is back again, this year on July 11-12. Sometimes it鈥檚 hard to know whether or not a product is a good deal or a worthy purchase when you get so caught up in the excitement of the biggest sale of the year. That鈥檚 why we put together a list of cooking gear you鈥檒l want to snag for all your camping and outdoor adventure needs.

Primus Firestick Backpacking Stove

Originally: $119.95, Prime Day Deal: $76.55

If size and weight is the most important factor when selecting your backpacking stove, the small Primus Firestick might be for you. With pot supports that compactly fold up and a lightweight titanium pot, this set weighs a total of 3.1 oz.

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter聽

Originally: $19.95, Prime Day Deal: $17.49

If you don鈥檛 already own one, you need one. The LifeStraw is a microfiltration system that removes parasites, bacteria, and microplastics from water. This little life saving device ensures you have access to clean water while camping, especially in an emergency situation.聽

Zulay Marshmallow Roasting Sticks聽

Originally: $14.99, Prime Day Deal: $11.99

Have you ever been in a situation where you had all your s鈥檓ores and hot dog ingredients ready, but can鈥檛 find a decent roasting stick on the ground? Sometimes you don鈥檛 want to risk losing your marshmallows on a skinny, dirty stick, which is why you want these Zulay Roasting Sticks. They鈥檙e made with non-toxic, heat-treated stainless steel and can extend up to 32 inches.聽

Bonsenkitchen Food Sealer

Originally: $36, Prime Day Deal: $31

This might not be a kitchen product you鈥檇 ever think to buy, but once you have it, you won鈥檛 go back. You can vacuum seal or package almost anything from asparagus to steak to potato chips 鈥� yes, potato chips! This comes in handy when packing for a long thru-hike or camping trip, as Bosenkitchen sealing extends food freshness for up to a week.聽

Coffee Gator Pour Over聽

Originally: $40, Prime Day Deal: $20.31

For those who want to replace instant campfire coffee with a more 鈥榣uxurious鈥� pour over brew, this coffee maker is great for beginners. What makes this stand out among others is the stainless steel filter, which keeps in flavor, is reusable, and cost effective. Plus, there鈥檚 no need to pack all those extra paper filters.聽

YETI Rambler Mug

Originally: $36.05, Prime Day Deal: $24

What can we say – we鈥檒l never say no to a good YETI deal. These 14 oz. mugs are made of insulated stainless steel and a MagSlider lid that鈥檒l keep liquids in and pesky bugs out. No more lukewarm coffee, cold chili, or lackluster oatmeal.聽

Coleman Classic 2-in-1 Camping Grill and Stove

Originally: 149.99, Prime Day Deal: $94.99

The Coleman Classic is multifunctional and built to withstand weather with WindBlock protection to shield flames from high winds. It鈥檚 multifunctional with a grill and stove, allowing for more controlled, easy cooking. Easy to clean, portable, matchless, and a good price.

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Bag and pack maker Peak Design on Wednesday accused Amazon of producing a copycat version of its Everyday Sling bag.

But instead of pursuing legal action against the company, Peak Design found a hilarious way to skewer Amazon鈥檚 cheap knockoff鈥攁 video called 鈥�A Tale of Two Slings.鈥�

The San Francisco-based brand says it believes that 鈥淎mazon has infringed on their intellectual property and has contemplated avenues for legal recourse. However, for now, Peak Design decided an amusing video response would be the best format to publicly respond to Amazon and help bring delight to Peak Design鈥檚 customers and employees.鈥�

In the video, Peak Design draws distinctions between its original Everyday Sling (MSRP: $99.95), which it launched in 2017, and Amazon Basic鈥檚 Everyday Sling鈥攜es, it even has the same name鈥�released in 2020 (MSRP: $32.99).

Peak Design said that 鈥渁s an innovator of best-in-class carry solutions, and champion of socially and environmentally responsible manufacturing, [we hope] the tongue-in-cheek response will remind the public that when it comes to low-quality imitations, you get what you pay for.

Peter Dering, founder and CEO of Peak Design, added: 鈥淎mazon putting the little trapezoidal patch on their bag to mimic our label is both the highest compliment, and a slap in the face. It deserves something in return, and if that is something we could create to spark additional joy in our lives? In our customer鈥檚 lives? Then hell yes. Let the cameras roll.鈥�

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“The very first concept to understand is that this all comes down to a brewing war between Google and Amazon.”

