Remember a million years ago when we last convened for Outdoor Retailer Winter Market + Snow Show last January in Denver? We were coming off a pretty good winter with a strong economy, healthy employment, and a generally positive future view. What a difference 30 to 45 days made! 2020 will go down as the year of the pivot. The year of Zoom. The year of social distancing, masks, hand sanitizer. The year that we didn鈥檛 think we鈥檇 ever adapt, but we did.

By mid-March, many businesses were closing, people were being laid off or furloughed, and Chicken Little was right: The sky was falling. Or, maybe we won鈥檛 remember because 2020 has also been a blur. We fell out of our long-standing routines of travel, meetings, trade shows, and appointments, and just stayed home. One day became the next, then the next, and pretty soon, a blur of days. March 15 seems like decades ago and old, but now after seven months, everything old is new again. Here鈥檚 my take on what we can learn from this tumultuous time.

We Can Push Ourselves Beyond Our Imaginations

We鈥檝e learned a few things at Lowa about our business, our staff, our retail customers, and our consumers. As a business, we adapted pretty smoothly. If asked whether we could successfully and effectively work from home back in February, the answer would have been 鈥渘o.鈥� But by March 15, our office staff all had new laptops, a new set of programs and apps enabling us to communicate with our retailers and consumers. There were hiccups, to be sure, but we were able to speak to and email with our dealers as we accepted all of their order changes and cancellations, requests for payment relief, and whatever else was the discussion of the day. We asked everyone to over-communicate, under promise, and over deliver. Don鈥檛 say no. Make it happen. One day the coronavirus crisis will be over and we want and need our dealers to be in business.

Being flexible with dealers was paramount

Dealers quickly called asking for payment term relief. Their stores were closed. They had no cash coming in. The challenge of getting paid was clear. It was also clear that many dealers had little to no cash reserves.

For dealers that owed us money prior to March 1, we asked to be paid or for a postdated check another 30 or so days out. For dealers we had recently shipped to, we asked them for a payment plan and accepted almost all of those as presented. Dealers were super-cooperative and, with only one exception, we are now completely paid for past due invoices from last winter, spring, and even summer. Keeping cash on hand is a big COVID-19 lesson. The other lesson is that brands are brands鈥攏ot banks鈥攁nd we all need a good banking relationship.

Make Friends with Your Bank

Filling out the PPP and other relief applications wasn鈥檛 and isn鈥檛 easy for anyone. Even the bankers, themselves, had their challenges. However, for us, maintaining a good relationship with the bank over time really did help. Same goes for the accountants and lawyers, all of whom proved essential for navigating these turbulent waters.

Give the Customer What They Want

As spring melded into summer and retailers opened back up, business did come back. For our brand, some of the categories that have been historically successful are still soft.

It was tough to sell mountain boots and backpack boots when the Forest Service kept the forests closed and pulled the permits from guides. It was tough to sell adventure when customers stayed home and didn鈥檛 travel to the Rockies to climb 14ers or couldn鈥檛 hike the long trails. It鈥檚 been tough to sell 鈥渆veryday鈥� shoes when getting on a plane to travel or even going to work isn鈥檛 possible. Yet, we did sell a lot of lighter hikers and sport shoes. In fact, we sold more than ever before.

We learned that having a diversified product line was really important. When dealers didn鈥檛 stock certain products, our own website sold them at full price. Watching and reacting to our consumers was, and still is, really important. When our account managers and customer support team tell dealers that consumers do buy some of our smaller and lesser known categories, retailers, please listen! It鈥檚 the truth! We want you to have product customers will buy.

Don鈥檛 Forget the DIY-ers

Consumers had a lot of time on their hands because they were home, so they took care of their boots and shoes. Sales of care products, replacement parts, and socks are through the roof. It鈥檚 clear that consumers view their Lowas as an investment worth caring for. Same goes for most high-end outdoor products. Customers want a longer, more sustainable life from their investment. We realized that this provided us a key way to engage with our customer, even though the dollar amounts were smaller. The lesson: Keep your consumer coming back to you and engaging with your brand. It will pay off down the road in brand loyalty.

