We know outdoor executives have access to plenty of instantaneous information. But one thing decision makers overwhelmingly tell us they can’t get enough of is thoroughly researched and highly scrutinized news and analysis that can be applied directly to improving day-to-day operations.

Now entering our sixth year, IO’s staff of seasoned outdoor journalists represents decades of experience in specialty retail, product manufacturing, business analysis and living the outdoor lifestyle. We believe this mix of backgrounds is a key component to complementing your marketing message with the business modeling, cost-margin analysis, trend forecasting and quantified operational advice that’s already proven to capture loyalty and engage readers, and studies now show how reader engagement with media and advertising can drive sales. (From media kit)

FEATURES
18 POS VIDEO GETS ATTENTION
Although in-store media still is in its infancy, the power video messaging holds in persuading purchase decisions is well documented. So don’t turn away, as video now appears poised to transform the way retailers interact with their customers.
By Martin Vilaboy

24 BRAND PLAN 2008
Faced by a tempest of technological, cultural and societal changes heading toward the turn of the decade, brand managers appear to believe that reconnecting with core customers is one way to weather the storm. The way things are blowing, it may be their only option.
By Martin Vilaboy

Download Inside Outdoor Magazine, Winter 2008

PDF format, 15.6MB, 64Pages.

Editor's Letter: Adapting to Your Environment

Yet, somehow, the outdoor industry is as healthy and vibrant as it’s been since the turn of the millennium, if not further back, the countless war stories of industry veterans, backstab wounds and “out of business” signs notwithstanding.

Even so, U.S. “outdoor specialty” retail sales grew more than 11 percent in 2006, OIA tells us, greatly outpacing overall rates of annual growth seen across the total U.S. retail sector. Since 2000, outdoor specialty has experienced a “strong 6.6 percent annualized growth rate,” OIA reports. That’s more than twice the long-standing 3 percent annual growth typically assumed in the greater “sporting goods” category.

One could argue that the “mainstreaming” of outdoor apparel and footwear, as well as the well-played “function meets fashion” trend largely are behind the growth, but “mainstream” and “fashion” tend to be the domain of shopping malls and mass merchants and would seem to have less of an impact on “specialty store” sales.

Maybe the emergence of the Internet and e-commerce are driving growth in the face of declining participation. It’s possible, but e-commerce still represents single-digital percentages of outdoor dealers’ overall sales, and it’s unlikely all of those Internet sales, or even the vast majority, are coming from customers who wouldn’t have bought at a physical outlet otherwise.

Maybe it’s the industry’s counting methods that are flawed; wouldn’t be the first time such a thing has ever happened. A more likely explanation, however, is a shift that’s taking place as to what it means to be counted as an “outdoor participant” or even as “outdoor product.”

From the perspective of someone who was forced to step away from the outdoor community for just two years or so before happily returning only this past fall, the industry clearly has gone through some changes of late. Consider the wall that once existed between the “outdoor” and “hook and bullet” crowds, for example. While there remain many differences between the two segments, there’s clearly more openness nowadays to partnerships.

At the same time, while walking the aisles of the Salt Lake City convention center this January, it’s not hard to find several product categories and contestants that few would have expected to see worked heavily at an Outdoor Retailer trade show as recently as 10 or maybe five years ago. “Tactical” companies, jewelry, nutritional supplements, video cameras, health and beauty, financial services and Asian manufacturers could be listed among them.

That’s not to suggest that crossover by any of these categories is a stretch. More to the point is the notion that who or what we define as an outdoor sale or a customer continually must be reconsidered. For instance, a specialty retailer reporting sales of “outdoor packs” now could include disk golf bags. Tallies of “outdoor footwear” increasingly include what traditionally would be considered skateboarding or walking shoes. In other words, when faced by some very discouraging trends, the outdoor retail industry so far has shown incredible levels of adaptability and acceptance of new opportunities. (Maybe all that time outdoors makes us more adaptable.)

Not that there hasn’t been, or won’t continue to be, some negative consequences. As more and more types of users and industry segments enter the market, the outdoor community will be forced to defend many of the core principles that define it today and have throughout its history: minimal impact, sustainability, play as hard as you work and people before P&L statements, to name a few.

But when considering the level of devotion, dedication and affection for a certain way of life that we’ve seen among members of our little circle, we’re fairly confident a balance can be maintained. Ultimately, there may be little choice in the matter. Grand moral principles mean little to a fossil.

And there’s little evidence at this point that participation numbers will suddenly increase across multiple activities. It’s even more doubtful we’ll see growth spikes within any of the legacy activities that serve up the largest slices of outdoor retail revenues.

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Inside Outdoor is a publication of Beka Publishing.

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