If anyone is qualified to dispense wisdom to the outdoor industry about how to do business better, it’s Shawn Gorman. As the great-grandson of L.L.Bean’s founder, Gorman was born to a legacy of success and stewardship in the outdoor space. Time and again over the past several decades, he has helped steer his company through challenging periods, always focusing on his great-grandfather’s core business philosophy, which he calls “L. L.鈥檚 Golden Rule.”

To learn more about how Gorman approaches leadership at one of the industry’s largest and most important legacy brands, we picked his brain on a few topics relevant to his success. An edited version of our conversation is below.

What does success mean for you?

Success to me, and to the people of L.L.Bean, has always been about shared rewards. When my great-grandfather started the company, his vision was to create products that could help people enjoy the outdoors as much as he did. And his legendary approach to service, known as L. L.鈥檚 Golden Rule鈥�”sell good merchandise at a reasonable profit and treat your customers like human beings, and they will always come back for more鈥濃�攊s still very much at the heart of our business today.

As an outdoor brand, we exist to help people to get outside. Since the start of the pandemic, we鈥檝e seen a big upswing in sales as more customers have turned to L.L.Bean for gear and apparel. This has led to historic levels of performance for the business, which is great鈥攂ut even better is the fact that we鈥檝e structured the company to share that success with the people who make our work possible. That includes our employees, customers, vendors, the communities where we live and work, and our shareholders. Achieving strong financial performance enables us to meet our stakeholder obligations, which is L.L.Bean鈥檚 true definition of success.

What important leadership lessons came out of the pandemic for you?

The challenge of the pandemic continues to offer lots of leadership lessons, but one of the biggest for us has been the importance of perseverance鈥攚hich also happens to be an L.L.Bean core value. While no one could have predicted how long we would find ourselves in this pandemic, we’ve been reminded that patience, resilience, and taking time to recharge have never been more important than they are now.

Another one that came out of the pandemic has been re-affirming the significance of the guiding principles that L.L.Bean was founded on鈥攐ne of which is deep concern for our employees’ and customers’ wellbeing. In March 2020, we put the health and safety of our people first by closing our retail locations, while at the same time implementing a pandemic pay policy to protect employees鈥� wages and benefits. We also helped our communities by making masks for Maine healthcare workers and packing food for pantries across the state. At the time, we didn鈥檛 know where our business would be in the months to come, but we did know that by staying true to our core values and taking care of our people, we would remain L.L.Bean.

What keeps you up at night?

As a family brand now entering our sixth generation of private ownership, we understand the role that stewardship plays in both the long-term success of our business and in ownership continuity. Being chairman is an awesome responsibility and certainly creates some sleepless nights, but it鈥檚 also a privilege that I’m extremely proud to hold.

Of course, I don鈥檛 carry the responsibility alone. Our entire family-ownership group understands and embraces our role as stewards of the company. It’s our job to prepare the next generation to step in and lead when the time is right, and ensure our company and stakeholders continue to thrive for another hundred years and more. It’s such a humbling feeling to be part of something bigger than me. Every day I think about the people who have gone before me and the lasting mark they鈥檝e left on this business.

The future of the planet looks increasingly bleak and the climate crisis is getting more urgent every day. What gives you hope?

It’s true鈥攐ur climate challenges continue to grow every day, but still, I do remain optimistic. Throughout the pandemic, more people have discovered (or rediscovered) the outdoors as a place for respite and recreation. And as people spend more time outside, their appreciation of nature and commitment to protecting and preserving open spaces also (hopefully) increases. This is at the core of our purpose, and why L.L.Bean exists: to help people to experience the restorative power of being outside. Science shows that when we spend more time in nature, our overall sense of wellbeing improves. I believe that as more of us realize the power and draw of the outdoors, we will become better and more active stewards of the environment, which is both good for the planet and for our collective physical and emotional health.

