Industry headlines: Intriguing reads from around the web Ski resorts open: Some Oregon ski areas are gearing up to reopen. [Oregon Public Broadcasting] Shoe launch during the pandemic: Why did On Running launch a new product during the coronavirus crisis? [Fast Company] Q&A with ...read more
"The very first concept to understand is that this all comes down to a brewing war between Google and Amazon." That's how Mike Massey, founder of the ecommerce platform Locally, described the recent announcement from Google that the tech giant will start listing products from ...read more
Last week, the 2020 Outdoor Retailer Snow Show brought thousands of vendors, retail buyers, athletes, journalists, and nonprofit professionals together in Denver to get up close and personal with the newest and most important developments in our industry. Over three days, ...read more
It can feel like more rumors than facts swarm around Amazon, in part because the retailer is notoriously secretive—and that makes it hard to separate truth from speculation. In most news articles that discuss the world’s largest retailer, experts point out, you won’t find any ...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 snewsedit@aimmedia.com. Stay up to date and get Industry Buzz delivered to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter. ...read more
When Jeff Bezos first launched Amazon way back in 1994, his original vision was to create an online store that offered a wide selection of books at affordable prices. What he actually created: a retail revolution that would fundamentally change the way consumers shop in the 21st ...read more
Where and how people shop is a perpetually hot topic around here, and with good reason: It defines the very core of our industry and illustrates some of our biggest challenges. (That's why the big cover store in Issue #3 of The Voice dives deep into the "Big A" with lots of ...read more
For your listening pleasure, we’re stoked to announce a new partnership with Kristin Carpenter and Channel Mastery podcast. SNEWS readers voted Channel Mastery their favorite outdoor podcast in 2019. We’re kicking things off with conversation with Kiri Masters, the founder of ...read more
Mountain Gear, one of our industry’s premier mountain shops, will be closing its doors in the coming months. The decision to close weighs heavily on founder and owner, Paul Fish, who said that the realization that it was time was both came somewhat sudden but also a long time ...read more
SOG (Studies and Observations Group) is in the midst of legal action against unauthorized online sellers, who are damaging the brand's reputation. The Lynnwood, Washington-based knife and tool brand has already issued cease and desist letters to the most nefarious offenders and ...read more
In October 2018, Nite Ize was tipped off about a shipment at the port of entry in Portland, Oregon. U.S. Customs and Border Protection had seized the import of 300 counterfeit Steelie car-phone mounts, one of Nite Ize's most popular products. After investigation, Nite Ize ...read more
In front of a room of journalists in March, Jonathan Nielsen described himself as really good snowboarder, a frequent mountain biker, and an adequate climber. The audience chuckled and the Backcountry CEO took a pause before spilling his excitement over the company's biggest ...read more
Keep up by reading Industry Buzz. Here are today's top headlines: Have a news tip? Email us at snewsedit@aimmedia.com. Monumental news: We received no less than 10 press releases with statements from conservation and outdoor organizations about the House's passage of the massive ...read more
There was a time in Tayson Whittaker’s life when $200 was a lot of money. In 2014, when Whittaker was a 23-year-old finance student at Southern Utah University, he struggled to come up with enough cash to buy ultralight backpacking gear. He already had a closet full of hunting ...read more
Journalists at Outdoor Retailer Snow Show last week, who were covering the show for The Enthusiast Network (TEN) titles like POWDER, Snowboarder, SURFER, and more, were suddenly pulled from the show floor and told to attend a meeting the next day at the Carlsbad, California, ...read more
If it’s not a big-box store and it’s not an independent specialty retailer, then what exactly is it? REI Co-op defies easy definition. It’s a builder of brands and a risk to them. It competes with smaller shops around the country while throwing its weight around to protect ...read more
Walmart was going to disrupt the outdoors. It was late August, 2018, a year and a half after the retail leviathan purchased the online outdoor retailer Moosejaw for a reported $51 million. Walmart was ready to put its investment to work. Walmart, as everyone knows, is the ...read more
From electronics to apparel, dog food to toilet paper, consumers are turning to e-commerce avenues for their convenience and speed. And with product reviews at their fingertips, price comparison capabilities just a click away and two-day shipping that’s often free, why wouldn’t ...read more
Fact: 55 percent of all online product searches start with Amazon. Fact: There are more than 550 million products for sale on Amazon. Fact: 3,500 new anonymous 3 party (3P) sellers join the Amazon marketplace everyday. This last stat is a real doozie: By virtue of their ...read more
Rich Hill, president of Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is fired up. Anonymous 3P sellers on marketplaces – especially Amazon – are the single-biggest threat to the health of the specialty outdoor industry ecosystem in 2019, he told his members at the Grassroots Connect Show in ...read more
Picture this: a customer walks into a specialty retail shop, spends an hour chatting with a sales associate to find just the right pair of shoes—then heads out empty-handed to go buy that exact pair online. This frustrating situation has played out in countless retail shops ...read more
It’s safe to say American shoppers don’t go to Walmart looking for top-of-the line backpacks, winter expedition apparel, and mountaineering gear. But the big box discounter challenged that assumption with the launch of a premium outdoor store last week. “When’s the last time you ...read more
Brick-and-mortar retail might have scored a point over mega online retailers stores today, thanks to a new Supreme Court ruling that gives states the authority to require sales tax, even if the sellers don't have a physical location in that state. But some specialty retailers ...read more
How good of an investment is the outdoor and recreation industry on Wall Street? A SNEWS analysis shows the sector has outpaced broader market indices such as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average with healthy gains during the past five years, albeit still lagging behind ...read more
