Lise Aangeenbrug is stepping down as executive director of the to become the 鈥檚 chief program officer, Aangeenbrug told OBJ today. She will leave OIA August 19 and begin with the National Park Foundation September 12.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 looking to leave OIA, but the more I learned about the position [at the National Park Foundation] and what they needed to have done, I came to the conclusion that it was a really great fit between my passion and skill sets and what they needed,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 still very passionate about what鈥檚 possible with the outdoor industry, but I鈥檓 really drawn to driving immediate results on the ground for national parks.鈥�

Aangeenbrug has helmed OIA since February 2020, and previously served as executive vice president of the National Park Foundation from 2016 to 2018.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 bittersweet for me,鈥� she said of leaving OIA. 鈥淚 love the outdoor industry, and OIA plays a really important role, this is just a chance for me to do something very direct in protecting our parks.鈥�

What She鈥檒l Be Doing

The National Park Foundation is the congressionally chartered charitable arm of the National Park Service and works with more than 200 affiliated groups across the country that raise funds for specific parks. As the National Park Foundation鈥檚 chief program officer, Aangeenbrug expects to be charged with figuring out how to balance the needs of the National Park Service, visitors鈥� needs, and projects that donors want to fund.

鈥淚t鈥檒l be combining all of those things and figuring out how to deliver in a timely and effective and strategic manner,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 everything from fixing the roof on the Lincoln Memorial to telling more complete stories at our parks. Half of the park system is focused on culture and history.鈥�

The National Park Foundation addresses history and culture, landscape and wildlife conservation, resilience and sustainability, climate change impact, youth engagement, and the Parks of the Future initiative鈥攁ll issues with which Aangeenbrug has deep experience. 鈥淭his position really brought together all of the things I鈥檝e been working on throughout my career that I really care about,鈥� she said.

Leaving OIA in a Good Place

As for the timing of her departure, Aangeenburg feels the moment is right. 鈥淚鈥檓 leaving [OIA] in good hands,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have a strong board. The business model change has been in place for a year and is working. We鈥檝e really strengthened our advocacy work. Things are just in a stronger position than two and a half years ago at OIA, especially coming out of COVID. I don鈥檛 think I would have left a year ago if this position had been presented to me, but now鈥檚 a good time. I feel like I鈥檓 leaving it in good shape and my [departure] won鈥檛 be leaving it in a lurch.鈥�

Aangeenburg cites the reorganization of membership dues at OIA as a major accomplishment that has benefited the trade organization.听

鈥淭here may need to be refinements, but generally having the members pay higher fees for things they deeply value, such as our advocacy work, or , or the enhanced research, has been successful,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur revenue is tied to delivering products to our members that they badly want from their trade organization, instead of it just being pass-through revenue from Outdoor Retailer. There鈥檚 a deeper connection now between members and OIA.鈥�

When asked about the future of Outdoor Retailer and its moving back to Salt Lake City, Aangeenbrug said she鈥檚 taking a wait-and-see approach. 鈥淲ith as many members as we have, everyone has different wants and needs. But we do know that for our small- and medium-sized members, trade shows are still incredibly important.鈥�

Of all her accomplishments at OIA, though, Aangeenbrug said steering the organization through the pandemic was the most important, in her view.

鈥淕etting OIA through COVID and dealing with those unique challenges [was critical],鈥� she said. 鈥淭he organization was able to pivot and help our members figure out how to get PPE loans. We then quickly researched how the industry was changing鈥uring the pandemic鈥攈ow participation was changing.鈥�

The Future of the Trade Association

Aangeenbrug said she will not be involved in the selection of her successor at OIA, but that she hopes OIA will continue to increase its work toward advocacy for the outdoors while supporting outdoor-industry businesses.

鈥淥IA understands that, as outdoor businesses grow, they reach a point where they can become more active in advocacy,鈥� she said. 鈥淏usiness success and outdoor stewardship go hand in hand, and I hope to see that continue. As the conservationist David Brower said, 鈥楾here is no business to be done on a dead planet.鈥欌��

As for her time in between positions, Aangeenbrug is going to spend some time bikepacking and hiking in the upper peninsula of Michigan.

鈥淚 need to get outside and practice what I preach,鈥� she said.

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Executive Director will step down from her position on Friday, August 19. While declining to comment in detail, Aangeenbrug told OBJ that a 鈥渃ompelling opportunity鈥� at the National Park Foundation was the motive behind her decision, which she says she鈥檒l explain next week. She announced the news to the industry in a posted to OIA’s website.

Aangeenbrug鈥檚 appointment as OIA鈥檚 executive director was announced on February 6, 2020, following a six-month search that involved more than 400 applicants. Prior to leading the trade association鈥攚hich was founded in 1989 and represents more than 1,300 outdoor retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers worldwide鈥擜angeenbrug served as the executive director of the , OIA鈥檚 charitable organization, whose goals include getting underserved children and families into the outdoors. She was also the executive vice president of the from 2016 to 2018, executive director of from 2009 to 2016, and director of programs for the Colorado Conservations Trust from 2001 to 2007.

