outdoor gear companies aren't making it off the core

Article in the New Yorker talks about growth in climbing gyms, luring twenty-somethings, and where the bottom line lies. An interesting statistic came up:

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A recent study by the Outdoor Industry Association estimated that this urban demographic now accounts for thirty-three per cent of spending in the outdoor market, even if many in that number have yet to venture onto a real rock face. (The O.I.A. tracks sales trends in apparel and equipment for activities that run the gamut from trail running to indoor climbing, though does not make the break-out numbers for individual markets public.) By way of comparison, what the study calls “outdoor natives”—people who wear Tevas year-round, for example, or go on jaunts to Annapurna—make up only seventeen per cent of spending on gear and clothing. Which means there’s plenty of money to be made from climbing’s drift into the mainstream.

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I guess probably less than 17% if we're talking The North Face. Relevant fact if you own or work in an outdoor shop - barneys are gonna pay your bills.

Same with anything right? Most Mac customers aren't programmers, most folks driving pickup trucks aren't hauling shit, etc. It's a consumer nation.

Seems a little different than your Mac analogy, but the pickup one is pretty strong. You have a point.

Well, most Americans and Western Europeans live in cities, so if you think about it, that first number is even a bit low.

Yvonne didn't get rich selling pitons, nuts and biners, did he?

Well that's not surprising at all...

Who still wears Tevas at all, much less year round? I didn't realize this was the year 2001.

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Originally Posted by TahoeJ

Who still wears Tevas at all, much less year round? I didn't realize this was the year 2001.

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You mean Birkenstocks? Jeff wears 'em.

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Originally Posted by TahoeJ

Who still wears Tevas at all, much less year round? I didn't realize this was the year 2001.

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I consider tevas to be synonymous with 'burly sandal' much as Coke is to soda. I wear the genre a lot.

Yeah, I wear Tevas, and Birkenstocks too. Wearing shoes all the time is a good way to fuck up your feet.

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Originally Posted by TahoeJ

Who still wears Tevas at all, much less year round? I didn't realize this was the year 2001.

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Tevas are back in style on college campuses.

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Originally Posted by Peruvian

Tevas are back in style on college campuses.

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fucking chacos around here. I get the need for a sandal that has a burly enough sole that you can hike in, but I think they're uglier than birks. The kids that are still wearing them even tho its been snowing on and off for the past few days have a serious commitment to looking like a tool.

Look at the north face product line.....

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Originally Posted by Peruvian

Tevas are back in style on college campuses.

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Shows what I know. I look at pictures of myself 15 years ago wearing those things and kind of shudder, so I guess I shouldn't talk too much shit. Heh.

For what it's worth, I just spent a week rafting the Grand Canyon, and the guides still all wear Chaco's and dis Teva's. Although they thought my wife's vintage Teva's were pretty cool and came from an era when Teve's were real guide gear.

I've had the same pair of Chaco Z2s since 2001. Those things rock. Used them for river stuff, general hiking, and decently burly class 3 walkoffs in Tuolumne. Occasionally wear them around town, but not regularly. I'm an adult. And, yes, when I was younger I used to dis Tevas a bit. Didn't help that my last pair of Tevas before the Chacos gave me blisters at the plastic triangle where the straps came together below the medial malleolus.

I had a pair of Birks when I was like 12. I kind of want another pair. Apparently they're back in style, but they're not exactly stylish. About the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever worn though...

Buddy of mine used to have a shoe store put vibram soles on his Birks. Called them "Feet Jeeps". This was before Chacos or Tevas.

People ask how or why I'm doing an approach in sandals... "wut? this is adventure footwear, all good"

plus they're $20 at discount online shops frequently... still waiting for pair 1 to wear out

http://www.brreps.com/files/brreps/u...2013-logo2.png

Outdoor is one of the fastest growing segments of the consumer discretionary industry so a lot of the brands these days are owned by super huge co's ie VF Corp and jarden
They are realizing they don't need the core bc now they are getting the masses. (If they choose their brand acquisitions wisely)
Not sure if ultimately good or bad for people like us (gear whores)

Black diamond tried this recently though and it hasn't worked out as well financially. I think maybe bc they were targeting more 'core' brands in their portfolio

I think part of bd's issue is margin.

Dang - BD's apparel line not doing well? I see it all winter nowadays. Have bibs from them that are great, one tree rip and a replacement no questions :). Like me some BD customer service + sale prices.

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Originally Posted by Bromontana

Dang - BD's apparel line not doing well? I see it all winter nowadays. Have bibs from them that are great, one tree rip and a replacement no questions :). Like me some BD customer service + sale prices.

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yea apparently the apparel wasn't a big hit- too slim fitting I think I heard

and yes margins were terrible - mostly due to fx and that due to the fact that they are like a holding co but only have 1 co under their umbrella currently which doesn't help off set fx drag (whereas larger holding co's can offset drag from one co, etc with financial/ sales tailwinds maybe from another one of their co's)
If that makes sense

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Originally Posted by Bromontana

Dang - BD's apparel line not doing well? I see it all winter nowadays. Have bibs from them that are great, one tree rip and a replacement no questions :). Like me some BD customer service + sale prices.

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It looks like really awesome stuff. Hardly see it in CA at all though, honestly. On the rack at a handful of places, and maybe a few times out on the hill or at a trailhead. Don't know what that says. I'd certainly expect to see a lot of it in your hood because it's their home turf.

All of the new BD stuff got rave reviews in the various magazines, for what it's worth. Pretty damn expensive though. It can take a few years to gain traction... especially when you're trying to get someone to drop $700 on a jacket.

I read the transcript of their earnings call. I know they're paid to sound upbeat, but there's a lot of stuff involved that you'd expect, but not necessarily think about (e.g. soft demand in important foreign markets, a stronger dollar, and repatriating manufacturing to the US).
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/edited...011931322.html

Worth a read. Doesn't sound like the end of the world to me.

I read it earlier too and thought it was interesting that they're focused on a non outdoor acquisition-

makes it so much harder to play the who-are-they-going-to-buy game!

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Originally Posted by baby bear

I read it earlier too and thought it was interesting that they're focused on a non outdoor acquisition-

makes it so much harder to play the who-are-they-going-to-buy game!

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I thought that too and wondered who. I mean, Google, for example, invests in cleantech firms and such: http://www.socaltech.com/google_inve...s-0035914.html

Given BD's history and culture, I could maybe see them doing something like that? Or maybe a non-outdoors LED company because the lighting connection creates some good cross-pollination opportunites? No real idea though.

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Originally Posted by TahoeJ

All of the new BD stuff got rave reviews in the various magazines, for what it's worth. Pretty damn expensive though. It can take a few years to gain traction... especially when you're trying to get someone to drop $700 on a jacket.

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I own a handful of their softshells and would recommend them to anyone (if they fit right). They've held up great over the past 2 years and they fit me perfectly (5'11" 150 lbs. in a medium).

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Originally Posted by LightRanger

It looks like really awesome stuff. Hardly see it in CA at all though, honestly. On the rack at a handful of places, and maybe a few times out on the hill or at a trailhead. Don't know what that says. I'd certainly expect to see a lot of it in your hood because it's their home turf.

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What I like about their gear is the utility is very specific. They don't over insulate layers and seemed to really push at performance. Somewhat at the cost of durability, but they have great customer service. Walked in with ripped bibs and the rep said he could patch and give it to me or a coworker while I got a new pair color of choice. Not a tough decision.

These are the bibs, love em.
http://www.backcountry.com/black-dia...-bib-pant-mens