Don鈥檛 Watch the Clock

Like many brands, we spent a lot of time working on our website. Yes, our consumer site, but just as importantly, our dealer site. We wanted to make it easier for dealers to interact with and buy from us.

One thing we quickly saw: A large percentage of the business comes in each day after our east coast workday is over. It鈥檚 clear that retail staff is thin and owners/managers/buyers are working late getting the paperwork done. Having an updated dealer site meant that our Midwest and western dealers could place reorders and fill-ins at all hours and know they would get shipped the next day.

If you don鈥檛 have product to sell, consumers will shop elsewhere. Having product in stock, being able to process orders and ship them out quickly paid, essentially having 鈥渁n easy button鈥� has really paid off for us here at LOWA.

Lean into the Compressed Buying Cycle

At wholesale, we skipped trade shows. We learned to sell by virtual meetings. We leveraged our history and the trust we鈥檝e built with retailers. They could understand our products and materials and constructions and have faith that they were ordering quality product, even if they hadn鈥檛 laid hands on it.

We learned that we can show product when it鈥檚 ready to be shown, not on another brand鈥檚 schedule and we can deliver it when consumers are ready to buy. Being closer to the retail selling season is more important than ever to keeping the consumer engaged and the product fresh.

Another part of the cycle that has changed is the release dates for closeouts. We usually release closeouts in conjunction with trade shows. But without a summer Grassroots or Outdoor Retailer Show, we didn鈥檛. We told our retailers we would hold the merchandise to help limit pricing pressure as they reopened. We would not go on closeout until November. When November rolls around, we will have sold more than 1/3 of our closeout inventory at full price either to retailers or consumers. This has allowed retailers to sell and maintain margin and allowed ourselves to maintain stronger margins too.

People Are Sure to Embrace Winter

Summer is now over. The virus is still with us. The question is, what鈥檚 next? Consumers have reportedly already started buying cross country skis and snowshoes to replace the bikes and kayaks they bought this summer for local adventures. Active people will continue to walk in their neighborhoods and local parks. The dogs will get plenty of exercise as fall segues into winter. These things have an element of certainty.

We should not be focusing on just catering to the aspirational customer, but also, to remember the local customer and activities that can take place near or at home. Outdoor shops where I live should still carry products for the exciting trip because that鈥檚 what makes them unique. But they should also focus on walking shoes and dayhikers. As long as there is COVID, there will be local activities. Once COVID diminishes, it would be a shame to lose the customers gained.

The New Normal

We should also work hard to cater to our changed behavior. Curbside pick-up, extra clean shops, BOPIS (buy online pick up in store), and other practices should become normal. Local shops need websites: to tell customers what kinds of products and services they offer, to communicate about local events, and serve as a community bulletin board.

We will all venture down this path in history together. 2020 has been full of surprises and mega events: the coronavirus, the election, a recession, hurricanes, wildfires, no snow, and so much more. When it鈥檚 all over, the businesses that respond and adapt will be the ones standing.

Peter Sachs is the general manager of Lowa.

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For the past few seasons, I heard industry talk about what the difference is between an 鈥淥utdoors-person鈥� vs an 鈥湽怨虾诹�-person.鈥� An Outdoors-person is whom we as an industry have catered to for generations. Outdoors-people hike and ski and climb and ride bikes. They paddle boats, adventure to faraway lands, and shun creature comforts for the benefit of the experience and adventure. As brands, we focus on them for aspirational reasons under the thought that if a certain jacket or pair of shoes or bag can work in the mountains or rainforests, then it鈥檚 probably pretty good for most consumers on their adventure during a weekend or summer vacation hiking or backpacking or participating in the myriad of other outdoor activities one does.