鈥淥IA has a unique role around bringing together voices and ideas to support thriving outdoor businesses, to empower and build thriving outdoor communities, and to ensure a thriving planet,鈥� Aangeenbrug said in 2020 after accepting the ED position. 鈥淭his is a dream job, and I am excited to collaborate with the outdoor industry and other organizations to build a big tent that leads to powerful action.鈥�

Aangeenbrug began her career as a field biologist in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in southwestern Kenya, a job that eventually propelled her to positions with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the California Department of Fish and Game. She earned her master鈥檚 degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and her bachelor鈥檚 degree from St. Lawrence University.听

Aangeenbrug’s Work at OIA

During her tenure as OIA鈥檚 leader, Aangeenbrug helped the outdoor industry lobby at the federal level, visiting the White House and meeting with President Biden in 2021 alongside other labor leaders and union representatives. She worked in support of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (), legislation that eventually helped reinstate FICOR, a government group that tracks the economic impact of the outdoor industry in the U.S.

Under Aangeenbrug鈥檚 direction, OIA also lobbied to reinstate protections for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts national monuments鈥攆ederal lands exposed to commercial development under the Trump administration. She led OIA through the most challenging phase of the pandemic, when the group’s main revenue generator, Outdoor Retailer, was replaced by virtual stand-in events in 2020. And she helped OIA adjust its membership-fee structure, arguing that the old model was outdated and unsuited to a twenty-first century outdoor industry.听

鈥淭he way our funding model worked in the past was fairly imbalanced,鈥� she said in a December 2020 interview with OBJ. 鈥淚f you came to Outdoor Retailer, you paid a lot each year to support what we do at OIA. If you didn鈥檛 come to OR, you paid much less. That created an unnecessary division in the membership, I think, and made the revenue stream very uneven and susceptible to major disruptions.鈥澨�

OIA did not respond to a request for comment about a successor to Aangeenbrug, or how long it may take to replace her.

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A new U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) report about the outdoor industry’s performance in 2020, released today, shows a decrease in the sector’s economic value compared with previous years鈥攖he first downslide since the BEA started tracking outdoor recreation in 2012.

The report, “Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account, U.S. and States, 2020,” measured the value of the outdoor economy at state and national levels. The report highlighted a 19 percent decrease in outdoor-related GDP-add from 2019 to 2020, despite significant gains in a few key recreational activities including RVing and boating. Overall, the report stated, the outdoor economy accounted for 1.8 percent ($374.3 billion) of current-dollar GDP for the U.S. in 2020. That’s down from 2.1 percent ($459.8 billion) in 2019.

Outdoor recreation was one of the sectors hit hardest during the pandemic from a business standpoint, a point reflected in the report’s comparison of the outdoor industry and the overall U.S. economy throughout 2020. While the inflation-adjusted GDP for the outdoor economy decreased 19 percent from 2019 to 2020, the overall U.S. economy dipped just 3.4 percent.听

Compensation (wages) also decreased 12.5 percent in the outdoor industry, and employment sank 17.1 percent. These two figures are likely due to closures and suspensions of recreational activities through the early days of the pandemic.

Despite the slide, leaders were quick to stress encouraging trends on a Tuesday morning press call discussing the report.

“When we look at what happened during COVID-19 in terms of participation, the numbers are way up,” said Outdoor Industry Association executive director Lise Aangeenbrug. “[2020] was the single largest increase in 15 years.鈥澨�

The report noted that boating and fishing were the most popular outdoor activities in 39 states, representing the biggest single activity increase in participation from 2019. OIA鈥檚 latest Participation Trends Report supported these findings, noting a remarkable increase in overall participation in the outdoor industry from 2019 to 2020.

“7.1 million more Americans got outside in 2020, with some of the largest increases in hiking, fishing, and camping. Participants were also more diverse and more urban,鈥� Aangeenbrug added.

While leaders seem optimistic about the future of the industry from both an engagement and economics standpoint, OIA’s latest participation report doesn’t paint as certain a picture. The trade association’s latest numbers indicate one-quarter of new participants may not continue their new outdoor activities once pre-pandemic travel opportunities return.

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Lise Aangeenbrug, the executive director of Outdoor Industry Association, met with President Biden, vice president Harris, and eight other business and labor leaders at the White House yesterday. The meeting took place as the Senate continues to push for opening debate on a $579 billion infrastructure bill introduced by the president this spring.

In addition to Aangeenbrug, present at the meeting were leaders from eight other trade groups and labor unions, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Laborers鈥� International Union of North America, the American Clean Power Association, Business Roundtable, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, North America鈥檚 Building Trades Unions, and the National Association of Manufacturers.

“It鈥檚 the first time the outdoor industry had a seat at the table like this,” Aangeenbrug told 国产吃瓜黑料 Business Journal. “It was very humbling, because there have been so many people who have worked hard over the years to position our industry to be at the forefront on policy.”

Aangeenbrug said three factors led to this monumental moment for OIA and the industry at large: years of hard work from outdoor advocacy groups; the outdoor economy’s recent surge; and a concerted effort within OIA over the past six months to raise the group’s profile with Congress and the Biden Administration.

“During the meeting, I thanked the president and vice president for having the outdoor industry at the table for the first time,”Aangeenbrug said. “I emphasized that the outdoor industry contributes $778 billion to the economy, and that for us to continue doing that, it鈥檚 important that we encourage thriving people, thriving businesses, and a thriving planet.”

In turn, Aangeenbrug said, the administration stressed that the new infrastructure bill up for debate doesn’t represent a choice between jobs and the environment; rather, it’s a plan that aims to support both.

As reported by Bloomberg, President Biden said the leaders present at the meeting 鈥渟hare my belief that it鈥檚 both in the interest of business and labor to get this [infrastructure bill] done. And it鈥檚 not about energy and that lot versus environment, business versus labor. It鈥檚 all about basically a race to the future.鈥�

“I think that’s where we, as an industry, and the administration are very aligned on that point,” said Aangeenbrug, referencing Biden’s position on the bill. “Our mission fits very nicely with where they want to move the economy. I think there are going to be more of these meetings to come. It’s a very exciting time for the outdoor industry.”

