It鈥檚 been a turbulent period for the outdoor recreation industry: retail stores have closed, brands have shuttered, and the Trump Administration鈥檚 shifting tariff policies have made costs unpredictable. But Mary Beth Laughton, the president and CEO of retail giant REI, is confident that the industry鈥檚 culture of innovation, collaboration, and passion will help companies weather the storm and thrive. On Friday, May 30, Laughton addressed a crowd of outdoor industry leaders at the second annual 国产吃瓜黑料 Summit in downtown Denver, Colorado, in a conversation with Luis Benitez, vice president of global government affairs for Lululemon, and the former director of the Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation.

Laughton addressed a wide range of topics, from the current threats to public lands, the environment, and diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, to the importance of adhering to corporate values. She addressed REI鈥檚 own challenges in 2024 and 2025, and shared her vision for the company鈥檚 future goals around advocacy and charitable giving. Laughton also shared her perspective on how the outdoor industry can be successful, despite the volatility.

Below are excerpts from key moments of the conversation.

The Current Challenges Facing Outdoor Recreation

It’s a crazy moment right now. I think we听all anticipated a certain level of change with the new administration, but the level of turmoil that we’ve all felt in the outdoor industry is something we couldn’t have predicted. Whether it’s attacks on public lands and on basic human rights, or the volatility around tariffs and consumer confidence and the stock market鈥攊t’s been a lot. I think about two things in moments of uncertainty like this. One is the need to be agile and flexible. Our team has been running a bunch of different scenarios to make sure we can meet the current climate with agility. We really don’t know how things are going to play out. The other is we need to use our values as a guidepost and a centering point. Some companies I’ve worked with have had clear values, others have not. In times of turmoil, those that don’t have clear values can lose their way and make short-term decisions that are not in the long-term interest of employees or shareholders or customers.

Meeting Current Challenges with Innovation and Urgency

I think not just about what REI can do, but what can we as an industry do to meet the current challenges? I love the words “urgency” and “innovation.” We need to have both in mind right now, because we all need to think about how we can grow the collective pie together. We can’t see the outdoor industry as a zero-sum game. We need to think of ourselves all as partners in an industry. I think of something REI can offer the industry: our 200 stores. We have community spaces in our stores where people can gather and be together. Yes, we have classes in these spaces. But they can also be places where people come together to advocate together and talk together.

Making a Public Apology

I was announced in my role the same week as the presidential inauguration. My first week I learned that REI had signed an outdoor industry letter in support of Douglas Burgum as the new secretary of the interior. I took this decision in and listened to the team’s rationale鈥攊t was to make sure we had a seat at the table with the new administration with regards to public lands. I understood the decision, but in the weeks afterward it became clear through actions were at odds with who REI really is. It also became clear what I had to do, and I thought it was important to come in and take responsibility for that decision. Our team focused on the actions we could take. It’s one thing to publicly say something, and another to take actions that reflect values. So we made a public apology. It wasn’t an easy moment for me or for the co-op, but I think we’re stronger for doing it, and I’m proud of us standing by what was right to do in the moment.

How Companies Move Forward after Making a Public Mistake

No company is perfect. REI is not perfect. What is important is that we admit mistakes in the moment. I find it hard to believe that we can maintain a certain level of trust with our employees and our customers if we can’t do that. At the same time as thinking about our mistakes, I think about all of the good that REI does. We make mistakes but we also do so much work that is good, and it’s my job to get the message out of what we’re doing well. We’ve enabled $100 million to go back to the community and partners, and we should feel great about that. So, as important as it is for brands to admit mistakes, it’s also important for them to address moments when they’re doing good things, and to celebrate those.

A New Definition of 鈥淥utdoor鈥�

During COVID, a lot of people realized the mental and physical benefits of being outside鈥攖hings that all of us in this room have known for a while. This became known by a much broader group, and many of them now have a passion for the outdoors. As an industry we need to embrace them and welcome them. At REI we need to be just as relevant for someone climbing a fourteener as for someone who is going to take a hike in their neighborhood park. We need them all to feel welcomed in our industry. That is how we’re going to find growth. We can’t look back on COVID and say 鈥渨e had this moment when all of these people came into our community but we lost them.鈥� We need to keep the momentum going, and to continue to make these people feel welcome.

Create Products with Inclusive Design

One of the coolest things we’ve done in a few years is our Active Pursuits line. We listened to our members, and asked them, What do you want to see in a product?听We heard from our trans and nonbinary members that they felt that REI was not offering enough sizing options. We took that feedback and the design team took it seriously and designed this new apparel line. It was the first non-gendered apparel line we’ve ever had. We even re-invented a sizing chart and came up with this totally new approach to sizing. There have been so many cool things about it. And the 18-34 age group is loving the product.

REI鈥檚 Tough Decisions

REI has had to make tough decisions and we have not been immune to what the outdoor industry has felt over the past few years. The highs of the COVID boom, and the strength it brought to the industry, then coming out of that forced the co-op to make tough decisions. We had to make sure inventory was where it needed to be. We had to make sure we could get back to break-even profitability. It was important for us to get bak to that, and now we have a healthy base. I’m really optimistic about where the co-op can go now: we have such strong and unique assets. We have 25 million members鈥攚e’re the largest consumer co-op in the nation. We have our Green Vest employees who I believe are our secret sauce. The experience and passion and thoughtfulness they bring to helping people out is a huge asset for us. And we have our 200 stores in the United States, and we can use those as community hubs. We also have our values. When I add all of these assets up, I’m really optimistic, even though we’ve just come through a tough period.

On REI鈥檚 Plans for the Next Five Years

I spend a lot of time thinking about where things are headed for REI, and also the outdoor industry. I see so much potential. Trust is important. Leveraging our assets is important. Asking ourselves,听How do we have the best curated assortment of products and bring that to life in a way with storytelling that shows it’s more than just a product?听We want to continue to elevate our touch points, whether its in-store or online. We want to continue to unleash our employees who are so great at customer service. We have our 25 million members, and we have so much room to continue to engage them and get then invested in our brand.

