starting to catch up to the particular demands of the indoor setting—and the climbers who are flocking there in ever-larger numbers. “Gyms attract newer climbers, so simplified ...read more

When Wes Allen finished college and started working part time at Sunlight Sports in Cody, Wyoming, it was supposed to be just a temporary summer gig. Except summer slid into fall, fall slid into winter, and all of a sudden Allen found himself running the show as manager. But it ...read more

For a lot of Dave Polivy’s friends in outdoor specialty retail, online juggernauts like Amazon are seen as a hulking behemoth steamrolling the industry. Many of his contempoaries are reluctant to go anywhere near the e-commerce giant, let alone do business with them. But Polivy ...read more

At 24 years old and fresh out of college, Jon Kahn was a parti-time ski and paddling bum. But by 1994, he knew he needed to get to work. “It was time to find a real job,” he says now. The answer Kahn came up with? Turn his passion into his career. “It seemed like there was an ...read more

With four generations of local shop owners before her, Patty Boydstun-Hovdey was destined to open Hometown Sports in McCall, Idaho. For Maine Sport Outfitters in Rockport, a 35,000 square foot retail space is eclipsed by the outdoor playground of their guide service. Onion River ...read more

For Patty Boydstun-Hovdey, now 65, opening a storefront in McCall, Idaho was probably a given, no matter what she did to avoid it. At the end of the 19 century, Hovday’s great-great-grandfather was among the first settlers of the surrounding valley, setting up the local General ...read more

Noticing a need for local outdoor retail in Rockport, Maine, Stewart and Marianne Smith opened Maine Sport Outfitters in 1976 as a small neighborhood outdoor shop. Today, their massive store caters to fisherman, hikers and campers, skiers and bikers (with full tech services) ...read more

Some high schools have sports to keep kids busy after school. But for some kids in Montpelier, Vermont, working at Onion River Sports was their extracurricular. And then they never left. More than half of the store’s staff are neighborhood folks who grew up shopping there and ...read more

** To watch more episodes of The Innovation Project, click here. Rutabaga Paddlesports' owner and "chief paddling evangelist," Darren Bush, likes to say he's one of the only shop owners in the country who gets hugged every day by his customers. "We facilitate them falling in ...read more

** To watch more episodes of The Innovation Project, click here. When is an outdoor store more than an outdoor store? When it’s also an indoor skate park, a coffee house, a ceramic studio, a kids’ art school, a music studio, and a native plant nursery. "We've decided to ...read more

In 2007, new business owners Jordan Jones and Amy Dannwolf still had a lot to learn, including when to NOT go on vacation. Thinking their online ski business would slow down for the holiday, Jones and Dannwolf (now husband and wife) decided to spend their long Thanksgiving ...read more

Ben Rockis is the first person to tell you his investment in Backcountry Experience back in 2003 may not have been completely thought-out. “Being young and dumb, I wanted to own a business so bad that I didn’t really look at the numbers and where the business was health-wise,” ...read more

Tap a keg and start counting the cash. Beer:30 at trade shows is more than just social hour. Savvy non-profits turn happy hours (and gear sales) into huge profits that help keep them afloat. When 5 o’clock rolls around during Outdoor Retailer, the show floor becomes a party of ...read more

Five times the expected Black Friday sales would normally be a bottom-line boon for most companies. Not so for Patagonia, but you still won't hear anyone there complaining. The brand surpassed its pre-holiday estimates with $10 million in sales on Black Friday, all of which it ...read more

The brand will expand on a popular initiative, giving proceeds to local environmental groups. Black Friday—normally a bastion of consumerism and profits—is quickly turning into a podium for a activism and change, at least for the outdoor industry. As REI plans for its second ...read more

The outdoor industry is flush with passion and dedication, and for the seventh year, the Outdoor Inspiration Awards will honor the best examples at the winter Outdoor Retail Show this January. Nominations are now being accepted for the upcoming ceremony, set for January 11, ...read more

A letter from The North Face's founder is still the brand’s manifesto, a half century later. The North Face’s birthday celebration wasn’t exactly like its original grand opening, 50 years ago. Rather than an intimate live show by the Grateful Dead, an enthusiastic DJ set the ...read more

Vibram is investing—big-time—in American manufacturing, and seeing results. While many brands are struggling to find a balance between domestic and foreign manufacturing, outsourcing and keeping it in-house, Vibram seems to have it all figured out. Last month the company ...read more

We put the Tepui Kukenam—and the idea of car-top camping—to the test in Maine’s rugged backwoods. IT WAS DARK WHEN WE PULLED INTO OUR CAMPSITE at the end of a dusty, bumpy road. I had been driving for more than 11 hours and the last thing I wanted to do was wrestle with a tent ...read more

TV show, Adventure Capitalists, launches its search for the next hot piece of gear. If you think you've got the next big thing in outdoor gear—like a cartop tent, tree-hanging surfboard or foldable kayak—or if you know some one who does, listen up. CNBC’s Adventure Capitalists ...read more

The buyout follows a pattern at brick-and-mortar stores, while forming a retail giant. Bass Pro Shops announced plans today to purchase Cabela’s for $5.5 billion, forming an outdoor retail giant dwarfing any other in North America. The merger will create a general outdoor, ...read more

Ballinger’s Alpenglow Expeditions has developed a quick-climb program called Rapid Ascent, which gets executives to summits faster and safer while honing their leadership skills with each kick-step. FOR AS LONG AS MOUNTAINTOP photos have been synonymous with inspiration, ...read more

If you love travel, gear and social media, this job is anything but tough...as long as you can make it through the interview process. Columbia isn’t just going to give away the greatest job on earth. They’re searching for two new “Directors of Toughness” to spend nine months ...read more

Hawaii's Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument will quadruple in size. Protecting land is officially the cool thing to do at the White House. Just days off designating a brand new National Monument in Maine, President Obama, on Friday, expanded a National Marine Monument ...read more

Amid controversy, executive order creates 87,000 acre Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument PRESIDENT OBAMA GAVE THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE A BIG, FAT BIRTHDAY PRESENT YESTERDAY. After years of contentious debate in Maine and across the country, Obama signed an executive ...read more

Pack your gear and #findyourpark. The National Park Service is waiving everyone through the gates (free of charge!) to celebrate its 100th birthday. THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IS CONTINUING ITS BIRTHDAY PARTY and $0 park admission is what's in the goody bags this Thursday through ...read more

Keeping it all in the family, son of Cascade Designs founder takes the helm. Years after packing Therma-a-Rest stuff sacks in his room as a child, David Burroughs, 53, son of Cascade Designs founder John Burroughs, has been named the brand’s latest president. He takes over for ...read more