Ibex says it will exhibit at Outdoor Retailer to defend public lands

Ibex to the state of Utah: expect us on your doorstep

While several outdoor brands have pledged to boycott Outdoor Retailer while it remains in Utah, Ibex Outdoor Clothing announced early Friday morning that it would continue exhibiting at the trade show so that it can be in Utah to actively protest Gov. Gary Herbert’s “continued attack on public lands.”

“I’m inspired by the statement that Patagonia and Arc’teryx made, but our choices are different,” Ibex CEO Ted Manning said in an interview with SNEWS early Friday morning. “Leaving the show makes us ineffective at creating the changes that we need. The goal is to stay in the fight. Big brands can leave and still do that. We go to the show to stay in the fight.”

Ibex says it will bring fewer staff members to the show and will cut its trade show costs as much as possible, so that it can redirect an anticipated $10,000 in savings to the Conservation Alliance Public Lands Defense Fund.

Ibex’s press release has been republished below in its entirety.

White River Junction, VT (February 10, 2017) – Ibex Outdoor Clothing today announced that it is limiting the size of its Outdoor Retailer presence in direct response to Utah Governor Herbert’s continued attack on public lands.

“Outdoor Retailer cannot stay in Utah,” stated Ted Manning, CEO of Ibex Outdoor Clothing. “And until it moves out of the state, we as a company are taking decisive action to stand up for our public lands and conservation.

There is no longer space for a business like Ibex to sit on the sidelines. Our goal has been, and will always be, to bring to bear all that this brand can muster in defense and amplification of our values.”

Ibex will travel to Salt Lake City with a smaller team and a significantly reduced trade show budget and take every measure to cut spending while at the show. Ibex also has made the hard decision as a company not to recreate in Utah during the show. The company has a history of getting outside, having fun and building relationships with key partners, but instead will focus its recreation dollars and energy in defending this initiative.

Ibex will donate the $10,000 in anticipated savings to The Conservation Alliance Public Lands Defense Fund.

In addition, Ibex will close its trade show booth early, at 1:30 p.m. on the second day of every show held in Utah, and use this time to collectively protest the threats to public lands.

“We are confident that we will be joined and supported by many of the like-minded brands, retailers, non-profits and supporting businesses that make up our incredible industry,” said Keith Anderson, vice president of marketing for Ibex.

“Outdoor Retailer provides the opportunity and venue for us to engage relationships with our partners and the networks that we have in place, and together, affect change,” Manning said.

“We have a commitment to our customers to defend our core values,” said Scott Parr, vice president of sales for Ibex. “And we have to sacrifice to achieve our goals. One of those sacrifices will be less time to meet with our retail partners. We have always been a company that takes relationships seriously and we invite our dealers, suppliers, non-profit partners and other industry friends to join us in our actions. Together we are a powerful force.”

To join Ibex’s fight, please sign the pledge here: http://shop.ibex.com/ibex/or-pledge.