The Running Event (TRE), held last week in San Antonio, TX, drew more outdoor brands to the Switchback section of the industry trade show this year, many of whom were seeking ways to drive growth in the run specialty channel.
According to figures published by Diversified Communications, parent company of TRE, 60 outdoor-focused exhibitors participated in Switchback, up from 45 presenters at last year’s show.
Overall, TRE, which moved the show to San Antonio due to renovations at the convention center of its former site in Austin, TX, packed 357 exhibitors within 100,000 square feet, up from 336 in the 90,000-plus square feet of space at the old exhibition hall.
The exhibitor numbers were below the over 190 that showed at the first outdoor-focused Switchback Spring held in June in Nashville, TN. While some outdoor specialty stores were in attendance, many of the outdoor brands exhibiting were there to drive growth in the run specialty channel.
Exhibitors remarked that the run specialty industry continues to grow, while the outdoor specialty industry appears to have stabilized. Many of those found buyers in both specialty channels eager to conduct business after the industry avoided a major hit from tariffs that arrived earlier in the year and, consequently, drove higher price points.
The North Face has attended TRE for years, pursuing trail run opportunities. The company’s booth this year was one of the largest, according to Pat Duca, TNF’s senior director of sales, outdoor specialty.
“It’s been a busy show,” Duca said when speaking with SGB Executive. “It’s been great to see just the run industry and outdoor industry come together with Switchback being here, and just a great opportunity for brands to showcase the energy for the season and retailers to come and see what’s happening.”
He said shifting the show to San Antonio presented a fresh twist after 19 years in Austin. “It’s been a fantastic city. The food’s great. The River Walk is awesome to cruise around. It’s been a great place.”
Duca said he had mostly met with run specialty accounts, many of whom were looking to grow their trail-running businesses. “It’s a segment of the market that’s growing, and a lot of retail customers are coming to us looking for The North Face to fill that void. It’s been exciting,” he added.
Duca said that while the show’s “energy” is on the run side, many of the company’s outdoor specialty partners have recently seen “steady growth” in running, with sales stabilizing after several challenging years. “Traffic has been good, and we’re seeing that outdoor specialty consumer leaning in toward shops that provide higher levels of service, and that’s what outdoor specialty offers,” he said.
Duca also noted that, in general, retailers are proceeding with caution, with vendors taking different approaches to pricing adjustments. “Our goal at The North Face is to approach that in a transparent way and give retailers a longer runway to plan into any pricing increases that are coming out.”
“The vibes are really positive,” Steve Doolan, president of the Americas at Salomon, told SGB Executive on the show floor. “We’re excited about how Salomon continues to be recognized as a legacy and storied outdoor brand as we push into this multi-service category of road, gravel and trail.”
Doolan, who has attended the show for many years, worked for Hoka before joining Salomon in October 2023. He said the show is always a “highlight” of the year.
“It’s great to see how the business and brands are evolving,” said Doolan. “We also get to connect with retailers to hear what they experienced over the course of the year, and, most importantly, what they’re thinking about as we look at the future.”
Doolan likewise felt positive about the move to San Antonio, saying, “It’s a beautiful convention hall, and exploring a new city is always fun.”
At the show, Salomon introduced an update to its Aero Glide 3, which the company said was “incredibly well received” when it was released earlier this year, as well as a Gravel version of the Aero Glide 4 with a new upper and lacing system. Doolan said, “Multi-surface is one of the things that we’re thinking about. The ability to use it in a multitude of different environments.”
Doolan noted that in discussions with retailers, pricing remains a focus, with many stores showing gains in dollar sales but slower or more flat unit growth. “The most consistent thing that I see here is that the retailers that are differentiating themselves, giving an individual a reason to cross the threshold and to engage with a new product, are the ones that are winning. That’s one of the reasons I think we at Salmon have real strength,” he continued.
“Traffic’s been great. We’ve been super busy,” Lance Taylor, who was recently named general manager for Lowa U.S., told SGB Executive. “You definitely miss some of your typical spots in Austin, such as Terry Black’s, but San Antonio has been great.”