The post Lessons in Leadership: Wisdom from L.L.Bean Chairman Shawn Gorman appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

This story originally ran in the Summer 2020 issue of The Voice.听

A few years ago, as the trade war with China heated up, Mark Wolf decided he had had enough. Already frustrated with theft of his company’s intellectual property in China鈥擶olf makes outdoor fire pits, camp grills, and fireproof covers, under the name Fireside Outdoor, among other products there鈥攈e shifted production of a large chunk of the work out of the country, to Vietnam.

Then, last winter, the coronavirus hit. And Wolf, like many in the outdoor industry, felt just how inextricably his fortunes remain tied to China.

The contagion all but shuttered the country for weeks, including its border with Vietnam and the flow of raw materials and components Wolf required. 鈥淲e had 13 containers sitting in Vietnam, stuck there. They were filled with kits waiting for nuts and bolts, the right fasteners,鈥� Wolf, the president of Fireside Outdoor, said about his predicament at the end of March. All of those nuts and bolts come from China. What鈥檚 more, he says, the aluminum ingots his Vietnamese factory needs also come from China. 鈥淭he coronavirus really exposed how dependent we are on China and their massive, disproportionate supply of raw materials,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 the key: disproportionate. It鈥檚 almost like Napoleon realizing he鈥檚 too far into Russia.鈥�

A reckoning is afoot, Wolf predicts. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 all leave China in the short term,鈥� said Wolf, who still makes 60 percent of his goods there. 鈥淏ut I can鈥檛 imagine there isn鈥檛 a boardroom in America that isn鈥檛 considering changing or offsetting their supply chain with China.鈥�

China has long been the world鈥檚 workshop, producing one fifth of the manufacturing output across the globe, according to the Brookings Institution, a public policy nonprofit. Increasingly, however, many companies have been wondering whether China is still the place to make their products. Some companies already have shifted elsewhere, or plan to. Nearly 40 percent of respondents in an American Chamber of Commerce in the People鈥檚 Republic of China survey in mid-2019 said they had either relocated manufacturing from China or were considering doing so.

This conversation is 鈥渁bsolutely front聽and center鈥� in the outdoor industry right now, says Drew Saunders, a member of the Outdoor Industry Association鈥檚 Trade Advisory Council and the country manager for Oberalp North America. Saunders knows from experience. He says that Oberalp鈥檚 brands鈥攊ncluding Salewa, Dynafit, and Pomoca鈥攈ave been making a 鈥渟low pivot鈥� away from producing apparel in China over the last five years. For other firms, the U.S. trade war with China and now the global pandemic that has convulsed through China and the rest of the world have forced them to face the question: Is China worth the trouble?

The issue seems urgent amid the economic crisis ushered in by the coronavirus, but the truth is that other factors are at play, and despite the reasons to leave, there are also compelling reasons to stay. Here鈥檚 what the manufacturing landscape looks like鈥攂oth in and out of China鈥攁nd why the only certain thing is that this question is not going away.

The Case for Leaving

Rising Costs

Until recently, the primary issue pushing companies to leave China was simple: the increasing cost of doing business there. Once, cheap labor was a huge draw. That鈥檚 no longer the case: Hourly labor costs in China-based manufacturing reached $5.78 in 2019, according to Statista.com. In Vietnam, it was $2.99 an hour.

Wages aren鈥檛 the only rising costs. The Chinese government has imposed increased regulatory requirements, and costs related to the environment have risen as well, as the country tries to address major pollution problems. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just dump stuff anymore,鈥� said Mary Lovely, a professor of economics at Syracuse University and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Outdoor companies are all for reducing pollution, of course, but it still changes the cost of doing business.