For our industry, I keep coming back to the theme of the day: collaboration and community. We’re better together than we are apart. That’s how we grow the pie. I hope that in five years, anybody鈥攏o matter their background or level of expertise鈥攆eels welcome in the outdoor industry because they share a passion for the outdoors. And I hope that we stick to our values, even when it’s hard.

The post The Outdoor Industry Faces Challenges. REI鈥檚 CEO Mary Beth Laughton Has Hope. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

knows the outdoor industry better than almost anyone. He’s held leadership positions with Vail Resorts, Outward Bound, and VF Corporation, taught outdoor recreation economy at the University of Colorado’s business school, and even guided clients to the summit of Mount Everest and other 8,000-meter peaks. But Benitez, who is currently the Vice President of Government Affairs for Lululemon, is best known as the, a position he took on in 2015.听

In 2024 Benitez co-authored a book alongside听国产吃瓜黑料 contributor Frederick Reimers about his experiences in outdoor recreation titled .听In this excerpt, Benitez discusses his time in Colorado state government.听

My gratitude for all that outdoor recreation has given me was behind the most unexpected turn of my life鈥攇overnment service. As the son of an immigrant and an indifferent student in my youth, I was shocked to find myself working directly with the governor of Colorado.

In 2015, then-governor (now senator) John Hickenlooper asked me to lead the state鈥檚 first Office of the Outdoor Recreation Industry. The idea was to be a government liaison and advocate for Colorado鈥檚 outdoor-recreation businesses. I鈥檇 be working on behalf of Summit County鈥檚 ski resorts and for hunting guides in the town of Rangely, as well as with growing gear manufacturers like Big Agnes and established retail giants like REI, who has a flagship store in Denver.

Helping those businesses thrive meant improving access to outdoor recreation across the state by working with state parks and the national forests to build more trails, more bike paths, and even more whitewater rapids. In the same way the airline industry relies on the FAA and air-traffic controllers, and the transportation industry on highway departments, the outdoor industry needs government oversight of the places where we play.

Yet as honored as I was to be asked, the opportunity required sacrifice, a step back in pay, and a move from the mountain community of Eagle, where my wife and I had, beginning in 2014, made a home while we were still dating. We wrestled with the decision, but the chance to be of service to the industry and community won the day. I got to work.

Growing a Vital Part of the Colorado Economy

In my four years鈥攆rom 2015 to 2019鈥攁s the director of Colorado鈥檚 Office of the Outdoor Recreation Industry, we grew that sector of the economy from $23 billion to $63 billion, recruiting businesses and individuals who saw the state as a great place to work, and more importantly, live. Promoting Colorado鈥檚 recreational amenities to visitors and prospective businesses wasn鈥檛 enough, though. I realized that ours was an industry that needed more support from academia, in the same way that the medical profession, the engineering professions and tech rely on universities to train and cultivate new talent.

We needed to educate workers who could make the outdoor-recreation economy more resilient, and more importantly, sustainable. I urged Western Colorado University, in Gunnison, to create the nation鈥檚 first MBA focused on outdoor rec in 2018, and had a hand in the creation of the University of Colorado Boulder鈥檚 Masters in Economics of the Outdoor Recreation Economy, and Denver University鈥檚 Leadership in Outdoor Recreation Industry program. My industry was growing up.

I wasn鈥檛 the only one realizing it. There was a national movement for the outdoor industry to be more involved in protecting our playgrounds and nurturing the essential conditions for our businesses. One tool was to establish the importance of our industry to the national economy. The numbers are huge.

In 2021 visits to national parks alone generate $20.5 billion in direct spending at hotels, restaurants, outfitters, and other amenities in nearby gateway communities, supporting over 322,600 jobs and generating over $42.5 billion in total economic output. The outdoor-recreation economy generates an $862 billion impact every year.

Between the likes of gear manufacturers such as Columbia, whitewater-rafting outfitters in West Virginia, and bike shops in Moab, Utah, we account for 4.5 million jobs, the majority of them in small businesses. We represent 1.9 percent of the GDP, which is bigger than the automotive and the pharmaceutical industries combined.

In fact, the outdoor industry is larger than the mineral-extraction industry, which illustrates the stakes perfectly: Isn鈥檛 a hiking trail just as important to our economy as an oil well? Why should our industry have to rely on a constellation of nonprofits like the Access Fund and the Sierra Club and the Appalachian Mountain Club to ensure that our businesses can continue to thrive by building and maintaining our recreation sites and our trails? We need to treat recreational infrastructure the same way we treat transportation infrastructure.

This type of investment works. According to the State of Virginia, in 2019, for every $1 of general tax revenue provided to state parks in Virginia, the parks brought in $17.68. That same year, the National Park System generated more than 30 times as much as the federal government invested. Look at Columbus, Ohio, which in 2023 converted an abandoned limestone quarry into a 180-acre park featuring mountain-bike trails, lakes for paddling, and a via ferrata rock-climbing course along the quarry鈥檚 150-foot-tall cliff face. That new park follows the city鈥檚 2009 investment in a climbing wall open to the public that is amongst the nation鈥檚 largest. 鈥淥ur goal with that park was to keep urban young professionals in Columbus,鈥� the city鈥檚 park operations manager told 国产吃瓜黑料 magazine.

Columbus is putting into play a trend that Salt Lake City has been benefiting from for years. In 2021, a University of Utah study looked at Utah鈥檚 booming tech sector. The study found that 85 percent of tech workers working in the state chose to stay despite being offered a higher salary elsewhere, citing the outdoor-recreation opportunities as their motivation. For those workers who left and then returned, 62 percent said outdoor recreation was their primary reason, compared to 49 percent who said that family was the most important factor.