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In 2019, Outdoor Foundation (OF), the philanthropic arm of Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), announced a new initiative called Thrive 国产吃瓜黑料. The executive director of OF at the time, Lise Aangeenbrug (who has since shifted over to lead OIA), explained the 鈥渨hy鈥� of the program as such: 鈥淲e didn’t become an indoor species overnight, and the decline of outdoor activity in the United States is a problem that requires collaboration, funding, and scale.”

OF鈥檚 solution to that decline was to fund four programs across the U.S.鈥攊n Atlanta, Georgia; Grand Rapids, Michigan; San Diego, California; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma鈥�all aimed at getting more young people outside more often. In other words, to instill the outdoor habit into communities that face barriers to access.听

Since then, Thrive 国产吃瓜黑料 has facilitated outdoor connections with 16,000 kids from diverse communities through activities like hiking, paddling, climbing, and fishing. And while the pandemic presented the obvious challenges, Thrive 国产吃瓜黑料 adapted and is poised for growth.听

According to Stephanie Maez, OF鈥檚 managing director since October 2020, “the Thrive 国产吃瓜黑料 initiative is working to create a more inclusive and accessible outdoor experience for all.”听听

This week, OF announced the expansion of the Thrive 国产吃瓜黑料 program and its second cohort in the following areas: St.Louis, Missouri; the Twin Cities region, Minnesota; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the state of Maine.听听

鈥淲e are thrilled to expand our grants and programming into four additional communities this year and inspire kids and families to experience the powerful transformative benefits of connecting with nature on a regular basis, particularly among youth in diverse communities,鈥� said Maez.

The four new communities were chosen by the Outdoor Foundation board of directors, based on written applications, virtual site visits, in-person interviews, and third-party consultant research. Each Thrive 国产吃瓜黑料 grant requires the recipient community to provide a 1-to-1 funding match in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the network. One backbone organization in each community will manage the grant and facilitate the work of the network partners. In total, this cohort will receive more than $1.6 million in grant money.

And Outdoor Foundation has no intention of stopping there. Its next goal: to expand the program to include 32 cities over the next ten years.

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If you want to get to know Lise Aangeenbrug, OIA’s executive director who stepped up to lead the organization this March, there’s no better place to meet her than on the trail.听A passionate outdoor adventurer with a professional background that has included stints at the National Park Foundation, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the Department of the Interior, Aangeenbrug is never more at home than when she’s putting in some miles in the mountains.

OIA has faced hardship this year like everyone else, but under听Aangeenbrug’s leadership, the organization has managed to keep its head above water while rethinking its funding model and continuing the important work it does for its wide membership across our industry.

This week, the OBJ editors went on a hike with Aangeenbrug in the hills outside Golden, Colorado, to reflect on OIA’s year. Among other things, Aangeenbrug chatted about how OIA is working to open new revenue streams, how the group deepened its relationship with its members this year, and what the future of the industry will look like once the pandemic is in the rearview mirror.

Below is an edited transcript of the conversation.

This has been a tough year for OIA, which used to rely heavily on Outdoor Retailer revenue for much of its funding. After the OR cancellations this year, is OIA rethinking its funding model?

To put it simply, yes. We essentially pivoted this year to a brand new model. Two of our big areas of focus in 2020 have been growing our membership and听helping members better understand the value of what we do. The way our funding model worked in the past was fairly imbalanced. If you came to Outdoor Retailer, you paid a lot each year to support what we do at OIA. If you didn’t come to OR, you paid much less. That created an unnecessary division in the membership, I think, and made the revenue stream very uneven and susceptible to major disruptions. We’re trying to even that out by restructuring our membership payments. We’re asking members to pay more than they have in the past, while at the same time trying to understand their needs better so that they’re getting more value for their money, so to speak.

How are you framing that request to member companies?

It all started with a big push to talk to our members and learn from them. This summer, we started calling all of our members and asking what was most important to them about OIA鈥攚hat they need most from us.听During those calls, we also pitched people on the value of the organization. We tried to explain what OIA can do for members that no one else can.

The results of that effort were clear. Research, policy, and in-person engagement were the themes that everyone identified as OIA’s most important value-adds to the industry. Those are the common values among most of our member companies. What that means is, if we’re going to ask people to pay more for their membership, we need to make absolutely sure we’re delivering in those areas.

To deliver on the research component, we need to continue providing data that helps sales or business needs, like the participation report we do every year. We also need to focus heavily on research that helps the planet, like the work we do through the Climate Action Corps.

For the second piece, policy, it tends to center around trade. Our trade-focused advocacy and education work over the last four years have been very important to members. We heard that over and over again. The trade environment is going to be a lot more stable with this new administration coming in, but member companies are still going to need guidance, so we need to make sure we continue those efforts.

Finally, in-person gathering right now tends to center around those first two themes鈥攔esearch and policy鈥攁s we’re not sure when the next in-person Outdoor Retailer will happen. Because there’s no trade show this year, the convening has taken place through the Climate Action Corps and our various policy efforts focused on trade.

So, to answer your question, we started by doing all of this work, listening to the members, and talking honestly with them. Only after we heard from them did we come back and say, “Here’s what we can do as a trade organization. We can deliver X, Y, and Z. Do you value those things? And would you pay a slightly higher price for them?”

One thing that’s important to note: We held small retailers harmless. For them, there was no increase at all. Our feeling was, they’re all struggling, and for some of them even a $50 increase would be a lot. But for brands and other members, we asked if they would be willing to pay more.

