Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is a cohesive community of independent outdoor specialty retailers (65 of them) and brands that drives evolution within the outdoor industry.
The group's mission: We act as a catalyst for the success of Grassroots retailers and brands. We advocate for specialty, independent retail within our industry. We foster education and community, and influence the outdoor industry to maximize the opportunities for outdoor specialty businesses.
Twice a year, Grassroots hosts its Connect trade show, which is a streamlined, invitation-only, buying show for the specialty outdoor industry.
The black-curtained maze at Grassroots Connect is swarming with like-minded independent specialty retailers placing orders, talking shop, sharing ideas and, yes, commiserating about the challenges they face every day in their businesses.This group of retailers, all members of the ...read more
Keep up by reading Industry Buzz. Here are today's top headlines:Have a news tip? We've created a new form where you can submit tips and story ideas.Want to know what's cookin' at the Grassroots Connect Show? Our editor-in-chief, Kristin Hostetter, is reporting live from her own ...read more
Hundreds of representatives from outdoor brands and retailers gathered last night for the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance annual awards, which pay tribute to the vendors and retailers that are leading the outdoor industry in excellence.The presentation happened in Knoxville, ...read more
Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) elected six new board members, who will officially take their seats at the meeting preceding Outdoor Retailer Summer Market."The OIA Board plays a significant role in helping to guide and shape our focused work in policy, sustainable business ...read more
(KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE) – Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, the national organization dedicated to the health and growth of specialty outdoor retail, returns to the Knoxville Convention Center with their four-day Connect spring buying show, June 14-17, 2018. In addition to strong ...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
Don't go a day without reading Industry Buzz. Here are today's top headlines:Have a news tip? We've created a new form where you can submit tips and story ideas. We'll be checking it often to ensure we don't miss anything.First Mt. Everest update: A Russian climber has died on ...read more
A Grassroots Outdoor Alliance award is a very big deal. The group, which is a consortium of 64 independent outdoor specialty retailers and 68 vendor partners, represents the best of specialty retail. The awards, which will be given out on June 13, 2018 on night one of the ...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
If you were a regular customer at Rock/Creek Outfitters long enough, the owners, managers, and sales floor staff greeted you by name when you walked through the doors and also came to know your outdoor activities. Shopping there was not merely a transaction; it was a gathering of ...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
Get your quick fix of the latest outdoor industry headlines.Didn't catch the last few Industry Buzz's? Read past versions by searching Industry Buzz on our site or #IndustryBuzz on social media.Outdoor apparel and gear were spared from the Trump Administration's initial list of ...read more
After nearly two years of pushing to go public, Yeti Holdings Inc. has decided against it.A legal filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday reveals that CEO Matthew Reintjes made the decision as a result of “market conditions” and asked that materials ...read more
Everyone in this industry knows the problem by now: The rise of online shopping has turned the traditional outdoor marketplace on its head. Consumers now turn to the internet first when they need new gear; brands seize the chance to sell it directly through their own websites or ...read more
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance announced today the bi-annual Connect buying show will move to Denver beginning this November. The spring show will still be held in Knoxville as planned.There had been talk of the show co-locating with Outdoor Retailer last year, but in June, ...read more
BURLINGTON, VERMONT - NOV. 27, 2017 Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, the national organization dedicated to the health and growth of independent specialty retail, is welcoming three new members to their independent retailer network.The new Grassroots retail members include Cascades ...read more
While the powerful natural disasters of the last few months have left a mark on our landscape, they’ve also highlighted a maxim that has been repeated countless times over the last quarter century – that outdoor retailers, outdoor brands and outdoor individuals can be counted on ...read more
Just a decade ago, local retailers were the biggest influencers of a shopper's path to purchase. But, just like most other industries—from airlines and hotels to restaurants and even schools‑changing consumer behavior has dramatically upended everything we all knew about how ...read more
My shop, Chopwood Mercantile, is a B-Corp certified Outdoor Retail shop in Crested Butte, Colorado, that provides unique gear and guidance to foster experiences in wild places. We conceived the idea to re-think outdoor retail in 2010 as a way to answer the challenges facing ...read more
On July 5, Ibex CEO Ted Manning announced to company employees that fall 2017 will be the last season the merino wool outdoor clothing company sells product through wholesale channels. Ibex shifts completely to a direct-to-consumer model in spring 2018.“We’re pivoting toward our ...read more
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance held its annual awards ceremony Tuesday night at its Summit trade show in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Vendors and retailers were recognized for their exceptional creativity, community involvement, and dedication to the outdoor industry. Summit Hut, in ...read more
It was supposed to be the mother of all outdoor trade shows, a behemoth turning Outdoor Retailer and Grassroots Outdoor Alliance Connect from two short sprints into one long marathon as early as spring 2018.But Grassroots Outdoor Alliance announced today that it will move its ...read more