We aren鈥檛 just talking about rock climbers and bird watchers. The outdoor-recreation economy encompasses motorsports fans too, featuring big-ticket items like Jet Skis, powerboats, and quadrunners. Dirt bikers like me value long, challenging trails, where we can get away from suburbia and leave our problems behind, taking a mental-health break.

We are realizing that outdoor recreation has benefits beyond just fun. Studies are increasingly showing that time outside is a critical component of physical and mental health. Even just living near green space can provide a stunning array of advantages. In one Danish study, researchers used satellite data to assess children鈥檚 exposure to green space, correlating each child鈥檚 place of residence with nearby parks. Children who lived in neighborhoods with more green space had a reduced risk of depression, mood disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and substance abuse later in life.

Those with the lowest levels of green-space exposure during childhood had a 55 percent higher risk of developing mental illnesses than those who鈥檇 grown up with abundant green space. (Now imagine those same, city-bound kids with access to safe, green-lined pathways and a bicycle.) That was just one of the studies referenced in the Colorado Outdoor Rx Report my office produced illustrate to government departments the importance of allocating resources for better access for outdoor recreation, whether in the wild or in urban planning.

To get the word out about outdoor recreation鈥檚 value for our health and our economy, I knew there needed to be more people like me working in state governments. With the governor鈥檚 blessing, I personally met with delegations from a half dozen states including Montana and Michigan, urging them to create their own positions. The number of offices rose from two to eight in just three years and included states from both sides of the political spectrum, from Wyoming to Vermont. That felt significant in such a partisan political climate.

A Plan to Create More State Outdoor Recreation Offices

Realizing we鈥檇 be more effective all pulling in the same direction, we drafted the Confluence Accords. The document is an operational charter for state outdoor-recreation (Orec) offices and stands on four distinct pillars: economic development (keep this economy strong); conservation and stewardship (without the wild places, there would be no reason to buy that new fleece jacket); education and workforce development (where will the next generation of leadership for this industry come from and what will their education look like?); and, above all, public health (this was validated, for instance, by the returning-veteran community, which showed a significant decrease in traumatic brain injury [TBI] and post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] impacts by spending time outside, and has been codified by the handful of nations like Japan that can now formally鈥攂y a doctor鈥攑rescribe time outside instead of medication). The Accords are an agreement that each state agency signing on will work on behalf of each of those pillars.

Eleven states have signed the Confluence Accords, with more on the way. How many other industries have made a formal agreement to work for the greater good of society? None that I can think of.

That alignment across the industry and the states has led to some remarkable bipartisan political wins in recent years, at a time when such wins are nearly extinct. Armed with the GDP numbers and scientific studies, outdoor-recreation-industry leaders were major players in advocating for the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act in 2019, which created 1.3 million acres of Wilderness and 10 new Wild and Scenic River segments, and increased the size of three national parks, amongst dozens of other conservation acts in dozens of states. The Senate passed it by a 92-8 vote, and it was signed into law by President Trump.

The following year saw similar bipartisan support for the Great American Outdoors Act, which permanently allocated $900 million annually to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a source for recreational infrastructure created in 1965. The fund helped create some $18 billion in boat ramps, bike paths, and state parks over the years, but was allowed to lapse in 2018 amidst partisan bickering. The Great American Outdoors Act also allocated $9.5 billion to reduce the infamous National Park Service maintenance backlog. Some called it the most significant conservation legislation in a half century. The only thing both sides of the political aisle can agree on, seemingly, is funding and conservation for outdoor recreation.

The Need for a National Outdoor Recreation Office

Those successes have led us to start asking whether it is time to push Washington, D.C., to create a federal outdoor-recreation-industry office to continue the promotion and preservation of this unique and special economy. As we saw earlier, outdoor recreation comprises nearly 2 percent of our nation鈥檚 economy and provides priceless quality-of-life and health benefits to our people, but there鈥檚 no specific entity shepherding it in the federal government. Imagine how much more effective we could be with dedicated leadership?

What would such an agency do? Firstly, it would convene the state offices, which will hopefully eventually number 50, and help channel money their way. The Great American Outdoors Act shows there鈥檚 an appetite for such spending across the political spectrum. We鈥檝e also been able to educate D.C. about the value of such investments. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, for example, earmarks $750 million for investments in outdoor-recreation travel and tourism. The problem is, many local governments don鈥檛 know how to access those funds. Furthermore, I believe the time has come for recreationists to ante up and pay into the system. Hunters and fishermen have, through special taxes on guns, ammunition, and fishing tackle approved decades ago, been helping pay for conservation and scientific management of wildlife habitat to the tune of $23 billion over the lifetime of the legislation that created the funding. Likewise, I think those of us using trails and boat ramps should help invest in their preservation. Similar taxes have been wildly successful in Minnesota, Missouri, and Georgia. It’s time for us, too, to pay to play.

A national director of outdoor recreation would also help coordinate federal agencies like the United States Forest Service (USFS), National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and any other agency that managed land or resources of benefit to outdoor recreation. Right now, that鈥檚 the job of the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation (FICOR). It was created in 2011, and before it was dissolved by the Trump Administration, FICOR made significant strides on behalf of outdoor recreation, including combining most federal permits and reservations into the Recreation.gov website and helping the Bureau of Economic Analysis measure the economic impact of the Orec industry. Under the Biden Administration, FICOR is back, but the problem is that its leadership rotates annually between the agencies, and so FICOR doesn鈥檛 have the full attention of any of them.