An 国产吃瓜黑料-person is more of an every-man or -woman. They go to school or work every day. They lead normal lives and maybe don鈥檛 consider themselves hikers or backpackers or skiers or paddlers. But they also like to stay dry when it rains or warm when it鈥檚 cold and snowy. Even if it鈥檚 just from the parking lot to the office door. They may want their feet to stay dry when they roam the side of their kid鈥檚 dew-soaked soccer field. They may also participate in outdoor activities, but at a much more recreational level than an Outdoors-person.

Now, our world has been upended with the COVID-19 virus. Schools and businesses of all sizes have shut from coast to coast. So have ski areas and many of the national parks and forests. We鈥檝e been told to socially distance and, yet we can鈥檛 go far away to stay safe. The resources of search and rescue can鈥檛 be counted on to help us. We are stuck at home, working when we can, using technology and pacing in our living rooms. We are binge-watching Netflix series and yearning for the outdoors.

In fact, when you look outside in your neighborhood, you are likely to find the outside is actually full of people. But they aren鈥檛 climbing or paddling or backpacking. They’re walking. They’re bike-riding, wearing yoga pants and a helmet. They’re riding with their kids. They’re walking with their kids, while their kids are riding a scooter. They’re with their family or significant other. The neighborhoods are full of people of all ages and genders and colors, many whom you have never seen before.

Maybe in the dark clouds of COVID-19, there is a silver lining. Maybe we need to re-assort our brands and our shops to cater to walkers and bike riders who don鈥檛 need lots of Lycra. Maybe there is a new outdoors customer who largely comes from the 国产吃瓜黑料r group. In reality, after just a month of being locked down, there is some momentum, and for the balance of this year, this customer won鈥檛 go away. They are not going to get back on planes anytime soon and head for the big adventure. The planes won鈥檛 be there for them. They will be hesitant to travel far for fear of becoming sick and not being near a doctor or a hospital or a ventilator.

But they can take a walk or run through the neighborhood. They are teaching their kids how to ride a bike at the local school鈥檚 parking lot. I would venture to guess that kite-flying will come soon with summer.

As they do these new activities, which are really among the oldest of outdoor activities, they may become less stressed and more relaxed. They may shed a few pounds and become healthier just because they took a walk. Who knew it could be so simple? And probably a lot less expensive than seeing a medical or psychological professional!

How do we capitalize on this? We make sure to re-assort our stores with a different merchandise mix. At LOWA, we’re putting our low-cut shoes front and center. It鈥檚 an opportunity to showcase a part of the line that doesn鈥檛 get much attention. We are known for our hiking and backpacking and mountaineering boots. Right now, those activities are not possible. But walking is. We have walking shoes. And wearing a pair of sport shoes for playing in the parks with our kids. All made with the same comfort underfoot, traction, waterproofing when needed as the boots. When 国产吃瓜黑料rs can go back to work in cities, they will probably walk or ride a bike to work for a while before they climb onto a crowded city bus or subway.

This same thought can hold true for clothing and gear brands.

What do you have that doesn鈥檛 usually get sold and marketed with the same energy as your aspirational product? It鈥檚 time to put those things front and center.

Retailers need to buy these products and offer them to their customers. They need to train their staff that it’s OK to sell products that aren鈥檛 meant to climb mountains or go fast. The staff needs to be responsive to a customer who wants to stay comfortable and not look like they’re ready to climb up, ski down a mountain, or ride in the Tour de France. If retailers really wanted to push the envelope, they would have the courage REI had when it closed on Black Friday to #optoutside and stay closed on Sundays to encourage their customers to participate and enjoy the outdoors.

Right now, we are glad to be alive. We’re glad to be able to reopen our businesses in the next few weeks. We should be glad to welcome customers into our shops and we should try to sell them product they will and can use now. The adventurer will return when the anxiety over COVID-19 subsides. In the meantime, the base can grow.

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