Sitting like a sour cherry atop these varying concerns are the tariffs of the U.S.-China trade war. Those costs are driving Fishpond USA to seek manufacturing elsewhere. Fishpond has successfully relocated some of its softgoods production, but still has significant ties to China, says founder Johnny Le Coq. 鈥淥h yeah. We鈥檙e looking. We鈥檙e looking at every opportunity we can, for the factories who have the ability, from a quality perspective, to make our products,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur duty on packs and bags made in China is now over 42 percent, up from 17.6 percent just a few years ago.鈥�

That extra cost creates another frustration, Le Coq says. 鈥淲ith reduced margins, the incentive to innovate within that category is reduced and compromised. And we live in a world of innovation.鈥�

That leaves few options, Le Coq said. 鈥淭he implications of the tariffs are forcing brands like us to move.鈥�

Human Rights

Concerns about working conditions in China are hardly new (see: Apple and FoxConn). Human rights violations aren鈥檛, either. But a report released in early March now links these two in a troubling way. The Chinese government has transferred Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic minority, and also other ethnic-minority citizens, to factories across the country and is making them work 鈥渦nder conditions that strongly suggest forced labor,鈥� according to the report 鈥淯yghurs for Sale鈥� by the Australian Strategic Policy Group, an independent, nonpartisan think tank. The Uyghurs are in the supply chains of 鈥渁t least 83 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing, and automotive sectors,鈥� the report alleges, citing Apple, BMW, Nike, Patagonia, and L.L.Bean, among others.

In reply, companies told media outlets they take an ethical supply chain seriously and are committed to upholding compliance standards that prohibit forced labor. Patagonia and L.L.Bean both issued statements affirming this, with L.L.Bean saying, 鈥淥ur Supply Chain Code of Conduct strictly prohibits the use of forced labor of any kind. Our global compliance programs and auditors cover every country聽where a factory makes L.L.Bean-branded product, including China, and we are actively working with our fellow industry leaders, associations, and our partners in the region to ensure that our supply chain standards are being met at the highest level.鈥� Amy Celico, principal at global business consultant Albright Stonebridge Group, expects this issue will continue to be a big deal in the coming months. Some companies will decide remaining in China is not worth it, she says, given the need to police supply chains.

Emerging Alternatives

While forces within China are pushing companies out, there are opportunities elsewhere that are pulling them in. For example, skilled workers in other countries are drawing brands that need cut-and-sew manufacturing.

Vietnam is one of those places. Osprey discovered it years ago, and recently the ski glove maker Hestra USA followed suit. About three years ago, the company purchased a building there and installed new equipment, as part of a long-range plan to shift part of its glove production from China to Vietnam, says Dino Dardano, the company鈥檚 president. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had tremendous success鈥攕o much so that we actually expanded the facility by about 30 percent last fall to accommodate about 125 more workers,鈥� he said.

Dardano says Hestra has been in China for 50 years, owning two companies there in a joint venture. But experienced sewers are in decline there, and the company has not found young people to replace them. 鈥淚 can tell you that I鈥檝e had a lot of conversations with my peers and they鈥檙e faced with the same challenges when it comes to sewn goods,鈥� he said. Dardano attributes the change in part to China鈥檚 now-defunct one-child policy, and the problem is likely exacerbated by the natural evolution of a maturing economy.

Vietnam isn鈥檛 the only country benefiting from the exodus. South Asia saw a 34 percent increase in demand for factory inspections and audits in the first half of 2019 over the same period in 2018, according to supply chain consultant QIMA. And the migration is not limited to Asia. Tariffs and the coronavirus have also made it more appealing to bring production聽closer to home. The volume of inspections 鈥淎s a company has no plans to move production and audits ordered of factories in Latin America by U.S. businesses increased nearly 50 percent last year,” QIMA reported.

Another shift away from China came at the prompting of the outdoor industry itself. Travel goods鈥攍uggage, backpacks, sports bags鈥攎ade in China can be taxed steeply upon entering the U.S. Sensing opportunity, the outdoor industry lobbied to have such goods made eligible for the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a trade-preference program that allows qualified products to enter the U.S. duty-free when a substantial amount of their value is produced in more than 120 developing countries. The effort has been successful in recent years. 鈥淪ince that went into effect, we鈥檝e seen a movement out of China to Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and other GSP countries on travel goods,鈥� said Rich Harper, manager of international trade for Outdoor Industry Association. In 2015, China produced about 64 percent of GSP-eligible travel goods. By January of this year, that share of 鈥渕ade in China鈥� had been cut by 40 percent. 鈥淭he duty savings that first year was something like $90 million鈥� for outdoor companies, Harper says.