Taylor said Lowa is undergoing a reorganization following his replacement of long-time U.S. GM Peter Sachs. The changes include moving Lowa’s U.S. headquarters from Connecticut to parent Tecnica Group’s headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT.
Taylor said one of his primary objectives is to raise awareness that Lowa makes trail running shoes, even though the brand is largely known for its boots. He noted that he is working to change the domain name of the brand’s U.S. site from Lowaboots.com as part of a push to emphasize Lowa’s broadening footwear mix, beyond its roots in boot making.
“The consumer has been going lighter and faster for a lot of years now,” said Taylor. “So, for us, this is us modernizing with the consumer and continuing to stay relevant but also infusing our heritage and our authenticity into shoe making and into these more modern athletic styles.”
Taylor believes the overall outdoor industry is in better shape after facing a series of crises in recent years, including the inventory shortage at the earlier stages of the pandemic, a lengthy inventory glut due to supply eventually far exceeding demand and the fallout from the ban on PFAS “forever chemicals” in footwear and outerwear.
He said that while pricing around products is “a little gray right now” with so much fluctuation across brands, the overall outdoor and running industry appears in better condition than when the tariffs were first threatened this past April. At that time, Taylor said both vendors and retailers scaled back their growth plans, but sales have subsequently generally outperformed expectations.
Taylor also noted that, as the outdoor industry did after the 2008 housing crisis, consumers appear to be continuing their pursuit of outdoor activities because the costs are not too high and can be pursued close to home. He said buyers at the show were similarly confident as those attending the November Grassroots Connect Show. “Buyer confidence seems to be much higher than it has been. They’re willing to take a swing on a new model, where, in the past 18 months or two years, they would say they can’t take anything new,” he said.
Teva debuted at TRE in 2024 after gaining traction with its recent launch of running sandals.
”The traffic’s been really good,” Kris Versteegen, Teva’s national sales manager, told SGB Executive. “We’ve had a lot of new run specialty retailers come into the booth, and they’ve been super excited about the show in general, and the product line that we have here, too. Running in sandals is a completely different experience than anyone else in the hall here is offering, so we’re turning some heads.”
Versteegen said it seems that some retailers in both the outdoor and running spaces are doing well, but many are struggling. “It’s been a mixed bag. We’ve been hearing from a lot of folks that foot traffic is down, but sales are up a little bit. Nobody’s blowing the doors out or anything like that,” he said.
Versteegen still feels business conditions are better than at TRE’s 2024 show, when many retailers in the outdoor space were working down elevated inventory levels.
Versteegen said, “People have gotten a lot healthier and smarter with their inventory choices, so nobody seems to be over-inventoried or over-bought at this point in time, whereas this time last year, there was definitely a pretty high percentage of retailers we talked to that were just trying to get rid of product.”
“The show has been super busy,” said Jonathan Lantz, president of La Sportiva North America. “There’s been lots of great buzz with a lot of people looking to buy. The run and trail run category has been super strong.”
Lantz sees TRE as a run-focused show, with the brand showcasing its trail running shoes, running apparel and hydration packs rather than its hiking gear. He said, “The run specialty space is hyper-focused on run, which is almost a relief when you’re a brand like ours that sells so many different products.”
Lantz said both run and outdoor specialty are performing “really good,”’ with the outdoor space showing some recovery. Lantz said, “It’s been a tough couple of years for outdoor specialty coming out of COVID, the boom, then the inventory bust, and then a lot of tough decisions people had to make in closing solid stores. But it’s getting healthier. I think we’ve found stabilization.”
Keen, which began exhibiting at TRE in 2024, introduced the Seek, its first trail-running shoe in its 22-year history, at the 2025 show.
Nick Erickson, Keen’s chief marketing officer, said the show’s timing clashed with the FFANY footwear show in New York City, and he believes TRE missed some buyers attending that show. However, he felt the move to San Antonio was a “step up” from Austin.