Has that effort been successful?

So far! We’ve raised more than $3 million since August, which covers听about 80 percent of our budget for next year. We’re trying hard to close the gap by January 1. Reaching our goal will mean we’re no longer dependent on the trade show for the bulk of our revenue and will be primarily supported by our members.听We’re still exploring some other revenue sources, but at this point, membership fees will cover most of our base budget for 2021. So it appears the model works. We were successful in communicating our value to the industry, and in return, they’re making sure we can continue to work for them.

You mentioned the Climate Action Corps and its value to the industry. How is the CAC different from SIA’s new, similar climate initiative, ClimateUnited?

We’ve been talking to [SIA president] Nick Sargent for the last year about it, so it’s not like it came out of the blue for us.听In short, it’s a good thing. I think Nick ultimately came to the conclusion that, while the Climate Action Corps is great for the outdoor industry, the snowsports industry has unique needs of its own. I think he was mainly concerned that there could be a cost to SIA members if they wanted to join the Climate Action Corps, and he wanted to offer something to his members for free.

Ultimately what I would say about it is: It’s great. I’m glad SIA is pursuing this. The more people we have trying to curb greenhouse gases, the better.

Do you think the two initiatives can coexist constructively?

Absolutely. Our program functions a lot like a consultancy. We work with a lot of experts in the field and we do a good deal of one-on-one assistance for members. I can’t speak to whether or not SIA is doing that, but even if they are, the model is not competitive. We’ve been up and running with the Climate Action Corps for over a year, and we know there’s a deep need for this work. People appreciate the assistance, the networking, and all the programming we offer. It’s not as if there’s limited demand for this kind of work.

Where do you see the industry heading in the next few years?

I think this crisis has been the beginning of a meaningful shift, honestly. We have more than 300 million people in America, and studies indicate that nearly 50 percent of them currently don’t get outside at all. There’s still a huge upside in this industry and a lot of room to grow. During the pandemic, we’ve started to see that change. One of the things we know about changing people’s behavior is that you have to repeat and reinforce experiences to build habits. COVID has lasted long enough that people are being forced to repeat their experiences in the outdoors to the point at which habits are being built. People who otherwise would have stayed inside are getting out. Over the course of a year, people have been driven outside again and again. That is going to have powerful long-term effects.

We still have a long way to go to make sure we can accommodate all those people, of course. If you look at some of the studies that have come out this year, you see that we have 28 million kids in the U.S. who don’t live within a ten-minute walk of park. The questions on my mind right now are: How can we build more places to play, how do we protect the ones we have, and how do we make those places more equitable for everyone?

But we’re getting there. It’s important to remember that the last major element in forming a habit is joy. At this point, we know people have experienced joy in the outdoors this year鈥攊t has truly been our great escape. That’s why I feel really optimistic these days. This crisis has been difficult, but it may be the start of a whole new chapter for the outdoor industry.

A Few Final Questions, Just for Fun

At the end of the hike,听Aangeenbrug听wrapped things up by rattling off answers to a lightening round of fun, personal questions. Here’s what she says about her preferred camping meal, favorite Fourteener, and more.

Piece of holiday gear at the top of your holiday list?

Nemo Stargazer Recliner Luxury Chair

Favorite camping meal?

Pasta with smoked salmon

Favorite place to ski in Colorado?

For cross-country, Devil’s Thumb. For downhill, Crested Butte.

Favorite national park?

Point Reyes

Down, wool, or synthetic?

Wool

Last piece of gear you bought?

Kahtoola EXOspikes

What kind of car do you drive?

Subaru

Favorite Fourteener?
Kit Carson Peak

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Let’s get this out of the way first: The election of Joe Biden as the nation’s 46th president is, without question, a positive development for the outdoor industry. If enacted, the likely policies of a Biden presidency鈥攊ncluding forward-thinking climate action, greater public lands protections, and fewer trade penalties on Chinese goods鈥攚ill almost certainly help business across the outdoor space. A boom is coming. Or at least that’s what many in our field are hoping.

But just how much will things change, and how quickly? The nuances of the election outcome鈥攊ncluding the ongoing battle for Senate control, rejiggered House representation, and changes to state legislatures鈥攎ake the picture far more complicated than a simple open-and-shut victory for outdoor professionals. It will take time to understand the full implications of what happened on November 3; for the moment, at least, we must rely on educated guesswork and projection.

To that end, the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) hosted a call this week to unpack the outcome of the election in granular detail, offering predictions and advice for navigating business in the industry after Biden is sworn in on January 20.

On the call were Lise Aangeenbrug, executive director of OIA;听Rich Harper, director of government affairs for OIA; and two partners at the D.C. lobbying firm听Forbes Tate Partners,听George Cooper and听Doug Usher.

In case you missed it, here’s听a recap of what was said.

What the Election Tells Us About the Future of Washington

The first part of OIA’s call was dedicated to dissecting what the reshuffling of the national political map means for Washington in the next four years and beyond. Like all policy, outdoor policy is at its foundation dictated by this political calculus, so it helps to have an understanding of where the country is headed to navigate business concerns in the industry.

First, the state math. When all the states are called in the presidential race, it’s likely that Biden and Trump will both win 25, even though Biden’s electoral lead has already tipped him into victory. That’s significant, Cooper and Usher both said, because it indicates how policy decisions will play out on a state level over at least the next two years.