A Natural Evolution

What companies are experiencing overall with China is part of a natural evolution: As a country matures, so does the nature of the work that鈥檚 done there. You can see the Chinese government directing this transition, says Celico, of the Albright Stonebridge Group. 鈥淎s the country has become more economically advanced, it鈥檚 not just that it became more expensive to manufacture there, it鈥檚 that the Chinese government started to鈥攕orry for the lack of a technical phrase鈥攑ooh-pooh low-end manufacturing,鈥� Celico said. 鈥淭he government has started to become more selective about the kinds of manufacturing it wants to encourage, as well as the location of manufacturing facilities.”

Celico recalls working with a sporting goods manufacturer there. Government officials told the company they didn鈥檛 want the factory in the middle of Shenzhen anymore because the area was being turned into a high-tech manufacturing zone. 鈥淲e just decided that if we鈥檙e gonna move, we鈥檙e gonna move to Mexico,鈥� Celico said.

This evolution has played out elsewhere. Japan, for instance, became the place to produce cheap goods right after World War II, and was later supplanted by Taiwan. Eventually manufacturing went to places such as Korea. Thirty years ago, South Korea was the world鈥檚 primary supplier of backpacking tents. Now it supplies the high-end fabric and poles for those tents, but the tents themselves are made elsewhere. Today, South Korea has a booming outdoor recreation scene and its participants now buy those tents.

The Case for Staying

Quality and Capacity

Despite qualms about China, many outdoor companies say it鈥檚 not good for business to leave. For starters, the work is usually fast and high quality. Of course, not every company鈥檚 experience in China is the same because not every supply chain is the same, says Lovely, the economics professor. Small companies that don鈥檛 require much sophistication, or don鈥檛 need many subcontractors to make their products, can pick up and move rather quickly in the face of headwinds, she says. Meanwhile, very large multinational companies (Samsung, for example) may be able to shift production to another factory they own elsewhere, if trouble strikes. But a lot of outdoor companies probably fall in between the two, she says. Their products require knowledge to make, perhaps specialized equipment and techniques, a mature supplier system, and contractors and subcontractors. Finding this elsewhere is not easy, she says. That makes China 鈥渟ticky,鈥� as it were.

Big Agnes manufactures throughout Southeast Asia, including in the Philippines for furniture and, more recently, in Vietnam for stuff sacks. But the Colorado-based company has no plans to move production of its well-regarded sleeping bags and tents, the latter of which can command $700 or more, out of China, says founder Bill Gamber. 鈥淭he best sleeping bag manufacturers in the world are in China. Same goes for tents,鈥� Gamber said. In 2019, 95 percent of all down sleeping bags imported to the U.S.鈥攁nd nearly 90 percent of all kinds of sleeping bags鈥攃ame from China, according to statistics from the International Trade Commission.

Relationships

More than a physical factory and skilled workers keep Big Agnes in China, however. 鈥淎 really high-end, ultralight backpacking tent is not as complicated as an electric car,鈥� Gamber acknowledged. 鈥淏ut our supply chain is very specific for building a very specialized tent.鈥� Big Agnes鈥檚 manufacturer leans on an ecosystem of suppliers. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been working with both our factory and fabric supplier for 20 years,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t would take years to rebuild what we鈥檝e done.鈥�

Such talk of 鈥渞elationships鈥� is not mushy sentiment; a relationship can save you money, says Gail Ross, chief operating officer of Krimson Klover, whose apparel company continues to work with the same factory in China that it has for a decade, even as some of the brand鈥檚 manufacturing of sweaters and other clothing has shifted elsewhere. 鈥淚 can say, 鈥楬ey, do you remember that silhouette from five years ago? I want you to haul that out, and do this, this, and this with it,鈥欌�� Ross said. Less back-and-forth with a factory owner translates into less time and money spent air shipping prototypes. And a longstanding relationship means Ross only goes to the factory in person twice a year. 鈥淲ith brand-new factories, we need to go three, maybe four times a year.鈥�

A small company like Krimson Klover also found something else when shopping around for alternative manufacturing options: 鈥淭here are other countries鈥擨ndonesia, Vietnam鈥攖hat are really great at cut-and-sew and printing. But the minimums are much higher,鈥� Ross says. So, for now, the same Chinese factory that gets the 鈥渃arrot鈥� of her fall business is willing to accept the 鈥渟tick鈥� of her tiny spring production.

Culture

And then there are cultural differences that can work in China鈥檚 favor. In China, 鈥渁 normal shift is 12 hours,鈥� said Wolf of Fireside Outdoor. 鈥淭hey work seven days a week. And then they really, really enjoy their holidays.鈥� He added, 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e seeing in Vietnam, and we also saw this in the Philippines, is that they have a different work ethic. In Vietnam we鈥檙e having challenges where an employee won鈥檛 show up for three days. Then he just shows up on the fourth day and says, 鈥楬ere I am.鈥� It鈥檚 hard to do a production line when someone doesn鈥檛 show up at their post.鈥�

In China, workers historically have been more willing to move where the work is, says Neil Burch, who has 35 years of experience manufacturing in Asia and today is president of the North American group of Joinease, which designs, manufactures, and does market research for drinkware for the suppliers to Nike, Gatorade, and Brita. 鈥淏ut in Vietnam, they kind of want to live at [or near] home,鈥� he said, which can cause issues for manufacturers in locating and moving factories. Burch says his company聽has looked at Vietnam, and could establish a factory there eventually. But not yet.

And China is not alone in wrestling with issues of human and workers鈥� rights. Ethical ratings in Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines have been 鈥渟lipping,鈥� according to the consultant QIMA, and factory safety can be poor. (One outdoor company executive says she wasn鈥檛 comfortable leaving China for another country, where working conditions and human rights would be even harder for her to track.)

For his part, Burch鈥檚 company is refocusing on China. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at doubling down and reinvesting,鈥� he said.

Emerging Middle Class

An enormous reason to stay in China is the Chinese market itself. 鈥淐hina is poised to replace the United States as the biggest consumer market in the world,鈥� said Celico, from the Albright Stonebridge Group. 鈥淭hat is a massive change. This is a country of 1.4 billion people. The middle class is basically larger than the population of the U.S.鈥� China has a thriving outdoor gear market. It was worth $60 billion in聽2018, and it鈥檚 expected to be worth $100 billion by 2025, according to a 2019 report by Research in China.

鈥淎nd so, what a lot of companies are doing is sort of splitting the baby, saying, 鈥極K, maybe we have to diversify our global supply chain, but we still have to manufacture inside China, for China,鈥欌�� said Celico.

To Leave or Not to Leave

Every company will use a slightly different calculus to determine if it鈥檚 time to go. And many will find, like Wolf, that even when you decide to get out, truly disengaging from China is harder than it appears. But every company will have to confront the same basic issues, and this unavoidable fact: The worldwide ecosystem of manufacturing and consumer sales is more complicated, and more intertwined, than ever before. China is at the center of that world and no matter what you make or where you make it, managing how the global Goliath impacts your business matters more than ever.

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When Backcountry Hunters & Anglers president Land Tawney reflects on the history of land and wildlife preservation in the U.S., he notes how great things have been accomplished during times of darkness.

In the early 1900s market killers were wiping out big game to put food on tables in New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago, hunters stepped up and help pass legislation making the sale of wildlife illegal as well as putting into place the first game laws.

In the dirty 1930s when the lid was coming off the prairie, the dust bowl, the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act was enacted to tax ammunition and firearms and put that money back into conservation and the North American Wildlife Conference was born along with Ducks Unlimited and the National Wildlife Federation.

