Cycling’s Women to Watch Shake Up the Bike World
Who are this year’s cycling industry women to watch? By Jahla Seppanen The Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition (OIWC), in collaboration with the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association (BPSA), awarded the top-tier female talent in the cycling industry a funded scholarship to attend the 2016 Bicycle Leadership Conference (BLC), April 12-14 in Monterey, CA. They are Amanda […]
Bye-Bye Bulky Boots
While still looking for the waterproof protection, durability and grip that comes from a quality boot, consumers continue to seek out a lighter package with more style. By Thomas J. Ryan The active lifestyle boot category — specifically winter boots — is having a good year. Warm weather be damned, brands and retailers can thank […]
Zappos Closes for Leap Day with Paid Day Off
Online footwear retailer Zappos.com will close operations for 24 hours on Leap Day 2016 to give its employees a paid day off and spur people to #TakeTheLeap and “do something they’ve always wanted to do.” Zappos, which is owned by Amazon.com, may have taken a page out of fellow retailer REI’s marketing book — which […]
Mountain Hardwear Gets a New President
Columbia Sportswear Co. has tapped John Christian Walbrecht to serve as the new president of its Mountain Hardwear brand, effective March 7, 2016. Walbrecht will enter the new role after serving Boulder, CO’s Fenix Outdoors North America, where for the past four years he served as president and CEO, providing strategic direction for European performance brands […]
Snowboard Magazine Ceases Regular Print Issues to Focus on Digital
Another industry print magazine is switching to the digital-only side. By David Clucas After 13 years, Snowboard magazine will cease its regular print run of magazines — which most recently distributed quarterly — to focus on its digital, social and custom-content formats. “Bolstering Snowboard’s digital and custom-content model is a proactive move to remain at the […]
One-On-One with Brooks Running’s Anne Cavassa
Chief Customer Experience Officer at Brooks Running Company talks about transforming brands into a badge of honor for the consumer. By Jahla Seppanen Based in a sleepy family neighborhood near Seattle’s Puget Sound, Brooks Chief Customer Experience Officer, Anne Cavassa, keeps running and storytelling close to heart. Although she’s always loved marathon running and doing […]
This Week’s Movers & Shakers – February 19, 2016
Who was on the move in the industry this week with new hires, promotions and sponsorships… Adidas appointed Dan Near as its new head of Adidas Hockey for Adidas Group NA, reporting to Michael Rossi, GM, Adidas Group Canada. The brand also signed Superbowl MVP Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller as the face of its Freak […]
National Parks See Record Visits in 2015
More people are visiting the nation’s national parks than ever before. The National Park Service, which celebrates its 100th year in 2016, reported that total recreation visits to the country’s 367 national parks, monuments, recreation areas, battlefields and other sites reached 307.2 million in 2015, up 4.9 percent from 2014 and breaking a record for […]
Gyms Combat the February “Fitness Cliff”
Did your fitness business notice a drop in customers today? Or did you skip out on that new workout schedule? By. Jahla Seppanen According to recent research from Gold’s Gym, which has fitness facilities reaching close to 3 million users worldwide, February 18 (last Thursday) is the peak day when fit-related New Year Resolutions reach […]
Goldilocks Insulation That is Just Right
Today’s performance insulation outerwear goes well beyond just the puffy — addressing both erratic weather patterns and a wider spectrum of consumer cold-weather activities. By David Clucas While an unusually warm start to winter on the East Coast and throughout the Midwest dampened insulation outerwear sales through the important Holiday 2015 season, sales of insulated […]
Active Lifestyle Trends on Display at 2016 Magic Las Vegas
One of the nation’s largest footwear/apparel fashion trade shows, Magic Vegas, takes place this week (Tuesday-Thursday, February 16-18), and thanks to the athleisure trend, there is plenty of active lifestyle product on display. By David Clucas and Jahla Seppanen Familiar industry brands such as Timberland, Fjallraven, Woolrich, Skechers, Merrell and Keen will show up at […]
Nike, Skechers, Brooks, Saucony All Headed to Rio
At the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials held on February 13, athletes from Nike, Skechers, Brooks and Saucony qualified for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team heading to the Rio this summer. With by far the most athletes in the race, Nike not surprisingly saw the largest amount of athletes earn one of six coveted […]
We Wool Rock You: One-On-One with Ibex VP of Product
Ibex VP of Product, James Fisher, on how wool outgrew its winter-only reputation. By Jahla Seppanen Wool remains a top performer in outdoor apparel. Not only does the natural fiber a deliver top-notch technical performance in temperature regulation, odor control, SPF protection and traceability, its knitted texture reigns supreme in today’s fashion circles exuding hot homemade and homegrown […]
M&A Activity Heats Up For Fitness Equipment Brands
By David Clucas It’s been an active start to the year for the fitness equipment business. In just one month, two of the industries most innovative, higher-end brands — Octane Fitness and Cybex — were purchased by their larger, publicly traded rivals. Nautilus, Inc. scooped up specialty cardio equipment maker Octane Fitness for $115 on […]
This Week’s Movers & Shakers – February 12, 2016
Who was on the move in the industry this week with new hires, promotions and sponsorships… The WNBA named Lisa Borders (pictured above) as President, leading into the Association’s 20th season. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement February 10. Cabela’s Inc. promoted Scott K. Williams to President and said he would take on additional […]