“This will be one of only two times since 1880 that a candidate wins the presidency without winning a majority of states,”听said Usher. “Democrats are building strength nationally, but they’re not building the number of states they control. This is important for OIA because even federal legislation starts at the state level, meaning it gets voted on by people who are elected at the state level.”

The Senate will also play a crucial role in blocking or supporting policies critical to the outdoor industry, and here we have some new faces in Washington to consider, most notably Colorado’s newly elected senator, John Hickenlooper.

“We’re going to have two new senators arriving from the states of Arizona and Colorado on the Democratic side, two relatively moderate Westerners arriving in the Senate,” said Cooper.听“That’s noteworthy for us as an industry. I don’t think we can find anyone better than Hickenlooper in terms of understanding our industry.”

Another bright spot: While consensus on any issue in congress is far from certain these days, the outdoors are something of a soft spot between the two parties, as evidenced by the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act this year.

“The likelihood that a member of Congress is going to cross party lines and vote with the other party is a rarity these days,”听said Cooper.听“It’s worth noting, though, that we stand out as an industry when we think about the things we advocate for鈥攆unding for public lands, getting more people outdoors. That’s one of the few spots where you’ll get people still crossing over.”

And even if congressional Democrats and Republicans remain gridlocked for the first two years of Biden’s presidency, there’s always the possibility that the Senate map will change again in 2022鈥攕omething Cooper and Usher say they’re already watching closely.

“Republicans will have to defend almost twice as many seats as Democrats in 2022,” Cooper said. “Democrats will only have a couple of senators you could think of as being potentially vulnerable in Nevada and New Hampshire. Republicans have a bunch of tough races in Florida, Ohio, Alaska, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. As we think about positioning some of the bills we care most about, we’ll be paying close attention to who’s up and who’s vulnerable.”

As for unified control of the House, Cooper was less bullish. Democrats will lose ten to 15 seats when all the votes are counted, which may cause problems for Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s advancement of initiatives that tend to divide progressive and moderate members of her caucus, like climate action.

“The practical implications [of the House outcome] are really important,” Cooper said. “There is even less buffer than Pelosi had before in terms of bringing things to the floor and being sure she can hold her entire caucus together. She’s going to be refereeing some really nasty ongoing fights between the progressive arm of her caucus and the more conservative Blue Dogs and New Dems.”

Usher was quick to note that, of the last four presidents to start their terms with control of the House, three of them lost control in their first midterm.

“As much as things look OK, it is tough to hold onto the House and that’s especially true if you’ve got a slim lead,” Usher said.

Starting on day one of Biden’s presidency, the passage of听outdoor industry-friendly legislation will take on immense urgency for OIA and other advocacy groups due to that fact alone.

What Will a Divided Government Mean for the Industry?

Assuming one or both of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs (which will decide control of the chamber) go to Republicans, we as an industry will be operating under a divided government for the next two to four years. What are the implications of that reality?

Cooper said that, while Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans made it their explicit mission to undermine Obama when he took the White House in 2008, the same may not be true this time around. McConnell and Biden’s relationship in the Senate goes back decades, and Biden will work hard at striking deals鈥攁lbeit small ones鈥攚ith Republicans.

“Biden will be totally different,” said Cooper. “If anything, he will wear Republicans out with his invitations to talk, have a beer, play golf, whatever it is, and he’s going to look for ways to find some deals.”

Though Cooper said climate change will stay at the “top of this administration’s list of priorities,” Democrats will probably have to find ways to get their agenda enacted in a piecemeal fashion. A large climate package is exceedingly unlikely with Republicans in control of one of the two chambers of Congress.

Democrats will probably have to “look in places like an infrastructure package” to get climate policy passed, Cooper said. “A lot of this will also be influenced by who’s up in the Senate in two years.”

Biden and International Trade

The second half of OIA’s call focused on international trade and what outdoor companies can expect from the Biden administration on that front.

“What outdoor companies are looking for is a stable, predictable trade environment,” said Rich Harper, OIA’s听director of government affairs. “With a president like Biden, I think we’ll certainly see a new tone, more emphasis on negotiation, and a multilateral approach to trade issues.”

Harper did note, however, that the initial focus of the Biden administration will be on domestic priorities: responding to the pandemic, jumpstarting the economy, and developing climate proposals.

“One of our key trade priorities has been the China 301 tariffs, and there I think we’ll see Biden pursue a more multilateral approach with the Chinese, brining in our partners from the E.U. to press the Chinese to make substantive changes to protect U.S. intellectual property,” Harper said. “But we anticipate that the punitive tariffs that have been placed on a wide variety of outdoor products from List 3 and List 4A will remain for the foreseeable future. President Biden will still need to get something from the Chinese in return for lifting those.”

Looking at the possibility of new trade agreements, deals will likely be delayed until domestic issues are resolved, Harper said. OIA believes, however, that if and when new trade deals are negotiated, climate and labor provisions are likely to play a big role in the negotiations.

As for exceptions to punitive tariffs like the听Generalized System of Preferences and听Miscellaneous Tariff Bills packages, Harper was optimistic that they would continue to benefit outdoor companies, and even hoped they might expand in the near term.

“I do think we’ll have a partner in the Biden administration on the Generalized System of Preferences, the main trade preference program for developing countries,” said Harper. “This has been key for outdoor companies sourcing backpacks and sports bags and other travel goods from GSP countries. Outdoor companies saved about $300 million in duties on those products in 2019, and that program is up for renewal at the end of the year.听As for the Miscellaneous Tariff Bills and other temporary duty suspensions,听I think we’ll continue to have a partner in the Biden administration there too, introducing new rounds of MTBs moving forward.”