“We’re happy with the location,” said Erickson. “We’re happy with the traffic. It’s got a good buzz for sure.”
He also felt that both retailers in the run and outdoor spaces were not overly cautious in their inventory purchases, even amid threats of a broader slowdown in consumer spending.
“I had a conversation with the team at OIA this morning around what’s happening with consumer sentiment, and we agreed that the outdoor industry specifically, where we’re at, has been resilient in recessions. When people are tight with cash, the outdoors is free,” said Erickson. “All you need is a good pair of shoes to take you everywhere. Running also has a low cost and a low barrier to entry to get outside and be healthy. So, there’s certainly some caution, but knock on wood, we’ve been doing really well this year.”
Vibram, which has for many years attended TRE in support of its FiveFingers range, is increasingly using the show to meet with brand partners looking to stand out amid expanding competition.
“The market is leveling into a generic high price point where many brands are delivering variations of very similar technologies in midsoles and uppers,” said Fabrizio Gamberini, president Vibram Corp and Global Chief Brand Officer. “Differentiation is becoming harder, and the gap between ‘innovation’ and ‘novelty’ is narrowing season after season. Storytelling becomes very critical.”
He said many shoes are now also being designed for multi-usage, blurring the lines between hiking and trail running, as well as between technical and lifestyle offerings broadly.
“Vibram plays a great role here,” said Gamberini. “Our ability to elevate performance while enhancing design and identity gives brands a point of distinction in a crowded space. Overall, this is a fast-moving industry that evolves with each season.”
Boulder-based Lems Shoes attended Switchback in Nashville, but this was its first visit to TRE’s exhibitor floor, where the minimalist footwear brand launched its 2026 road-running collection. The road running models, the RadMaker and RadUltralite, feature heel-to-toe offsets of 5mm and 2mm, respectively, rather than the brand’s zero-drop focus to support spring off the forefoot, proper toe alignment, optimal metatarsal spread, and streamlined fit as focal points to give runners a more natural, efficient ride.
Andrew Rademacher, founder and CEO of Lems Shoes, believes minimalist footwear is getting more attention after years of fixation on max cushioning. He said, “People are back to asking about minimalist shoes again. They’re wondering if it’s time yet to shift away from these super-high-stack shoes.”
Rademacher said Lems Shoes continues to grow, with Black Friday sales delivering “off the charts” returns after slower growth earlier in the year. He said, “I think customers were waiting for sales and waiting to get shoes at a better price.”
He also said retailers visiting the booth seemed upbeat about business conditions, with no conversations around pricing concerns. Rademacher said, “I feel like there’s a sense of regaining some confidence here in the economy.”
Norda, the Canadian trail running shoe brand known for its Dyneema-equipped lightweight shoes, has been attending TRE since being founded in 2020. At the show, Norda unveiled an update to its 005 race-day super shoe for the trail, featuring its Arnitel midsole with changes including a higher stack height, a knit collar, a more structured heel, and a meatier traction pattern to handle more extreme terrain.
“The industry is in a great period of expansion and innovation,” said Nick Martire, co-founder, Norda. “The modern consumer is hyper-aware and demands the finest, which pushes us to create footwear that’s even more responsive, even faster, even lighter. Especially in the trail space, which has really exploded since we released our first shoe in 2021, there’s this amazing curiosity from the customer, and that — plus our obsession with constantly unlocking the potential of the world’s greatest materials — both drives and excites us.”
Tantrums, a Pasadena, CA-based designer of hydration backpacks focused on sleek design in a lightweight package, launched at the 2024 TRE show. At this year’s event, Adam Copeland, founder and chief running officer, told SGB Executive he sees trail in general becoming a bigger focus as participation in the category climbs and as many footwear manufacturers step up innovation efforts.
“I think the category of trail specifically has seen a lot of big players reengage, and a rising tide rises all ships, and I’m seeing that, especially in the hydration category,” said Copeland. “I think it’s great to see people pushing innovation and educating consumers and retailers around trail. It creates a space for more premium product like our performance-based product in the hydration category.
Image courtesy The North Face
