Ah, the week after Labor Day. The fall equinox is only two weeks away meaning it’s time to start thinking about what’s really important: holiday retail planning.Yes, Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer meaning you’ve started seeing more college football merchandising, ...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
Starting today, you can buy a Deuter pack, LEKI trekking poles, and other high-priced gear through Walmart.com.Tapping Moosejaw's expertise, the discount department chain is introducing premium outdoor products to its customers. Nearly 50 brands—Craghoppers, Jack Wolfskin, ...read more
Don't get discouraged by the ongoing closures of sporting goods stores and other retailers because according to one expert, retail is making a comeback.Julia Clark Day, executive director of business development at NPD Group, is a number cruncher. With more than 20 years of ...read more
No added sugars, artificial ingredients, or fake proteins, “just straight-up real foods,” Feucht said when describing her online paleo foods purveyor, Barefoot Provisions. “We’re a small, sort of a mom-and-pop ecommerce company competing against the big retailers.” Selling ...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
At the end of last year, the community of Montpelier, Vermont, was crushed when Onion River Sports turned off the lights after 44 years in business. But behind the walls, something was cooking. Former manager Kip Roberts and his wife, Jen, were in talks about owning a bike shop ...read more
Successfully producing outdoor gear used to be such a simple endeavor: Make great product, then sell it through retail partners, or directly through a catalog or your own store. These days, the formula has become a lot more complicated. With the option to distribute through a ...read more
Successfully producing outdoor gear used to be such a simple endeavor: Make great product, then sell it through retail partners, or directly through a catalog or your own store. These days, the formula has become a lot more complicated. With the option to distribute through a ...read more
One of Diana Seung’s favorite pieces in the new Backcountry.com line is a pair of knickers, light enough to fit under a ski bib but designed to keep women warm all day in the mountains.It was such a hit, men wanted them too, she said.Seung, the executive vice president of ...read more
Backcountry.com isn't just an e-commerce site. Sure, you can browse the website, full of a massive variety of product choices. But unlike other websites (and even many brick-and-mortar shops), you can also get access to a personal shopper who will help you find exactly what you ...read more
The final Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City is behind us. And while the attendees we spoke with felt that the aisles of the Salt Palace were less crowded that usual (no official numbers have been released by the show), energy was high around the industry coming together to ...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
Every year, the world of e-commerce produces new statistics and trends that show how the internet is continuing to disrupt traditional retail. Internet Retailer Convention and Exhibition, the largest e-commerce trade show in the world, is an event dedicated to unveiling these ...read more