That’s how Mike Massey, founder of the e-commerce platform Locally, describes the recent announcement from Google聽that the tech giant will start listing products from local retailers on Search, Images, Shopping, Maps, Lens, and Google My Business for free.

“This is shot across the bow from one of the largest tech firms in the world to the other,” Massey said.

When it comes to online shopping, Amazon has steadily stolen search traffic from Google for years, Massey explains. More and more, shoppers are beginning and ending their product searches on Amazon, from initial query to final purchase. This is bad news for Google, as the company makes much of its money from ads on product searches run through its various platforms.

“You don’t pay for Gmail or Maps or anything like that. Product search is Google’s main business. They’re trying to address this Amazon problem by encouraging people to start their shopping searches on Google. That’s what this new move is about,” said Massey.

This is good news鈥攑otentially game-changing news鈥攆or small retailers.

“This is enormous for small shops,” Massey said. “The kind of exposure that retailers are going to get from this is potentially worth tens of thousands of dollars a month.”

To understand Google’s move from the consumer side, Massey says he tells people to imagine doing a basic search for the word “pizza.”

“What comes up at the top of the page? Not the Wikipedia article for pizza, not the names of famous pizza restaurants in New York City, but relevant local information鈥攑izza places near you鈥攖hat guide you toward a purchase. That鈥檚 now what鈥檚 happening with retail. Before, if you typed in ‘YETI cooler,’ you would have gotten mainly ads from companies that have spent a lot of money on them. Now you鈥檙e getting links to local retailers. Google is essentially giving away free advertising.”

Of course, there are catches. To take advantage of the program, retailers need to have a viable e-commerce operation that can feed data to Google for the listings. And they need to jump through the hoops of setting up a merchant account with Google, a process that can be arcane and time consuming.

To solve these problems, Locally has partnered with聽dbaPlatform聽to offer a set-up service聽that handles all aspects of syncing in-stock inventory from local retailers with Google. The service costs聽$49 a month for one location and an additional $39 a month for each location after that.

“What retailers should understand is that, even though this is a battle between two tech giants, small shops are the winners right now,” Massy said.

Time will tell whether he’s right. Google is steadfastly private about the machinations of its search algorithms, but all available evidence says it’s at least highly possible that local retailers will have a real seat at the table when it comes to Google product searches from now on.

For Massey’s part鈥攐n behalf of Locally and the hundreds of retailers it services鈥攈e’s a little less skeptical.

“This is a windfall,” he said.

The post The Battle Between Google and Amazon Might Actually Help Small Retailers appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

It can feel like more rumors than facts swarm around Amazon, in part because the retailer is notoriously secretive鈥攁nd that makes it hard to separate truth from speculation. In most news articles that discuss the world鈥檚 largest retailer, experts point out, you won鈥檛 find any sources from within the company providing actual information. Consequently, consumers, retailers, and brands end up making their own assumptions鈥攎any of them false. Add in Amazon鈥檚 constantly evolving practices, and misconceptions abound. We tapped a panel of on-the-ground experts to set the record straight.

Meet the Amazon Experts

Mike Massey

The owner of New Orleans-based Massey鈥檚 Outfitters became one of the first specialty retailers to sell gear through Amazon when he opened a third-party shop in August 2004. In 2014, he launched Locally to connect online shoppers with local retailers.

Peter Kearns

For four years, Kearns worked on Amazon鈥檚 Seller Services team, where he helped hundreds of brands generate more than $500 million in sales. Then, Kearns spent the next four years as a consultant helping brands and retailers hone their Amazon strategy. He鈥檚 now VP of Business Development for 180Commerce, an Amazon brand strategy and management agency that specializes in the sports and outdoor industry.

Larry Plumier

Responsible for launching the outdoor category for Amazon Retail, Larry Pluimer worked at Amazon from 2008 to 2010. Now, he鈥檚 Founder/CEO of Indigitous, an Amazon services agency that provides brands with strategies and resources for Amazon advertising, catalog optimization, and vendor representation.

Myth 1: Amazon Is a Discounter First

Not anymore. 鈥淚n the early days, Amazon did lead on price,鈥� said Larry Pluimer, who remembers when it lowered prices to drive the traffic required to attract brands. Now, however, with nearly 200 million people visiting the site each month, Amazon has shifted its strategy to maintaining prices for maximum profits.

