Companies

Before the pandemic hit, summer 2020 was supposed to mark the grand opening of REI's new eight-acre headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. The move was long awaited and eagerly hyped. Plans for the new location, which included a 380,000-square-foot office building and trendy ...read more

As shop owner Andrew Drummond will tell you, Ski the Whites happened purely by accident. “I never envisioned becoming a retailer,” Drummond said of founding his year-round ski, bike, and run shop with two locations in Jackson, New Hampshire. What he did want to do was ski. ...read more

If you've paid attention to the news in outdoor retail this week, you might be scratching your head a little. REI made waves with a recent announcement that 400 of the company's retail employees would lose their jobs, effective July 15. Mountain Equipment Co-op made a similar ...read more

Retailers across the nation are reopening, people are out shopping again, and everyone is wondering just how safe they are, say, sitting down to try on a pair of shoes or getting fitted for a pack. Throughout the outdoor industry, most (if not all) major brands have poured ...read more

In matters of social activism at a corporate level, outdoor companies are often some of the first to throw their hats into the ring. Our industry has a long history of putting people before profits, and that often translates into downright enviable employee perks. Patagonia ...read more

Patagonia announced the departure of its CEO, Rose Marcario, who has served as the company's chief executive officer since 2008. "Circumstances around the pandemic created a natural inflection point for reimagining our business and Rose and the Board felt it made sense for those ...read more

Backcountry announced leadership changes today. Melanie Cox will serve as CEO, replacing Jonathan Nielsen, and Sarah Crockett will serve in the newly created role of chief marketing officer. Cox comes to Backcountry from fast fashion brand rue21 where she was interim CEO. Cox ...read more

The idea for The Cleveland Outpost was hatched less than a year ago. Josh Scott, an outdoor industry professional with experience in specialty retail, was on vacation with his partner Hannah Kelling, an outdoor educator and camp counselor, in South Carolina. Sitting on the porch ...read more

As activists are speaking out about the the need to support statements with concrete actions, Columbia takes a step in the right direction. In a memo sent to all employees yesterday, the executive team announced the closure of all North American Columbia stores for two hours ...read more

Flowfold, a Maine-based maker of technical wallets, bags, and other outdoor gear, earned itself a spot in the headlines this March when it pivoted its entire operation to focus on building face shields for hospital workers. With astonishing speed, the company shut down production ...read more

One way to trace the progression of the pandemic is to look at the consumer demand for masks. In the beginning, there were devastating shortages and disturbing stories of profiteers and stockpilers. Then came a period of tenuous equilibrium, when the use of homemade face ...read more

Walmart made big news in the outdoor industry three years ago when it snapped up the cult-favorite specialty gear chain Moosejaw for $51 million. Back then, speculation abounded as to what the world's largest retailer (largest at the time; Amazon nabbed the title last spring) ...read more

In recent weeks many retailers have stepped up to help support brick-and-mortar retailers survive the coronavirus pandemic through profit-sharing ecommerce revenue. Osprey is the latest to announce such a program, but with a twist that also promises to drive traffic once stores ...read more

As the coronavirus crisis continues to paint a bleak picture for small businesses across the country, outdoor brands are stepping up one by one to help. The latest company to join the relief effort: Mountain Hardwear, which implemented a program this week to support authorized ...read more

In 2010, an employee at prAna’s Boulder retail store snapped a photo that depicted a room littered with mounds of polybags. The capture—and the astonishing amount of plastic—represented the aftermath of unboxing a single day’s shipments to the shop. When the photo made its way to ...read more

Jen Gurecki, founder and CEO of Coalition Snow and editor-in-chief of SISU magazine, doesn’t mince words. “I really just want to curl up in bed all day, and I’m having a hard time pulling myself away from CNN,” she says. Gurecki knows that she is far from alone, and that the ...read more

When it became clear five days ago that the coronavirus pandemic was not just alarmist, but that it would be devastating for our country, the leadership at KEEN circled up (via ZOOM) to decide what the company could do to help. They talked about how they could leverage what ...read more

VF Corp. is the latest big retailer to announce temporary closures due to coronavirus. Steve Rendle, VF chairman, president, and CEO announced in a press release that all VF retail locations—including The North Face, Icebreaker, Smartwool, and Timberland—will shutter through at ...read more

There are lots of way to make an impact on the world’s raging plastic problem. Every little step away from single-use plastic and towards a circular and petroleum-free world is worth celebrating. Here are a few things we’re stoked about from just a few of our 336 (and counting) ...read more

The Voice is researching a story about the best places in the outdoor industry to work. Is yours one of them? Nominate your company, retail store, agency, etc. by telling us exactly what makes it such a standout workplace. Please be detailed and consider specific policies and ...read more

For the last 22 years, Andrew and Shelley Dunbar have been the faces of Sea to Summit in North America. They tenaciously and steadily grew the Australian brand in the North America by cultivating deep relationships with retailers, responsibly managing its channels of ...read more

Just as the Backcountry backlash has faded from the news cycle, another big company has filed a trademark for a word frequently used in the outdoorist lexicon: basecamp. Volkswagen unveiled its Atlas Basecamp concept—a rugged touring machine for all types of adventure—at the 2019 ...read more

If you're like us, backpacks, jackets, hiking boots, camping gear, climbing gear, ski gear, and more are spilling out of your gear closet. And every piece has its purpose—and a unique name. In this edition of Outdoor Industry IQ, select the brand that made the named product. And ...read more

The last 17 days have been monumental for Patagonia. The company on Monday announced—with surprise and delight—that it raised $10 million in donations for 1,043 grassroots environmental organizations in the U.S. and Europe. Patagonia planned on keeping the donation period open ...read more