Townsend Bertram & Company

It was another busy month for the industry. We can't deny it—some of the biggest news in November was quite tragic. We lost a beloved member of our community, Jim Ramey, and saw one of our favorite gear shops, Townsend Bertram & Company, say goodbye after 32 years in the ...read more

Industry headlines: Intriguing reads from around the web KIND acquired: Mars, the maker of Snickers, has announced plans to buy Kind North America, the company responsible for Kind Bars. [The New York Times] Back from the brink of death: A hiker rescued from Mount Rainier this ...read more

My parents founded Townsend Bertram & Company in 1988 with the dream of creating a vibrant community of adventures. After 32 years in business, my mom will be closing the doors for the last time this Thanksgiving. Over the last few weeks, we’ve held a “retirement sale” and have ...read more

When I am trying to pack light, I want items that are both technical and stylish. That’s why the Cotopaxi Teca Half-Zip Windbreaker is the ultimate packable, weather-resistant layer—a game changer for traveling and experiencing the fullness of adventures. The Teca checks all the ...read more

Raise your hand if the only downfall to summer is finding that faultless pair of shorts? United By Blue’s new Anywhere Short is truly for anywhere, anytime, any activity, and any body, that being the operative word. I often feel self-conscious in shorts because they aren’t ...read more

Keep up by reading Industry Buzz. Here are today's top headlines: Have a news tip? Email us at [email protected]. As part of his “Five Deeps” Expedition”, businessman Victor Vescovo dove 35,849 feet down the Mariana Trench—and found a plastic bag. In a study released in ...read more

When you walk into most outdoor retailer shops, you see men’s and women’s sportswear sections, men’s and women’s footwear walls, pack walls divided by gender and men’s and women’s accessories. As a cis woman, (a person whose gender identity consistently matches the gender they ...read more

adidas’s new Polartec PowerAir Fleece Jacket’s sustainability story scores major points. Five years in the making, Polartec developed a new textile process that encases the insulating lofted fibers during the knitting stage of production. The continuous yarn sheds and pills five ...read more

This year, SNEWS is celebrating 35 years of covering the outdoor industry, from in-depth dives into important trends and issues to its daily happenings. We're also launching a brand new, radically different trade journal, and it drops on Jan. 30, 2019. The talented filmmakers at ...read more

Something you should know about Townsend Bertram & Company Adventure Outfitters: You’ll always have a friend there. The store has been in the same spot for 30 years, in the heart of downtown, close to plenty of lakes and wilderness trails. Brand Manager—and daughter of the ...read more

Malcom Daly has been a self-described “floor warrior” at Neptune Mountaineering, in Boulder, Colorado, for years. And sometime back in January, he watched as an older couple—obviously old-school outdoor, in a hobnailboots sort of way—walked into the shop shortly after it ...read more

Not long after Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario wrote a blog post in June about the value in giving employees time off to vote—something she did in November 2016 and is doing again this year on Election Day—she started talking to other company executives on both sides of the political ...read more

The sky over North Carolina was blue, and filled with puffy clouds and a bright sun on Tuesday, showing no signs of the eminent storm. But the rain is coming. "It’s almost eerie," said Betsy Bertram, of Townsend Betram & Company in Carrboro. "You look at the weather forecast and ...read more

Growing up in the outdoor industry, I noticed from a young age that all the “outdoor” girls featured in the magazines that my mom brought home from work were three things: thin, fit, and exceptionally attractive. Like most middle school girls, I felt uncomfortable in my own body. ...read more

Five years from now, where do you see yourself? If it's leading the outdoor industry, the fourth class of the Skip Yowell Future Leadership Academy (SYFLA) might be for you. Outdoor Industry Association's six month immersive program prepares, unites, and amplifies the voices of ...read more

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 ...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 ...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

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

Before Amy Kleissler was hired in June of 2014, she had been a loyal customer for years. She noticed a call for interested applicants at the bottom of a TB&C newsletter. With her four boys coming home from school for the summer she said,”I had to get out of the house and thought ...read more

Betsy Bertram, brand manager at Townsend Bertram & Company in Carrboro, North Carolina, gives us the scoop on what’s selling like crazy in her shop, and what’s losing steam with her customers. What’s hot in your store right now? We brought in Landmark Project last fall and it ...read more

Politics was a big theme for 2017—in our country and in our industry. So many outdoor gear companies stepped up to take very public political stances around public lands. In some cases, it makes the cash register ring. But there are lots of customers out there who want gear ...read more