That鈥檚 the preference, anyway. But in practice, Amazon pursues low prices on the products it sells when it鈥檚 forced to compete. 鈥淎mazon matches prices, using extensive monitoring systems that survey their own third-party sellers and other websites too,鈥� Pluimer explained. So if one mom-and-pop decides to mark down a few items on its own website, Amazon will adjust its pricing to theirs, which amplifies the discount to a massive scale. Thus, Amazon goes low when other retailers do. 鈥淏ut it doesn鈥檛 necessarily want to,鈥� said Peter Kearns. 鈥淎mazon is in it to make a profit.鈥�

Myth 2: Amazon Is Killing Brick-And-Mortar Retail

Actually, some retailers are thriving in today鈥檚 Amazon-dominated scene, said Mike Massey. 鈥淲hile I agree that some types of brick-and-mortar stores have struggled, they鈥檙e generally the mid-market guys that sell cheap, low-differentiation products,鈥� he explained.

However, specialty stores that offer consumers more than just cheap goods are doing extremely well, said Massey, who points to running shops as one example: By offering custom fitting and consultation, they deliver an experience that shoppers can鈥檛 get online. And 鈥淸Amazon] sucks at selling authentic gear, like snow skis, climbing gear, and ski jackets,鈥� said Massey. So to succeed as a brick-and-mortar, 鈥測ou really need to be able to differentiate both the shopping experience and what you鈥檙e selling.鈥�

When that happens, shops鈥攁nd entire shopping malls鈥攆lourish. 鈥淢alls that are anchored by something like a JCPenney have no foot traffic, but when they鈥檙e filled with interesting stores, they鈥檙e amazingly busy,鈥� said Massey.

Still, he said, brick-and-mortar retailers do need to figure out how to connect with consumers 24 hours a day, as Amazon does. People do their comparison shopping online, often during the evenings or other at-home hours. But they don鈥檛 necessarily need items to be shipped to them. 鈥淔ifty percent of Home Depot鈥檚 online purchases are for in-store pickup,鈥� said Massey. Plus, he added, citing a 2014 Google study, shoppers are 70 percent more likely to come to your store if they know you have what they鈥檙e looking for.

The takeaway? 鈥淢ake your inventory visible to consumers 24 hours a day,鈥� he suggested. And if you can figure out a way to out-Prime Amazon Prime by delivering your rain jacket to the customer who lives two miles from your shop? Even better.

Myth 3: Brands Can Control Their Pricing on Amazon

Fugeddaboudit. Amazon is an open marketplace that allows anyone to sell items, at any price. 鈥淭he only time I am aware that [Amazon] gets involved [in policing] is if there is a belief that counterfeit, illegal products are being sold,鈥� said Peter Sachs, general manager of Lowa Boots (which quit Amazon over pricing conflicts in 2017).

Some advisors maintain that strict relationships with third-party sellers can forestall price dives on Amazon. 鈥淵ou need to have a really good distribution strategy, with agreements that spell out your MAP policy,鈥� said Kearns. Still, unauthorized 鈥済ray market鈥� sellers have a way of popping up and undercutting that solidarity, said Massey, who suspects that Amazon itself creates fly-by-night resellers to unload stagnant inventory. 鈥淚 have no evidence to prove this,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淏ut every brand tracks who it sells to, and can verify that it didn鈥檛 sell product to a random pharmacy that opened a website seven days ago and is now unloading your goods at a deep聽discount,鈥� he explained. 鈥淭he reality is, [policing] is a persistent game of whacka-mole.鈥� The only way to avoid that, Massey insisted, is to allow no third-party sellers鈥攏ot a single one. 鈥淏rands that allow nobody but themselves to sell on Amazon can feel confident that they鈥檙e always selling at full price.鈥�

Myth 4: Brands Can Safely Avoid Working with Amazon Because Their Specialty Retailers Will Sell Their Products Third-Party (3p)

That鈥檚 only true if the brand doesn鈥檛 care about creating a consistent image, said Pluimer. 鈥淚f you have 10 3P sellers, they often won鈥檛 show customers images and content that鈥檚 all aligned,鈥� he explained. In fact, it鈥檚 [the sellers鈥橾 job to differentiate themselves from competing retailers. Meanwhile, Amazon is offering brands more opportunities to use the Marketplace as a marketing vehicle, with increasing exposure for brand content and videos. 鈥淎mazon is an important consumer touchpoint that needs to be used deliberately,” said Pluimer.聽“When brands and retailers assume that all of Amazon’s power comes solely from selling consumer goods, they’re seeing the tip rather than the whole iceberg.”

