Results 1 to 25 of 29
-
04-04-2015, 08:00 AM #1
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:
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.
-
04-04-2015, 10:19 AM #2
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.
-
04-04-2015, 02:59 PM #3
Seems a little different than your Mac analogy, but the pickup one is pretty strong. You have a point.
-
04-04-2015, 05:04 PM #4
-
05-07-2015, 07:32 AM #5Registered User
- Join Date
- Nov 2011
- Posts
- 2,835
Yvonne didn't get rich selling pitons, nuts and biners, did he?
-
11-05-2015, 08:39 PM #6
Well that's not surprising at all...
-
11-05-2015, 08:42 PM #7
Who still wears Tevas at all, much less year round? I didn't realize this was the year 2001.
-
11-05-2015, 08:54 PM #8Registered User
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
- Posts
- 12,610
-
11-05-2015, 08:55 PM #9powdork.com - new and improved, with 20% more dork.
-
11-06-2015, 10:24 AM #10
Yeah, I wear Tevas, and Birkenstocks too. Wearing shoes all the time is a good way to fuck up your feet.
I agree it is a constitutional right for Americans to be assholes...its just too bad that so many take the opportunity...iscariot
-
11-06-2015, 11:34 AM #11
-
11-06-2015, 11:53 AM #12
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.
-
11-06-2015, 01:35 PM #13
Look at the north face product line.....
Best Skier on the Mountain
Self-Certified
1992 - 2012
Squaw Valley, USA
-
11-06-2015, 01:37 PM #14
-
11-07-2015, 10:01 AM #15
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 agree it is a constitutional right for Americans to be assholes...its just too bad that so many take the opportunity...iscariot
-
11-07-2015, 10:25 AM #16
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...
-
11-07-2015, 11:23 AM #17Registered User
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
- Posts
- 12,610
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.
-
11-09-2015, 05:01 PM #18observing free range rude
- Join Date
- Aug 2012
- Location
- below the Broads Fork Twins
- Posts
- 5,772
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
-
11-09-2015, 05:21 PM #19
outdoor gear companies aren't making it off the core
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 portfolioskid luxury
-
11-09-2015, 09:32 PM #20
I think part of bd's issue is margin.
-
11-10-2015, 11:05 AM #21observing free range rude
- Join Date
- Aug 2012
- Location
- below the Broads Fork Twins
- Posts
- 5,772
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.
-
11-10-2015, 11:13 AM #22
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
-
11-10-2015, 11:42 AM #23
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.
-
11-10-2015, 02:46 PM #24
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.
-
11-10-2015, 04:07 PM #25
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.
Bookmarks