It鈥檚 an idea that already has a precedent. From 1962 until the late 1970s, there actually existed a federal Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, which worked on both the national and local levels to promote outdoor recreation. In addition to creating some of the foundational research on the health benefits of outdoor recreation, and on the importance of equity in getting Americans outside, the bureau was a prime driver behind some of the nation鈥檚 seminal recreation and conservation legislation, including the Wilderness Act in 1964 and the creation of the Land and Water Conservation Fund that same year. The bureau was also the originator of the idea of rails to trails, converting abandoned railway lines into recreational pathways, and helped fund some of the earliest rail-to-trail projects in nine states including California, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation also set the precedent of cooperation between federal agencies to foster recreation. Even more prescient was its approach of establishing cooperation between such federal agencies and the states to create parks and trail systems. Ultimately, the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation was subsumed into the National Park Service in 1981. Because it had no real funding of its own, and couldn鈥檛 make its own policy, it was easy prey for the anti-conservationists of the Reagan Administration.

Before you start thinking 鈥淯h oh, this smells like Big Government,鈥� I鈥檇 assure you that it doesn鈥檛 need to be. I did my job with the State of Colorado with just my salary, a gas card, and a laptop. The outdoor industry is great at getting by with minimal resources鈥攇ive us a roll of duct tape and some bailing wire, and we鈥檒l cobble something together. Furthermore, I would challenge you to ask yourself if you are comfortable with nonprofits and trade associations alone protecting and promoting our birthright, the public lands that Teddy Roosevelt called 鈥淎merica鈥檚 best idea鈥�?

The post Outdoor Recreation Deserves a Place in Government. Here鈥檚 Why. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The bikes, backpacks, tents, and other outdoor gear on our wishlists are about to get more expensive鈥攁 result of America’s burgeoning trade war.

That’s the consensus of outdoor industry experts who spoke to 国产吃瓜黑料. As trade debates evolve and escalate on a daily basis, instability is the only constant right now in the outdoor industry, and sources told 国产吃瓜黑料 that we are entering perhaps the most volatile and unpredictable period for businesses in recent memory.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the only conversation that鈥檚 going on right now in the industry,鈥� said Eoin Comerford, the former CEO of Moosejaw who now works with many emerging outdoor brands through his company Outsize Consulting. 鈥淣obody is thinking about anything but tariffs right now.鈥�

On April 9 the U.S. government imposed a series of tariffs on trade partners: imports from all foreign countries are currently subject to a ten percent baseline tariff. President Donald Trump also announced reciprocal tariffs on goods imported from 57 of the U.S.鈥檚 largest trade partners. Those include 49 percent tariffs on imports from Cambodia, 46 percent on Vietnam, and 32 percent on Taiwan, all of which are countries that produce goods or materials that American outdoor brands import.

Then, a few hours later, the President delayed the reciprocal tariffs until July 9, but increased tariffs on Chinese goods, which now stand at 245 percent.

Tariffs are taxes levied on goods imported from another country, paid to the home country鈥檚 government by the importer. The Trump Administration has said that the tariffs will level imbalances with the countries who exact charges on American imports as well as supposedly bring back domestic manufacturing. But some representatives from outdoor brands told 国产吃瓜黑料 that this change will be impossible without added infrastructure, due to the outdoor industry’s reliance on imported goods and materials.

Cassie Abel, the founder of women鈥檚 technical apparel brand Wild Rye, tried to manufacture products in the U.S. and doing so almost killed her business. Delivery delays, poor communication, production flaws, and labor costs made it impossible to produce in the U.S.

So she moved production to a factory in China that has a Vietnamese satellite. After growing the direct-to-consumer side of the brand by 75 percent over last year, announcing a rebrand, and collaborating with Smith, the tariffs are overshadowing any wins. She and her team are figuring out how to reduce expenses because cash is about to become scarce.

Brand leaders have been forced to become overnight experts in trade policy, an incredibly nuanced and complicated topic, says Jacylyn Levy, senior director of advocacy and government affairs at Outdoor Industry Association (OIA). In a recent report, OIA found that 84 percent of member businesses surveyed said they will be impacted by new tariffs, resulting in millions of dollars in financial losses and affecting hundreds of outdoor products.

For the past two weeks, outdoor industry professionals have been working around the clock negotiating with manufacturing and retail partners to share some of the tax burden. Manufacturers from Asia who spoke to听国产吃瓜黑料 at the Functional Fabric Fair in Portland, Oregon said they also have little to no margins to absorb costs. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a question of how do you spread the pain of that incremental tax,鈥� said Travis Campbell, the owner and CEO of Eagle Creek.

In a , Campbell said Eagle Creek has an outstanding purchase order of $1.8 million on imported goods from Indonesia, which would normally accrue $260,000 in duties. With the reciprocal tariffs though, the company would have to pay a total of $840,000 in duties. 鈥淥ur business simply cannot afford this cost,鈥� Campbell wrote.

Ultimately, as hard as businesses may try to avoid it, a portion of that cost will get passed onto their customers. Every source who spoke to听国产吃瓜黑料 said that prices on outdoor products are inevitably going to rise and, in some cases, rise drastically.

鈥淓ven though we may see some brands and retailers shutter their doors, the big loser here is the consumer,鈥� said Matt Powell, a longtime outdoor industry data analyst and founder of Spurwink River Consulting.

Prices are already on the rise. On April 16, bike brand Specialized that it will add a 10 percent surcharge for the new Turbo Levo 4 e-bike starting on May 1. On April 17, saying it was also raising prices.

Missy Park, the founder of women’s activewear brand Title Nine, broke down the math in a recent using a $100 pair of elasticated pants as an example. Before tariffs, the business made $2 in net profit on each pair. After the latest round of tariffs, the business now owes $20 to the government on each pair sold.

“You get the same pair of pants,” Park says in the video. “Right now, we really don’t know if the prices are going to go up. But one thing you can count on is that we’re scrambling to make the math work for you, and for us, and for our whole community of suppliers.”

Abel is in the same boat. She’s still uncertain when and by how much Wild Rye’s prices will increase. 鈥淭here is no world in which we can afford to stay in business and not raise prices,鈥� she said.