In the 1960s when wilderness areas were spoiled by the development boom, the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Clean Air Act were established.

Right now, Tawney says, could be another one of those times.

Following another mass shooting in February, a debate over whether outdoor companies should have any associations with gun companies failed to acknowledge that while hunters buy guns, they also buy hiking boots and hydration packs, Tawney said. A boycott by two major outdoor retailers unintentionally pit hikers against hunters, throwing their alliance in the fight for public lands and their funding of land conservation in jeopardy.

鈥淚 think we should be focusing on our conservation legacy and I think if we do that, there鈥檚 plenty of synergy there,鈥� Tawney said. 鈥淚f we divide our ranks, we all lose.鈥�

The crux of the issue is a lot deeper than guns, and it鈥檚 going to take time to fully understand the impact and repercussions regarding outdoor companies. But how did we get to where we are and where do we go from here?

Who Is Vista Outdoor?

Take a look at the floorplan for the 2018 Shot Show that happened in January, and you鈥檒l see that two of the biggest footprints are Utah-based Vista Outdoor and the National Rifle Association, side by side.

Before it became Vista Outdoor, the company was called Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, in the 1990s. In the following two decades, ATK acquired various ammunition, hunting, and firearms companies, including Blount International, Weaver Optics, Eagle Industries, Blackhawk, Caliber Company, Bushnell Group Holdings, and Savage Arms, a manufacturer of assault-style rifles.

In 2015, in an effort to diversify and 鈥渂ring the world outside,鈥� ATK was renamed Vista Outdoor, and brought in outdoor brands alongside its gun brands. Its first acquisitions were Jimmy Styks SUPs for $40 million and the hydration company CamelBak for $412.5 million.

The next year, Vista Outdoor took several bicycle brands under its wing, including Bell, Giro, Boll茅, Blackburn, and Camp Chef, the outdoor cooking equipment company.

What Went Down?

At the end of February, Vista Outdoor fell under intense scrutiny after the high school shooting on Valentine鈥檚 Day in Parkland, Florida. A 19-year-old former student used a legally-bought Smith & Wesson M&P 15 .223 semi-automatic rifle to kill 17 students and teachers, according to multiple news reports.

Even though the gun was not one of Vista Outdoor鈥檚, the corporation owns the company Savage Arms, which manufacturers its own brand of semi-automatic assault rifles.

And because Vista Outdoor also owns CamelBak, Camp Chef, and other camping and outdoor recreation brands, thousands of members of REI and MEC pressured the retailers鈥攖hrough social media and petitions鈥攖o stop selling the water reservoirs, camp stoves, and other outdoor products, thus taking a stance on gun violence and severing support to the gun industry.

On February 28, MEC suspended future orders with Boll茅, Bushnell, CamelBak, Camp Chef, and Jimmy Styks. REI followed suit the next day, saying it made the decision because Vista Outdoor was not planning 鈥渢o make a public statement that outlines a clear plan of action.鈥�

REI declined to comment about any discussions since the decision. MEC has also remained mum. And in addition to not making a public statement, Vista Outdoor has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

The Running Room, a nationwide running store chain, also suspended future orders from CamelBak.

Some independent stores followed suit, including Boulder Cycle Sports, Sellwood Cycle Repair, Gladys Bikes, and others in Portland, Oregon, and BicycleSPACE in Washington D.C.

OBJ polled readers on where they stand: 4,104 readers said they would not boycott Vista brands, 2,035 said they would, and 366 said they were thinking about it.

What Was the Response?

The public reaction to boycotts has been loud, but not cohesive. When we posted the breaking OBJ story on Facebook, some readers threatened to tear up their REI membership cards over what they considered a 鈥渒nee jerk reaction.鈥� Others said they were proud of the retailer for taking a stance on the gun control debate.

鈥淚t was an ethical decision,鈥� said Nick Allen, who has more than 50 years of experience as both a combat Marine officer and an outdoor industry executive with W.L. Gore and CamelBak. 鈥淭hose retailers made a statement about who they are and who they want to be. Will it make a big difference? Who knows yet.鈥�

Another group of commenters argued that the boycott would only hurt the Vista employees making the products for CamelBak and the others.

