Jonathan Lantz, president of La Sportiva North America since 2007 and with the Italian brand since 1995, spoke with SGB Media about how the brand first established itself in the U.S., as well as climbing, trail, and hiking shoe trends, the current struggles facing the outdoor specialty channel, and his personal outdoor journey.
SGB: How did you find your way to the outdoor industry?
Lantz: My brother, Colin, is responsible. He introduced me to climbing when I was 10, after he became hooked on it in the 1980s. He was 21 and needed a belayer, so he taught me how to work a stitch plate and anchored me to a rock, and that was it. I was only able to climb when he was around, which wasn’t often, but that gave me enough of a taste of it that I pursued it when I could drive. Outside of climbing, I grew up skateboarding and later snowboarding on the East Coast. When snowboarding first appeared at resorts in the mid-1980s, you actually had to take a test to be allowed on the lifts. I was hooked on snowboarding, but since it was in Pennsylvania, the conditions were always challenging.
When I started college at the University of Maryland, I needed a job, and the College Park REI, located around the corner from my house, was hiring. That was my entry point into the outdoor industry. My brother had migrated to Boulder as a climber and found his way to La Sportiva when it was just a small team of people working there. Before I graduated and went into the Soil Science field, my brother convinced me to come to Boulder for the summer and work in the warehouse at La Sportiva. I think I was the fifth or sixth employee at the time. That summer, I lived in Nederland, outside of Boulder, and fell in love with the area. I snowboarded peaks in June, climbed nearly every day and backpacked across the state. I was hooked.
SGB: What should we know about La Sportiva’s heritage?
Lantz: The heritage of La Sportiva is super impressive. The brand was started in 1928 by Narciso Delladio in the Val di Fiemme, Italy. His grandson, Lorenzo Delladio, is currently in charge of the company. The headquarters and main factory remain in the same valley in the Dolomites, in Ziano di Fiemme, and employ people who are now the third and fourth generations of families that started with the brand decades ago. 2028 will mark our 100-year anniversary, and the company remains committed to staying privately held, continuing to produce the best products for moving in the mountains for any human-powered activity.
The brand’s attention to detail, dedication to craftsmanship, and investment in R&D are increasingly rare today. It’s not about profits. The focus is on quality and cutting-edge innovation, with a commitment to building the best products and preserving the mountain culture that defines the company and its employees.
SGB: What were La Sportiva’s early days like in the U.S.?
Lantz: I started working at La Sportiva USA in 1995 when there were five people working there. Around 1985, Bob Culp at the Boulder Mountaineer started importing the Mariacher climbing shoe. He saw an opportunity with the success of the Mariacher and sticky-soled climbing shoes taking off. La Sportiva USA was started in the late 1980s by Culp and a few others. There were several changes of leadership, and then my brother, Ed Sampson and Heinz Mariacher took over running the business in 1993.
SGB: How has La Sportiva’s footwear line-up evolved?
Lantz: Climbing shoes were what really put La Sportiva on the map in the US. Mountaineering boots gained traction next, and that sustained the business for many years. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, we were resoling our trail running shoes from other brands with sticky rubber. The idea arose to create our own trail running shoes, specifically designed for mountain running. That’s how the brand launched into trail running shoes, hiking shoes and approach shoes. Our sales have evolved to be very well balanced between climbing, mountaineering, hiking, approach, and trail running shoes. We also make ski touring boots, which have an entire story of their own that dates back to the 1960s, when La Sportiva introduced leather ski boots.
SGB: What are the biggest footwear categories now in North America?
Lantz: Climbing shoes are the biggest singular category for us. Trail running and hiking are huge categories, where we have a modest market share, but the overall category sizes are significantly larger compared to climbing.
SGB: Can you highlight some of the latest innovations?
Lantz: We always have new, impressive climbing technologies. Currently, the Ondra Comp shoe, which features our new Sense Grip technology, is one I’m particularly proud of. In trail running, our new Prodigio shoe line, with various critical foam technologies rolled into trail-built super shoes, has me very excited. The latest Prodigio Max and the Prodigio Pro are just mind-blowing to run in.
SGB: Where do you see footwear trends across La Sportiva’s varied categories?
Lantz:In climb, we are seeing a trend where more comfortable shoes that still provide high-end performance are really resonating. Gone are the days of having to size your shoes down to the point of extreme pain for edging performance. We are also seeing a trend of incorporating more rubber in various areas of the shoe to meet modern climbing needs.
In mountaineering, it’s all about lightweight comfort, warmth and on-the-fly adjustability. Hiking is constantly changing, and comfort and versatility are essential. Stable yet high-cushioned products are selling well, and the specific wide fit preferred by U.S. consumers is a strong trend. Trail running is all about foam and comfortable yet stable uppers. Response and cushion are key, and they are driving strong sales. The approach category is all about grip and technical performance. Both essential needs for climbers and more technical hiking.
SGB: When did La Sportiva enter the apparel category, and how has that business been evolving?
Lantz: We started focusing on apparel in 2013. It’s a smaller part of our business, but one that we all share a great deal of drive and passion for. In apparel, our priority is technical products designed for climbers, mountaineers, and ski mountaineers, which aligns with our approach to footwear. The climbing apparel category has been a natural area of strength for us. We are the biggest climbing shoe brand in the U.S., and climbers trust us to make apparel that works for them. I am pumped about the Lumina series of down jackets we are launching for Fall/Winter 2025. These are the lightest and warmest down jackets on the market, offering a fantastic price point and representing the direction the brand is headed with its technical apparel.
SGB: La Sportiva opened its first U.S. store in Boulder last year. How has the response been?
Lantz: The Boulder store has been a huge success. We can offer the entire array of products we carry, in all the colors and provide a service level that is next level in the industry. We have also been able to support and nurture the Boulder outdoor community through group runs, presentations, launch events, and athlete engagement. It has been fun and rewarding, and there is more to come. It is a highly competitive world out there in the outdoor space, and it’s essential to nurture both wholesale and DTC business to reach the consumer. We will be opening a new store in Salt Lake City in the next few months. Beyond that, my lips are sealed.
SGB: How do you see the outdoor specialty or outdoor retail space performing these days?
Lantz: Outdoor specialty is going through a reset at the moment. The pandemic struggle, followed by the boom of the post-pandemic consumer gear blitz, then the over-inventoried battle and into the PFAS reset, has taxed a lot of specialty outdoor shops and bigger retailers. We have seen serious attrition in the dealer base. There is still solid demand, and people are still getting outside, but a notable plateau has emerged in certain categories, while others have experienced strong growth. The next few months will be very telling for the industry, as they will depend on the state of the economy and consumer confidence. The reciprocal tariff situation is causing price inflation. Bigger brands have been able to absorb and maintain prices, but in the end, we will see prices increase across the board if we continue to expect the same quality, performance, and durability in outdoor products.
SGB: You’re about to reach 30 years working with the same brand. Why has La Sportiva been such a good fit for you?
Lantz: I absolutely love the products we sell. I use them all the time, and I take deep pride in what we do as a brand. Starting when the company was small gave me the chance to wear many hats and learn along the way, from distribution and marketing to finance and R&D. That challenge has been incredibly rewarding. I also have to mention that the Delladio family has always treated me like family. That’s not always easy, but it’s meaningful. At the end of the day, I was in the right place at the right time, and timing is everything.
Image courtesy LaSportiva