While some brands may increase prices immediately to soften some of the financial blow, others are waiting until final figures on tariffs stabilize. Comerford says one cost-saving option is to cut products that already have low margins. Another is to delay shipments from their overseas factories.

Brands that over-ordered product during the pandemic in anticipation of high demand and finally sold through the surplus inventory aren鈥檛 necessarily excited to fill their shelves again. But if they don鈥檛 expedite inventory from abroad, they may be left empty handed.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e managing a business here, the amount of uncertainty is just soul-crushing,鈥� Comerford said. 鈥淚t has paralyzed the industry.鈥�

As of right now, Gloria Hwang, founder and CEO of helmet maker Thousand, told factory partners to hold off making two entirely new products: a helmet and a bike lock. She says they鈥檝e rarely raised prices in their decade in business but have few options at the current tariff rate, which, for Thousand, ranges between 30 percent and 60 percent.

When Hwang spoke to us on April 7, a shipping container of Thousand products was on the water, set to arrive at a U.S. port. Had the U.S. not delayed the reciprocal tariffs two days later, she would have had to pay an extra six figures in duties that she had not forecasted, she said.

Those costs have the potential to ruin her business.

鈥淯nfortunately, it鈥檚 gonna thin the herd,鈥� said Mike Lewis, CEO of Texas-based Bison Coolers, which manufactures domestically in Tennessee and Colorado and overseas in China. 鈥淎ny business that was in distress before you got to this point, they鈥檙e gonna go out of business because they鈥檙e like, we can鈥檛 compete.鈥�

Already, the outdoor industry was experiencing hardship听and recovering from the boom-and-bust repercussions from the pandemic. The turbulence has resulted in layoffs and staff downsizing, revenue shortfalls, product inventory imbalances, and snarled supply chains.

Tariffs are the cherry on top of the teetering sundae.

If there was ever an upside of the continued instability, it鈥檚 that business leaders have learned to be nimble, said Steve Bick, CEO and owner of Boundary Supply. The travel pack brand sources fabrics and other supplies in the U.S. but sends products to Cambodia for assembly. 鈥淢y gamble is that this will be resolved relatively shortly,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is a temporary blip.鈥�

Even if he鈥檚 right, perhaps the worst impacts of the trade war are the uncertainty for long-term planning and the stunting of innovation. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard to make any business decisions when policy continues to change month after month,鈥� Hwang said.

Lewis added: 鈥淥ne bad decision or one calculated risk could really come back to haunt you.鈥�

Whether the economy stabilizes soon or not, the damage to consumer confidence has already been done, Campbell says. They鈥檙e either grabbing up items before prices go up and inventory wanes or they鈥檙e not buying anything at all out of fear of recession.

鈥淚t鈥檚 gonna be ugly for a while,鈥� Abel said.

Amelia Arvesen is a journalist living in Portland, Oregon. In January, 2025 she wrote a feature story听about the women’s outdoor apparel brand Youer and its founder, Mallory Ottariano.听

The post The Price of Outdoor Gear is About to Go Way Up appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

This summer鈥檚 国产吃瓜黑料 Summit and Festival includes a new pitch competition for outdoor industry and active lifestyle startups called , providing support for the next generation of bright ideas.

Mel Strong, a founding partner of , an early-stage venture capital firm, was a moderator at the inaugural 国产吃瓜黑料 Summit last year when she met an entrepreneur with a bold idea. His name was Matt Oesterle, and he was the CEO of a camping startup called Ramble, which aims to build full-service campgrounds in wild, natural settings, in contrast to the cramped, parking-lot-style RV parks that are now ubiquitous.

The two got to chatting and by the Summit鈥檚 end, Strong, who owns a campervan, was convinced Ramble had the potential to become the next big thing. So, she joined the board and added the startup to her firm鈥檚 investment portfolio. With that, the interaction between the two at an event designed to bring people in the outdoor industry together helped secure an investment in an up-and-coming business. Ramble now has two campground locations in Colorado, with more on the way.

All great outdoor brands start as a seed of an idea. An entrepreneurial spirit sees a problem or gap in the market and is willing to take a risk on a creative, out-of-the-box solution. But a startup can鈥檛 get going on its own. It needs support and funding. It needs a crowd willing to believe in the idea. That鈥檚 the concept behind 国产吃瓜黑料 Ignite, a new startup pitch competition debuting at the 国产吃瓜黑料 Summit this May in Denver, Colorado.

鈥淔or founders, it鈥檚 like hijacking the system,鈥� Strong says. 鈥淕etting into a room of investors is really hard. But at 国产吃瓜黑料 Ignite, you鈥檒l have this diverse group of people ready and willing to solve big problems who are all united by a deep personal passion for the outdoors. We will all be rallying around this idea that we want to progress the outdoor industry, collectively.鈥�

It鈥檚 all part of the 2025 国产吃瓜黑料 Festival and Summit, which combines the outdoor industry鈥檚 premiere networking and thought leadership event in the Summit with the fun-for-everyone 国产吃瓜黑料 Festival, bringing outdoor films, major musical acts, and conversations with athletes and thought leaders to Denver鈥檚 Civic Center Park from May 29 through June 1.

To kick off day one of the Summit, 国产吃瓜黑料 Ignite will bring together innovative founders from up to five startups with investors, VC partners, and other business leaders who can help take these early brands from seed to launch. The first place winner of the contest will receive a $100,000 valued prize and unique marketing opportunities. Awards will also be given out to a runner up and a People鈥檚 Choice Award, determined by a public vote.