鈥淭his wasn鈥檛 an indictment on the products or the employees,鈥� said Justin Hoese, co-owner of Boulder Cycle Sports, a bike shop in Colorado. 鈥淚t was really unfortunate. I had to replace a lot of gear.鈥�

CamelBak, Giro, Bell Racing, and the other brands have tried to distance themselves from Vista鈥檚 gun-slinging operation. CamelBak, founded in 1989, released a statement saying there鈥檚 an incorrect assumption that the purchase of its products supports the shooting sports, and that it 鈥渙perates separately from Vista Outdoor鈥檚 Shooting Sports segment.鈥�

Boulder Cycle鈥檚 Hoese says he hopes Vista Outdoor feels mounting pressure to put the outdoor brands up for sale to release them from the shadow of gun violence. He said, 鈥淲e know they鈥檙e not going to get out of the gun business because it鈥檚 a billion-dollar business and cycling is a fraction of that.鈥�

Dan Hughes, owner of Sunflower Outdoor and Bike in Lawrence, Kansas, says his store carries only a small assortment of CamelBak products, and a Giro helmet or two. He says he didn鈥檛 feel like dropping them would create a big enough dent, especially in a state where gun support is plentiful. Hughes was waiting for the bigger stores to weigh in.

鈥淣ow that they have, it’s vexing to me that even REI’s massive purchasing power has done little to nothing to sway Vista,鈥� Hughes said. 鈥淚t kind of underscores my feeling that boycotting those brands is only going to hurt the reps that work for Camelbak and the outdoor brands themselves. I don’t think Vista gives a hoot.鈥�

So, What鈥檚 Next?

Vista Outdoor isn鈥檛 the only corporation with gun-related companies alongside outdoor brands in its portfolio.

So far, there has been no boycott of Black Diamond and avalanche safety equipment brand Pieps, whose parent company,聽Clarus Corporation, also owns Sierra Bullets, maker of handgun (and rifle) ammunition.

Even though Black Diamond has not faced the same pressures as brands under Vista Outdoor, the company is monitoring discussions, said spokesman John DiCuollo, with Backbone Media.

“Clarus Corp operates all its brands in completely separate and discrete manners,” DiCuollo said. “Each brand鈥檚 teams are compiled of experts in their respective fields that are aligned to serve specific markets. For BD, that鈥檚 climbing and backcountry skiing.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation data shows that thousands more people are killed every year with handguns than rifles, shotguns, and other firearms most commonly used by hunters.

鈥淥n the broader scale that is true,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淏ut one of the the clear distinctions is that a pistol is a defensive weapon. A rifle is an offensive weapon.鈥�

While that distinction may be splitting hairs, one thing is certain: this isn鈥檛鈥攁nd never was鈥攁bout hunting.

But the boycott has raised important ethical and moral questions within the outdoor industry.

鈥淚 understand the frustration that people feel about nothing being done, so doing something, like boycotting a brand under the same parent company umbrella is better than doing nothing at all,鈥� Hughes said. 鈥淏ut as a retailer, I also have a strong pragmatic streak鈥攐ne that tells me that more effective measures can be taken against gun violence at the ballot box. That’s where I’ll be seeking to affect change, even in a state as red as Kansas.鈥�

Rather than be divided by a stance on the availability of guns, Tawney said there鈥檚 an opportunity for the outdoor and hunting industries to unite around multiple initiatives:

• The Land and Water Conservation Fund that sunsets this September

• The 鈥淏ackpack tax鈥� that would essentially tax some outdoor goods for the sake of public lands, which the Outdoor Industry Association opposes

• The Restoring American鈥檚 Wildlife Act that would annually redirect $1.3 billion of existing revenue to state-led wildlife conservation efforts.

鈥淗unters and hikers are in this together,鈥� Tawney said.

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