Harper then laid out OIA’s goals with respect to trade and the incoming administration. Building on the success of OIA’s initiative to add travel goods to the GSP program, the group is now pushing to add certain outdoor footwear products to the program as well.

“I think we have an opportunity to work with the Biden administration on establishing new tariff exclusion processes or reopening certain exclusion processes,” said Harper. “We’re going to push to extend existing exclusions that are expiring at the end of the year and to renew them for more than just a year鈥攚e’re going to push for up to three years to give some outdoor companies time to shift their supply chains to other countries.”

Finally, OIA gave an overview of some congressional representatives poised to become champions for trade in the outdoor industry, including Ron Wyden of Oregon, ranking member of the Finance Committee, and Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the chairman of Ways and Means.

The Way Forward

Overall, the tone of the call was cautiously optimistic. To keep the industry’s goals moving forward鈥攅specially on more divisive issues like climate鈥攅veryone agreed that concessions will need to be made to congressional Republicans. Successes on trade and climate, by no means out of reach, will arrive slowly.

“We need to have an active policy agenda across the board, from trade to climate to recreation and public lands,” Cooper said. “The more we’re framing [our agenda] to Republicans in terms of how this is beneficial to jobs and the economy, the more helpful it’s going to be.”

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How do I apply for a paycheck protection loan? What if I have to furlough employees? How do I pivot my manufacturing to make PPEs? What听if I have to close my business? These are the types of questions the Outdoor Industry Association fielded when its 1,300 member businesses began calculating the economic impacts of the months-long coronavirus quarantine. OIA immediately changed course and established a COVID-19 resource hub, and redirected everyone on staff to work on coronavirus response.

It would have been a challenging pivot in the best of times, but the pandemic came at a crux moment for OIA. The crisis threatens the 31-year-old organization鈥檚 funding model鈥攚hich was already under pressure鈥攁nd OIA鈥檚 new executive director, Lise Aangeenbrug, took office听just a week before stay-at-home orders started shuttering outdoor businesses around the country.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no roadmap for this,鈥� Aangeenbrug said. 鈥淥ur singular goal right now is to help our members survive.鈥�

But by prioritizing its members, OIA is putting off a question of its own, one that it must answer from within: How will OIA survive this? Is OIA itself healthy and strong enough to be the beacon of leadership that the industry needs right now, and in the future?

OIA鈥檚 Complex Relationship with Outdoor Retailer

Even before the crisis, OIA faced a potentially unreliable long-term funding model, with most of its eggs in the basket of Outdoor Retailer. OIA鈥檚 $8.9 million annual revenue comes, in large part, from Outdoor Retailer royalties (58 percent). The remaining revenue comes from Outdoor Foundation donations (18 percent), membership dues (16 percent), and other sponsorships (8 percent).

In many ways, it鈥檚 a smart model because OIA doesn鈥檛 have to constantly ask its members for more money, says Phyllis Grove, OIA board member and VP of marketing and ecommerce at Hydro Flask. (Annual membership fees range from $250 to $30,000 depending on the size and type of the organization.)

However, it also puts OIA at risk. Even with healthy reserves, Aangeenbrug says, OIA needs the national trade show, otherwise it would be in trouble. Now OIA is in that troubling situation. In response to the pandemic, Outdoor Retailer canceled the 2020 Summer Market. A few weeks later, VF Corporation chipped in 15 percent ($55,000) of its Summer Market refund to OIA, recognizing that the cancellation creates 鈥渁 critical funding gap in OIA鈥檚 traditional revenue stream,鈥� Smartwool (part of VF) Brand President Jen McLaren said in a news release. A few other brands鈥擯atagonia, W.L. Gore, Hydro Flask, and NEMO among them鈥攆ollowed suit. And on June 1, OIA made听the tough ask to the broader industry. Nora Stowell, board chair, in a letter urged members to make a donation that replaces the royalty fee brands would have paid through exhibiting costs. 鈥淭he health of OIA is tied to the health of the industry,鈥� she wrote.

鈥淲hen they canceled this year鈥檚 show, I thought, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know how OIA is going to survive,鈥欌�� said Carolyn Brodsky, co-founder of Sterling Rope Company. She has been among those in the industry to question Outdoor Retailer鈥檚 relevance and cost structure, as well as protest OIA鈥檚 dependency on the trade show, but she believes the association has an important leadership role to play.

Peter Sachs is of a similar mindset. As the general manager of LOWA and a member of OIA, he relies on the trade show for business. But, 鈥淭o me, [OIA] sold their soul when they agreed to endorse Outdoor Retailer exclusively,鈥� Sachs said. 鈥淚 wish they had owned it and then gotten an organization like Emerald Expositions to run it for them. OIA鈥檚 future is controlled by a corporation that鈥檚 not in the outdoor, ski, or bike industry. They鈥檙e in the trade show industry.鈥�

Wrestling with Revenue

Revenue diversification has been on OIA鈥檚 slate for the entire 11 years Travis Campbell, VF president of emerging brands and Americas platforms, has served on the board. Because the partnership with Emerald Expositions, Outdoor Retailer鈥檚 owner, remains strong, he says, nothing signaled to the board that they needed to make a sudden, drastic change. Change has always been incremental. For example, new programs like the Skip Yowell Future Leadership Academy and the Futurist Project brought in $100,000 in (combined) sponsorship funds.

In January, OIA gathered a task force to discuss funding alternatives鈥攑art of its ongoing efforts to tackle the problem. By March, when it became clear that its members were focused on trying to meet their own basic financial needs, OIA听decided to table the discussion about its own funding model. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to talk to people about money when they鈥檙e hurting,鈥� Aangeenbrug said.