The five startup founders who will pitch their ideas at 国产吃瓜黑料 Ignite will be chosen from a rigorous selection process after an open call for applications that began in March. Finalists from that selection process will be announced in April for the chance to present their ideas in person at 国产吃瓜黑料 Ignite on May 29. Those five finalists will receive support and pitch preparation help from, which offers full-scale assistance for rising entrepreneurs. Those finalists will then take to the stage in the recently revamped Denver Public Library for a chance to pitch their ideas to an esteemed panel of judges. The finalists and attendees will be led through the day鈥檚 events by emcee, entrepreneur, and former NFL linebacker Dhani Jones.

Judges for 国产吃瓜黑料 Ignite have been curated from from every facet of what it takes to create a successful business, from branding and law to leadership and finance. The judges include Next Ventures鈥� Mel Strong, who will return to the Summit in a new role; Ariana Ferwerda, cofounder and CEO of apparel company Halfdays; Laura Medina, partner with global law firm Cooley LLP, who represents emerging growth companies; and additional judges who have yet to be announced.

鈥淲hile only one company takes home the first prize, every participant in a pitch competition gains something valuable鈥攑otential customers, word-of-mouth exposure, and meaningful connections in the venture and investment space that can open doors to future opportunities,鈥� says Ferwerda from Halfdays. 鈥淣etworking is crucial in the early stages of a business, and the more you put your company and pitch in front of the right people, the greater your chances of success.鈥�

So, what will it take to win? Judges say they鈥檒l be looking for a promising startup that showcases industry innovation, market opportunity, financial viability, business feasibility, and a compelling pitch. They鈥檒l be seeking big ideas and emerging possibilities in everything from AI and sustainable gear to the future of media and climate solutions, with concepts across travel, wellness, gear, and adventure tech.

鈥淭o exist in the outdoor industry, you have to be a different kind of thinker,鈥� adds Strong. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to meet those kinds of thinkers.鈥�

Those looking to attend the 国产吃瓜黑料 Ignite event will need to purchase a badge for the .

The post Calling All Outdoor Startups. We Want to Get Your Big Idea Funded appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

John Murtiashaw could not catch a break. In the fall of 2023, Murtiashaw, 38, was working as the sales manager for Appalachian Gear Company (ACG), an apparel brand based in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Murtiashaw, an eight-year veteran in the outdoor industry, loved the job and his coworkers. There was some serious buzz around the product, and he felt like he was doing good in the world.

Then, in May 2024, AGC went out of business, leaving Murtiashaw, his coworkers, and the brand鈥檚 customers shocked and heartbroken. At the end of the summer, after hustling from one job interview to the next, Murtiashaw found work at another North Carolina-based outdoor company, tent-maker Diamond Brand. A few weeks later, right after Murtiashaw received his first paycheck, Hurricane Helene annihilated the region. The factory flooded, the shuttered, and Murtiashaw was out of work again.

鈥淲e got three feet of water inside the factory,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e tried to keep going for a few days, but then we had a meeting.鈥� Management told employees that it was impossible to continue the business with that much damage. They were all let go.

鈥淚t was devastating,鈥� Murtiashaw said.

Murtiashaw鈥檚 story is familiar to those who work in (or adjacent to) the U.S. outdoor recreation industry. According to the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), a trade group made up of outdoor businesses, that鈥檚 a lot of people: the U.S. outdoor industry鈥攚hich includes everything from outdoor apparel manufacturers, to guiding companies, to ski resorts鈥攃urrently employs five million people and accounts for more than two percent of the nation鈥檚 gross domestic product (GDP).

But throughougt 2024 and 2025, a litany of outdoor gear brands鈥攆rom Patagonia to Orvis to REI鈥攈ave announced revenue shortfalls, downsized their staff, or shuttered altogether. The Outdoor Retailer Trade Show鈥攐ne of the industry鈥檚 biggest events鈥攄eclared in September that it would drop to just one show per year, combining its summer and winter gear conventions into a single annual event.

The turmoil has generated local and national headlines. It鈥檚 also forced many workers, from entry-level employees to business owners, to analyze the micro and macroeconomic forces that are putting financial pressure on businesses. 国产吃瓜黑料 spoke to a dozen sources to try and understand the roots of the industry鈥檚 woes. These sources cited a laundry list of hurdles that the industry faces, from climate change and natural disasters, to supply-chain aftershocks that are still rippling outward from the COVID-19 pandemic. Uncertainty over national politics,听and even competition from indoor activities, were also on the list.

鈥淏usiness has been really tricky,鈥� said Bryce Phillips, founder and CEO of ski-and-bike retailer Evo. 鈥淭hese last two years after the high of COVID听have been particularly challenging.鈥�

None of the sources we spoke to could say whether or not the pressure facing the outdoor industry would abet anytime soon.

The Pandemic Boom and Bust

While the pandemic may feel like ancient history, it鈥檚 still having very real impacts on the U.S. economy. Supply chains and product inventory in the U.S. still haven鈥檛 rebounded to normal levels in multiple sectors. That鈥檚 certainly the case for many manufacturers and retailers in outdoor recreation.

Demand for outdoor gear surged during the pandemic, as millions of people sought refuge outdoors. Many manufacturers and retailers ran low on inventory as bikes, skis, and other gear flew off shelves. Brands, which had finished their orders months before, couldn鈥檛 restock fast enough.

鈥淣ever in our history have we experienced anything like what happened when COVID kicked off,鈥� Phillips said. Stores were selling out of critical equipment.

鈥淥n the cycling side for example, chains, chain rings, brake pads鈥攖hey were impossible to get during the pandemic,鈥� said Sean Smith, show director for the Outdoor Retailer trade show. 鈥淭he idea for some brands was that if there鈥檚 demand, we鈥檙e going to fill it. People want our stuff, we鈥檙e going to get it to them.鈥�

Many brands ordered huge increases in inventory and hired additional staff and managers to keep up with demand. Surging revenue helped fund this uptick in infrastructure.

For a brief and beautiful moment, the outdoor industry was exploding. But, according to some of the sources we spoke to, some businesses failed to predict that the good times wouldn鈥檛 last forever.

