Outdoor Retailers

Celebrating 45 years in business, Skinny Skis is a Jackson Hole institution. It first specialized in Nordic and cross-country skis, but has since expanded to serve runners, mountaineers, and other high-endurance and high-performance athletes living in and visiting the resort ...read more

Half-Moon Outfitters breathed new life into a 15,000-square-foot auto parts building by relocating its Greenville store and inviting three other businesses to share the space. The location is now home to one of eight Half-Moon stores along with Grace Coffee Company, Circa ...read more

In 2009, Jahmicah Dawes and his college friend embarked on a road trip from their home in Texas to California in a 1986 Datsun truck. His friend's only rule was that they couldn't stay in hotels. Dawes thought he meant they'd be staying at friends' houses—not camping. Sleeping ...read more

REI's stock rooms just got deeper. The retail giant announced last week that it will be enabling select brands to ship orders directly to customers, making it easier for customers to get the right products, colors, and sizes through REI.com. The new shipping program is starting ...read more

When I enter the nearly 25,000-square-foot space of REI’s new North Conway store, it feels slightly different and familiar all at once. My eyes search the room for the recognizable features I’ve come to expect in my dozens of visits to REI stores. Displays of small outdoor ...read more

As retailers, we all choose our own buying adventure, beginning with what shows we elect to attend. Shows are, of course, a key part of specialty retail business. They are efficient places to see key vendors, nurture relationships, partake in learning opportunities, and so much ...read more

In 1986, Bob McCain thought Jackson, Mississippi, ought to have its own outdoor equipment shop. His home state might not have massive mountains, but trails, waterways, hill, and views are plentiful. Buffalo Peak Outfitters is now in its 33rd year, as a Grassroots Outdoor Alliance ...read more

It's a regular Sunday morning in Bend, Oregon's old Box Factory building: pairs eat sweet and savory treats at Foxtail Bakeshop & Kitchen, men sit still as hairdressers trim around their ears at West Side Barber Shop, and groups of people sift through consignment backpacks, kayak ...read more

When the venerable Denali closed its doors in July 2019, leadership’s reason was that they “could not find a responsible path forward.” It got me wondering, what does it mean to be a responsible retailer today? To be successful, outdoor specialty shops have to offer much more ...read more

Doug Stenclik, co-founder of Colorado retail shop Cripple Creek Backcountry, recently purchased WildSnow, the blog dedicated to the niche sport of ski touring and splitboarding.  The new team, with founder Lou Dawson still heavily involved, is busy gathering its pool of writers ...read more

Every type of boat you can think of, Todd Frank is displaying in his new 14,000-square-foot The Trail Head River Sports showroom in Missoula, Montana. Canoes, inflatables, paddle boards, rafts, recreational and touring kayaks—you name it. "We’re at the junction of four major ...read more

The acquisition of Rock/Creek Outfitters for a second time in two years will bring the outdoor specialty shop closer to its community roots, President Chad Wykle said Friday. Gearhead Outfitters, a privately-held retailer in Arkansas, announced on Thursday the acquisition of ...read more

Projects on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and other crowdfunding sites will come to life next month in a new startup showcase in Boulder's Neptune Mountaineering. The NeptuneLAB is the latest experiential concept for the iconic gear shop. Owners Shelley and Andrew Dunbar collaborated ...read more

After rumblings of an uncertain future, Denali announced last Tuesday that its closing all seven locations. A "going out of business" sale at the Old Saybrook location signals the store's end. More than 25 years ago, the first store opened as Trailblazer in New Haven and grew to ...read more

The first time Dan Epstein visited his wife's family's outdoor store, Champaign Surplus, he left daydreaming about leaving his corporate finance job and one day wearing his favorite gear to work. The store was originally an appliance and surplus shop, opened in 1947 by Shira ...read more

In early May, a sign on Ascent Outdoors' main door suddenly marked the end of an era. "We will miss you," the sign read. For more than 20 years, the shop in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood was a meeting spot for the outdoor scene, and its shuttering was devastating and shocking to ...read more

Uncommon Path is REI's new print magazine, publishing for the first time this fall. Stories will range from gear reviews to full feature stories, curated by the same editorial team that produces the Co-op Journal and created with HearstMedia. “Uncommon Path tells the stories of ...read more

President Rich Hill kicked off the evening by explaining the Grassroots History Project, which was started a few years back to trace the arc of the group’s growth as a powerful collaboration of retailers and brands. Through hundreds of hours of interviews with members—both from ...read more

Located on the shores of its namesake lake, Whitefish, Montana, is known for its dramatic outdoor vistas. But in the charming resort town, The Toggery has become its own kind of destination. Originally opened as Frank’s Shirt Shop in 1947 by Frank and Jessie Stephens, the store ...read more

It's summer break and a family of four with two teenage kids is driving to Yellowstone National Park. Noticing they need gas and knowing they need to stock up on a few camping essentials, the driver seat suggests that one of the kids find a good gear shop nearby. An ad for the ...read more

Connecticut-based Denali has begun a restructuring process that will continue over the next few months, according to outdoor industry insiders. It is unclear so far whether the outdoor specialty retailer will close stores. However, the Wakefield location is permanently closed, ...read more

Last year a Congressional report confirmed what many within the outdoor industry already knew: climate change will transform the way we do business. The report projected that unless serious action is taken to curb global warming, the U.S. economy could shrink by nearly 10 percent ...read more

Less than a year after Seattle's Ascent Outdoors opened a second location and not even a month after celebrating its 23rd anniversary, the business has unexpectedly shuttered all three of its doors.  The business has not made any official announcements about the closure, other ...read more

For every square foot of Gearheads Outdoor Store, there's dozens more SKUs of gear. Snowshoes, backpacks, and sleeping pads hang from the ceiling. Camp mugs, footwear, and do-dads decorate the walls. What might be classified as a neat-freak's nightmare is what Gearheads is best ...read more