Another new, revenue-producing program, the Outdoor Industry Business Certificate, was due to launch in early 2020. OIA now expects it to go live later in 2020, with university partners like Utah State University and Western Colorado University. Still, the annual revenue it would generate is small potatoes compared to the more than $5 million from Outdoor Retailer.

鈥淚t鈥檚 time to have a more transparent conversation with our members about funding,鈥� Hydro Flask鈥檚 Grove said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very clear that with the cancellation of the summer show, we have to accelerate the way that we request more money from members.鈥�

Shifting to a direct dues model鈥攁 much higher cost for members鈥攊s the only real solution for relieving OIA entirely of its dependency on Outdoor Retailer, says Campbell. But to do that, he said OIA has to be clear on its value proposition: 鈥淵ou have to deliver a lot of value if you鈥檙e going to ask for more money and that鈥檚 the part we continue to wrestle with.鈥�

Shelley Dunbar, co-owner of Neptune Mountaineering and former co-owner of Sea to Summit, says she would much听rather pay a higher OIA membership rate and see OIA put on its own smaller show than pay gobs of money to the for-profit trade show that鈥檚 often unattainable for the smaller brands who make the industry competitive. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the single biggest expense in our marketing budget,鈥� she said.

As Campbell sees it, though, it鈥檚 not an either/or conversation. He believes that while trade shows overall are struggling, OIA鈥檚 cut from Outdoor Retailer will never drop to zero because he has faith in OR. 鈥淲ho knows, they may not even be called trade shows in the future,鈥� Campbell said. 鈥淏ut OR will figure out an economic model that works for them that supports this industry.鈥�

Time to Shine

During crisis, a trade association has the opportunity to be an invaluable resource. OIA was quick to establish a COVID-19 hub, which Grove found invaluable.

Dunbar, however, wishes OIA used this time to refocus on the trade membership. Yes, fighting for public lands is important, she says, but there are other groups that can and should take the lead, like The Conservation Alliance and The Access Fund. Retailers are a subset of the industry that has been underserved, Brodsky and Dunbar say. 鈥淚t would be beneficial for me if OIA enabled retail members to share information like best practices, best software, and point of sale systems, or if they brought back the Retail Benchmarking Report,鈥� Dunbar said.

There鈥檚 also work to do on the diversity front, both internally and externally. OIA knows it has a responsibility to better integrate more BIPOC voices and make JEDI progress across all programs. And to help members do the same, OIA says it will host facilitated sessions this summer with people from diverse backgrounds educating industry leaders.

Once the pandemic crisis settles down, Aangeenbrug says she looks forward听to getting back to moving the outdoor industry forward. She cites the Climate Action Corps, a program launched in January to help companies reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, as one such initiative. And of course, OIA鈥檚 future funding model will be top of mind as the industry moves into an uncertain trade show future.

Whatever the fix, Brodsky wants to see OIA lead and innovate: 鈥淭his is a time when retailers and organizations and members need their association the most.鈥�

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

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Lise Aangeenbrug鈥檚 first day as executive director of Outdoor Industry Association was March 4, 2020. Less than one week later, our country was in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic. It wasn鈥檛 exactly what she signed up for. Just over one month into her new gig as the leader of our industry鈥檚 trade association, we checked in with Aangeenbrug to find out how this crisis has forced OIA to pivot, what they鈥檙e doing to support all the struggling brands through the crisis, and how OIA as an organization will weather the storm.

It’s been a tough first month on the job. How are you feeling?

Honestly, up and down. It鈥檚 hard both personally and professionally. Like so many others, I have family members that I worry about. Some of our staff members have high-risk family members they worry about. We have businesses that are hurting. At the same time, I鈥檓 seeing more people outside than I鈥檝e ever seen, and that gives me hope for the future.

The big unknown is how long this virus will be out there. How do you plan for something that there are no good models for? Our focus right now is on keeping our community together and pivoting as an organization to do just that.

Like so many of us, you鈥檝e no doubt spent much of the last several weeks on phone calls and in Zoom meetings. What has the big takeaway from all that communication been?

Every meeting and call I鈥檝e had has been both scary and encouraging. We are all in triage mode. Everything is a big question mark, and there鈥檚 no silver bullet. The pandemic hangs over the entire industry, our whole ecosystem. When will places to play open? How will retail survive? What are brands doing to help retailers? What鈥檚 happening in the supply chain? Everyone鈥檚 trying to figure out what to do. But one thing鈥檚 for sure: The level of care and communication in our industry positions us well for the long term.

About 70 percent of OIA鈥檚 funding comes from Outdoor Retailer. Now that two shows have been cancelled in the span of six months, what kind of short- and long-term impact does that have on OIA?

Short term, we鈥檙e ok, but long term, we face the same issues and concerns as the entire industry. We鈥檙e here to serve our industry, and when our industry suffers, so do we. We鈥檙e looking at where we can cut costs while still addressing the needs of our industry.

We will certainly be challenged by losing recent show revenue, but we will be fine. Our longer-term concern is the health of our trade shows moving forward. If OR went away completely, that would certainly have an impact on OIA. It鈥檚 important to note that most trade associations in America have a business model that鈥檚 based on trade show revenue. That said, we鈥檙e certainly looking at other ways to provide value and secure funding in different ways.

Will OIA get an insurance payout from OR?

Whether or not the Outdoor Retailer show cancellation is deemed an insurable event is really a question for Emerald Expositions. If it is, it’s possible that some portion of the proceeds could come to OIA.