According to Phillips, swelling margins masked unchecked spending. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think any of us managers in the business are loose cannons by any means,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 human nature: when everything is working well, you鈥檙e more apt to spend鈥攁nd less apt to catch costs that are creeping up.鈥�

The Inventory Problem

As demand boomed, outdoor brands and retailers continued to increase their orders for new product. But when a warm, dry winter struck North America in 2021 and 2022, that slammed the brakes on ski-pass and lift-ticket sales. That was tough on Vail Resorts, which posted losses for several quarters before it ultimately announced layoffs in 2024. Sales of skis and winter apparel were down, too, which affected both Evo and Patagonia, representatives from both companies said.

Then, in mid-2022, the COVID-19 vaccine became readily available. People went back to offices and returned to indoor activities, like concerts and parties. Studies from OIA show that, around this time, the surge in outdoor activity leveled off: after three years of consistent growth, consumers鈥� average number of annual outdoor outings dropped by almost 7 percent in 2022, and by another 11 percent in 2023.

It鈥檚 not that people aren鈥檛 going outside鈥擮IA鈥檚 2024 participation survey indicates that the overall number of outdoor recreation participants is still up year over year. But according to that same report, the bulk of new participation is by casual outdoor users鈥攖hink picnickers, day hikers, and bird watchers. The percentage of more hardcore users鈥攖hose who make more than 50 outings per year鈥攊s dropping, OIA found.

According to Kelly Davis, OIA鈥檚 research director, the dip in core participation is tied to a handful of dynamics. Screens, social media, and other activities are increasingly placing demands on consumers鈥� time and money, she said. What鈥檚 more, young people are exercising and spending time outdoors for different reasons than they used to.

鈥淭hey are out there for their mental health more than for their physical health, and outdoor activities are where they found community during the pandemic,鈥� Davis says.

The bad news is that these hardcore outdoor enthusiasts were the folks most likely to buy a second mountain bike, a new rack of trad gear, or a high-end backcountry ski setup. With the loss of their purchasing enthusiasm, sales of these products have crashed back down to earth, said Matt Powell, a longtime outdoor industry data analyst and founder of Spurwink River Consulting. The reason behind that rise and fall in the data, Powell suggests, might simply be because people in the grips of pandemic lockdown overestimated how much time they鈥檇 spend outdoors when restrictions lifted.

鈥淎 lot of people bought product above their needs or skill level during the pandemic, and then didn鈥檛 have a good experience with it,鈥� Powell said. 鈥淧eople tried new activities and found they didn鈥檛 like them or they were too hard.鈥� Outdoor industry analysts incorrectly interpreted the flurry of buying activity as the mass arrival of new lifelong customers. In reality, many were just dabblers.

Yet, most brands continued to order inventory in 2022 and 2023, assuming that sales would continue to grow. And since these companies order a year in advance, many brands have been saddled by excess inventory.

鈥淭he business brands were planning for never materialized, but the inventory sure did,鈥� Powell said. Retailers were suddenly bogged down with way too much stuff. So they stopped buying new inventory, and just sat on the piles of old product they already had, hoping it would eventually sell.

鈥淎s a result, there hasn鈥檛 been a lot of newness out there,鈥� Powell said. 鈥淪o even the customers who do want to buy haven鈥檛 seen anything that feels new and exciting. I don鈥檛 care what you say鈥攖his business is a fashion business. And when there鈥檚 no newness in the market, people get bored.鈥�

Worse, many outdoor retail stores were forced to offer steep discounts to offload all their extra inventory鈥攁 task made even more difficult by inflation, which hamstrung consumers鈥� buying power.

鈥淭he steep discounting caused this domino effect,鈥� said Eric Henderson, founder of outdoor industry PR firm Meteorite. When some brands sell gear for pennies, the rest have to drop their prices to keep up. That didn鈥檛 help anyone鈥檚 bottom lines. The discounting was an especially big hit to smaller brands, which already operate at razor-thin margins, Henderson said.

Inflation Drives Prices Up

If you鈥檝e been buying milk, eggs, gas, or pretty much anything else over the last three years, you鈥檙e already familiar with the serious impact inflation has had on the U.S. economy. In August of 2022, it hit a record high of 8.3 percent. That made everything more expensive. Since then, inflation has dropped鈥攊t now sits at a very reasonable 2.8 percent鈥攂ut prices remain high. Then there were the interest rate hikes in 2023, which left some consumers with higher mortgages or car payments. That ate into folks鈥� discretionary spending even more, and many haven鈥檛 yet had time to refinance after the 2024 rate drops.

鈥淧eople are still spending鈥攃onsumer spending in 2024 was up year over year鈥攚ith all this uncertainty and the impact of inflation, people have had to be more discerning,鈥� said Chris Sword, a professor for the University of Colorado鈥檚 Outdoor Recreation Economy program. It appears that some consumers have chosen so-called 鈥渞evenge travel鈥� over a new bike or ice axe this year.

The revenge travel phenomenon got a lot of press in the year or two after the pandemic, but data shows that consumers鈥� pent-up, post-pandemic wanderlust is still playing out. According to the 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel Trade Association, a for-profit advocacy group for the travel industry, travel operators are serving 54 percent more clients this year than last. The average trip cost? More than $2,000. The catch is that much of the revenge travel so far has been international. That trend is also projected to continue: Americans took eight听percent more trips abroad in 2024 compared to 2023, according to data by travel research company AXA. That means those dollars don鈥檛 always flow back into the U.S. economy.

Experts told听国产吃瓜黑料听that, between 2022 and 2024, consumers were choosing to spend on travel or gear. Many chose to travel. Between that, the dusty inventory, and the warm winter, demand for outdoor gear dried up across most categories. A few items,听such as running shoes, have maintained strong sales. But overall, growth stagnated.

