What you missed: Day 3 at Outdoor Retailer
Keep tabs on the most newsworthy things happening on the show floor.
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You made it to the finish line of Outdoor Retailer. We hope your whole show was successful and filled with stoke. Here are a few of the things you might’ve missed from Day 3:
- In the afternoon of Day 3, a group of Plastic Impact Alliance members met to debrief the show and the progress of the movement to reject single-use plastic. Both Outdoor Retailer and Patagonia commissioned audits of the whole show—hotels, transportation, water use, food and beverage, etc.—and expect results before the next show. Auditors from Honeycomb Strategies, hired by OR, said that they’ve never seen an effort on this scale. “I can’t think of another show,” one auditor said. “People had their own cups and were using it all the time.” Up next? Plastic wrap and booths.
- The American Alpine Club circulated their State of Climbing report, an aggregate of data that analyzes climbing’s growth leading up to 2019. Some key findings include: 7.7 million participants, 65 percent are between 18 and 35, a near even gender split, but overwhelmingly white membership at 85 percent. “No one should be surprised to hear that climbing is dominated by white men. But rather than getting defensive over a statistical fact we should concern ourselves with how to go about fixing it,” wrote James Edward Mills, a SNEWS contributor who wrote the AAC’s introduction.
- PrimaLoft debuted the latest line in their suite, called Next. It’s a mix of insulation and fabric, which traps air and also maximizes air flow. Because it doesn’t need baffles, PrimaLoft is excited for the design possibilities. Schoeffel is the first adopter and is expected to release product in fall 2019. Eventually, Next will have Bio biodegradable iterations.
- Beyond Clothing announced at this show that they’re going direct to consumer, which means they’re able to reduce prices—a jacket that used to be $400 is now $200.
- Mountain Khakis announced two more additions to the product team: Jennifer Fernandez and Lisa Reinhart. Both based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, Fernandez will take on the role of product line manager and Reinhart as senior development manager.
- Retailer Rock/Creek was named The North Face’s first-ever Specialty Retailer of the Year, created to recognize the brand’s retail partners who positively impact their local outdoor communities. The North Face donated $3,000 to The Land Trust for Tennessee on behalf of Rock/Creek.