Is OIA a healthy trade organization? How do you measure that?

Yes, we are. Just like any business, nonprofits and trade associations measure this in amount of reserves they have and whether they can stay functional during what I call stochastic, unanticipated events. OIA is in a healthy place by that definition. I sit on a lot of boards that do not have reserves and will not be as likely to weather this storm.

But beyond our own health, we worry about the health of nonprofits who offer things that benefit the whole outdoor community. To do well, you need to be doing some good. But in order to do good you need to be doing well. The way I think about this: We need a healthy industry because the industry does so much more than providing product. We support non-profits, advocate for the outdoors and local economies. That鈥檚 OIA鈥檚 main role right now. It鈥檚 why we exist: to not just help people, but help people do good.

Have you had to make any layoffs or furloughs, like so many other companies in the industry?

Even before this crisis started, I took on the new position as executive director with a clear focus of looking at how to most efficiently serve our members. Very early, I made some decisions to revisit and reduce the size of our government affairs staff in D.C. Our total staff is currently 24 people. As we look at our future, we鈥檙e looking at member surveys, revenue forecasts, and we鈥檝e made some immediate moves to reduce expenses. The rest is still under review.

What are some of the key actions OIA is taking to help the industry through this crisis?

Most urgently, we鈥檙e working with local, state and federal governments to remove punitive tariffs on outdoor goods and defer all tariffs for 90 days, to guide federal and state government to consider outdoor recreation businesses essential, and to urge federal and state governments to increase investments and protections of outdoor places. We鈥檝e also set up a COVID-19 hub with a variety of resources and tools to help our members, including guidance on how to apply for loans.

But just as important, we鈥檙e really looking ways to keep our community together virtually so we can stay engaged with the community and keep important conversations going.

Also important is that we will continue our work on increasing outdoor participation and battling the effects of climate change through the Climate Action Corps.

Do you worry about certain projects and initiatives鈥攍ike participation, DEI, sustainability鈥攍osing critical momentum when everyone is so laser-focused on getting through this crisis? How will we get back on track?

We don鈥檛 want to lose momentum, but some of our work will have to move more slowly or in more partnership with others. On the Climate Action Corps, we鈥檙e hearing: 鈥淒on鈥檛 stop, please keep us informed.鈥� We’re not halting work on participation either. The Outdoor Foundation Board is still really engaged doing their work and fundraising for participation. We鈥檙e not walking away from anything, but we鈥檙e slow-walking now.

What鈥檚 your key message for the industry you serve right now?

We鈥檝e been this industry鈥檚 trade association for 30 years, and we鈥檝e had a lot of successes together. Now is the times for us to come together to think about what we need to survive and ultimately thrive. Together we are a force.

Any parting thoughts?

I do think there鈥檚 a long-term silver lining here. More people want to go outside now more than ever before. As Americans reawaken to what the outdoors provides鈥攑hysical and mental health鈥攁s we go through this next year, it will be incredibly important to get outside and get the gear they need to enjoy it safely and comfortably. When this country goes through economic difficulties, the outdoors is one of the best free or low-cost opportunities for people to recreate.

The outdoors is the tonic we all need right now, more than ever.

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Outdoor Retailer, the largest听outdoor trade show in the country and a cardinal event on the industry’s annual calendar, cancelled its annual Summer Market Thursday as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus. Outdoor Retailer released the following statement:

“Recent developments have made it impossible to effectively execute a June show that delivers the level of connection, discovery, and value our community expects,” reads a letter from Marisa Nicholson on Outdoor Retailer’s home page. “Despite cancelling our in-person summer show, we are committed to keeping us all connected because it鈥檚 with the help of each other that we move forward. As the largest network of outdoor businesses, we are doing everything we can to leverage that for the health of our industry.”

Many in the outdoor industry had anticipated this announcement as cancellations and postponements of other major events piled up over the past month. On March 20, Mountain Hardwear dropped out of the show preemptively, signaling a turn in the community’s view of the event’s potential risks. All together, Emerald, the publicly traded parent company of Outdoor Retailer, has cancelled ten events and postponed 20 since the coronavirus crisis began. The company’s stock has seen a steep decline in the last month and is hovering around two dollars per share today.

Outdoor Retailer says that, despite the cancellation, it is still committed to supporting go-to-market strategy for Spring/Summer 2021; reinforcing buyer/seller networks; offering an ability to discover new brands, products, and retailers; and providing media and marketing opportunities for companies across the outdoor industry to tell stories and drive awareness. No other details are available at this time.

Reactions from Outdoor Industry Association

A statement from Outdoor Industry Association in response to the cancellation reads: “OIA supports the decision made by Emerald Expositions to cancel the Outdoor Retailer show this summer. While we will greatly miss the gathering of our outdoor community, it is the right thing to do for our industry, our partners and our larger community across the world. It is critical that we do our part to slow the spread of the virus and keep everyone as healthy as possible. The outdoor industry is best when we are working together for the greater good, and this moment in time no different. From production of personal protective equipment for health care workers to advocacy of safe and responsible outdoor access, the industry is finding important ways to support the pandemic response.”

国产吃瓜黑料 Business Journal spoke to Lise Aangeengbrug, executive director of Outdoor Industry Association this week in anticipation of this inevitable news. While 70 percent of OIA’s revenue comes from Outdoor Retailer, she said, “The cancellation of one show will not dramatically impact what we鈥檙e able to do as an organization.” Look for a deeper interview with Aangeenbrug next week on OBJ.

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