鈥淲e had an extreme two years of demand that none of us could have ever imagined, followed by a two-year hangover,鈥� said Evo’s听Phillips.

鈥淭he general vibe from the brands I鈥檝e talked to is that flat [growth year-over-year] is the new good. If you鈥檙e flat, you鈥檙e going to be fine,鈥� said Henderson 鈥淚f you鈥檙e down? That鈥檚 when the panic button gets pushed.鈥�

Brands Lay Employees Off to Cut Costs

In 2024 many brands realized the boom times weren鈥檛 coming back, Henderson said. When that happened, they took long and hard looks at their budgets.

鈥淪uddenly, the music stops, and you鈥檙e looking at your P&L and scrutinizing all your costs in a way you weren鈥檛 before,鈥� Phillips said. That process can reveal some ugly truths. Some brands discovered they had a glut of extraneous personnel that they may have needed in 2020 but just couldn鈥檛 keep busy anymore.

At the end of last summer, with the fiscal year coming to a close, companies started to get nervous. One source told听国产吃瓜黑料 that many brands simply wanted to polish up their bottom lines and pump up their 2025 projections before they closed their books.

Enter the layoffs.

Throughout 2024 and into 2025, the outdoor industry generated a steady cascade of bad news. On January 25, REI laid off 357 staffers, including 200 at its Sumner, Washington, headquarters. It was the REI’s third layoff in 12 months. “Outdoor specialty retail has experienced four quarters of decline鈥攁nd that trend has been worsening,” REI’s CEO, Eric Artz, .

Then, on September 19, Outdoor Retailer officially nixed its second show. A week later, Vail laid off 14 percent of its corporate staff. On September 30, Patagonia employees were pulled into a call announcing the brand would cut one percent of its workforce. On October 4, Orvis laid off eight percent of its employees. On October 11, footwear brand Vasque shut down. LL Bean announced its second layoff of 2024 in December. In January, apparel company Alpine Parrot, which designed apparel for plus-sized customers, abruptly shuttered. (国产吃瓜黑料 Inc., the parent company of OUTSIDE, wasn’t immune from the layoffs, and in February 2025 let go of 23 employees.)

For current (and aspiring) outdoor industry staffers, it felt like gut punch after gut punch. But if the economic headwinds鈥攖he excess inventory, the high costs, the supply-chain woes鈥攁re years-old, why did these layoffs and closures happen in 2024 and 2025?

鈥淚 think there are a lot of [brands] who tried to hold on as long as they possibly could, and then had to make a difficult decision,鈥� said Bruce Old, head of global business operations at Patagonia. 鈥淲here we have settled is that we don鈥檛 think that the market and some of the risk around the world is going to change significantly.鈥�

In other words, the industry is close to finding its level after the pandemic. While Old hopes trends will continue to stabilize, the reality is that level may be lower than many brands had hired for.

Now, it remains to be seen whether the recent layoffs are enough to course-correct.

鈥淚t鈥檚 better to make hard decisions deep and early than small and late,鈥� said CU鈥檚 Chris Sword. 鈥淪o, we鈥檒l have to wait and see if these brands cut deep enough to course correct.鈥� If they didn鈥檛, layoffs could continue into 2025.

An Uncertain Future

Adding to the witch鈥檚 brew is the shifting political landscape. Political uncertainty historically leads to consumer reticence鈥攁 reluctance to buy and an impulse to hoard savings. That goes for brands and consumers alike.

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing it in the U.S., and on the international side too,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淎 lot of people are in this wait-and-see mindset on the economy. Are we going to see increased tariffs on goods coming from China? That鈥檚 a legitimate concern. There are a lot of brands waiting to see what will happen next.鈥�

Throughout the early months of 2025, brands have had to endure the threat of the Trump Administration’s evolving agenda on tariffs. In February and March, the U.S. either imposed or threatened tariffs on goods imported from Mexico, Canada, and China.

Matt Tucker, director of client development for Circana鈥檚 sports equipment business, has seen that reluctance play out in Circana鈥檚 outdoor industry sales data. But a closer look reveals that things aren鈥檛 all bad: According to Tucker, the outdoor industry market is down two percent since this time last year. However, the industry has grown 31 percent since 2020. That鈥檚 some pretty strong long-term growth.

Henderson believes the post-pandemic pendulum swing has finally come to a stop. It鈥檚 stabilizing now, he said, and growth (and hiring) should both resume in 2025. But if you鈥檙e looking for an outdoor industry job, don鈥檛 hold your breath. Most of the managers interviewed for this story said their biggest lesson from the past few years was acting too fast, hiring or making changes before they had all the data. Going forward, many will be playing it safe.

鈥淲e鈥檙e patiently assessing what鈥檚 happening and proceeding with caution,鈥� said Corey Simpson, Patagonia鈥檚 communications manager. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like getting a sketchy avalanche forecast. It could be good, or maybe we鈥檙e just drinking coffee at the truck today. We just have to keep assessing as we move forward.鈥�

As for Murtiashaw? He鈥檚 feeling cautiously optimistic. For now, he鈥檚 still looking for work in the outdoor industry, but he鈥檚 not as set on it as he once was.

鈥淚 have friends in tech, and they don鈥檛 seem that different from me. Honestly, they seem happier,鈥� he said. The tech industry has had its own woes this past year, but Murtiashaw sees some real appeal in selling a product that isn鈥檛 physical and therefore isn鈥檛 affected by local and international factors beyond employees鈥� control.

鈥淵ou鈥檒l likely see me in the outdoor industry again, and loving every minute of it,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 hard to ignore friends who seem professionally stimulated, stable, with ample time to enjoy outside of work, and wonder if they鈥檝e found a better way.鈥�

The post It鈥檚 Been a Turbulent Period for the Outdoor Industry. Here鈥檚 Why. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.