Myth 5: Amazon Plans to Cancel the Accounts of All Vendors Under $10 Million

Last year, after Bloomberg published an article speculating that Amazon would purge small suppliers, rumors spread. Amazon actually stepped in to say that the article was inaccurate. 鈥淚 happen to believe [the purge rumor] is false,鈥� said Pluimer. Still, he added, 鈥渆veryone at June鈥檚 Outdoor Retailer was asking me about it in panic.鈥� Moral of the story: beware of Amazon 鈥渘ews鈥� that doesn鈥檛 come directly from the company鈥檚 HQ.

Myth 6: Amazon鈥檚 Service Reps Go to Bat for Their Clients

Knowing that its brands appreciate some hand-holding as they negotiate the company鈥檚 regulations and tools, Amazon offers its own service representatives鈥攌nown as Strategic Vendor Services (SVS) and the Vendor Success Program (VSP)鈥攖o help companies jump through the hoops. But that system doesn鈥檛 let resellers or brands take their hands off the wheel, says Kearns. Amazon鈥檚 in-house reps prioritize that company鈥檚 goals and benchmarks鈥� which may or may not align with yours. They may push new shipping programs or international expansions, but brands must decide whether they truly benefit from Amazon鈥檚 initiatives.

And Amazon鈥檚 in-house reps won鈥檛 advocate for brands or negotiate better terms. 鈥淪VS will never go to Amazon and say, 鈥業 think these guys should be paying less,鈥欌�� said Pluimer. So as rising tariffs cut into brands鈥� profits, Amazon reps won鈥檛 campaign for cost adjustments.

Myth 7: Amazon鈥檚 E-Commerce Structure Is Environmentally Wasteful

Shipping stuff around the globe for home delivery seems like a ghastly waste of energy鈥攅specially when the packaging doesn鈥檛 always fit the item (most of us have, at some point, received a large Amazon box that鈥檚 empty except for one tiny item).

But Amazon is mending its sloppy shipping habits, said Pluimer. 鈥淚t uses the same amount of cardboard it did 10 years ago, despite having doubled its sales since then,鈥� he maintained. Amazon has also urged its brands to reduce their product packaging, since the e-commerce structure doesn鈥檛 rely on flashy shelf presentation to woo potential buyers.

Meanwhile, having scores of individual consumers hop into their cars and drive to stores isn鈥檛 so sustainable, either. Turns out, having one UPS truck drive around the neighborhood delivering packages is typically more efficient than having a legion of SUVs motoring to parking lots. 鈥淓-commerce is quite competitive, if not better than traditional retail distribution,鈥� Plumier said. That is, until the consumer requests one-day shipping, which spikes the fuel demands of moving product. Only then does e-commerce get a sustainability black eye.

Myth 8: Amazon Is Unstoppable

Everything is fallible鈥攅ven Amazon, which looks a lot like AOL to Massey. 鈥淩emember back in the 鈥�90s, when AOL seemed like it would displace all of everything?鈥� he asked. Yet AOL fell from relevancy, and poses a cautionary example for brands that assume Amazon is a rocket ship to triple-digit growth.

In fact, the complex web of businesses that Amazon owns makes it tricky to discern just how much of the behemoth鈥檚 profits derive from actual retail sales: Tech platforms, media production, web services, cloud storage, and a health care lab all make up slices of Amazon鈥檚 pie, so when brands and retailers assume that all of Amazon鈥檚 power comes solely from selling consumer goods, they鈥檙e seeing the tip rather than the whole iceberg. To Massey, betting everything on that tip seems like a poor gamble. Instead, he urges a balanced business model.

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When Jeff Bezos first launched Amazon way back in 1994, his original vision was to create an online store that offered a wide selection of books at affordable prices. What he actually created: a retail revolution that would fundamentally change the way consumers shop in the 21st century. This became increasingly evident as the company expanded its inventory to include just about anything that customers could possibly want, including outdoor gear.

鈥淭he outdoor category, like most Amazon product categories, was prioritized and developed as a function of consumer demand,鈥� said Larry Pluimer, CEO of Indigitous, a consulting firm that helps brands and retailers navigate the Amazon waters. 鈥淏ecause Amazon is a search engine, it can tell how many people are searching for 鈥榗amping tents鈥� versus 鈥榯oasters鈥�. As it turns out, a lot of people are searching for 鈥楾he North Face鈥�.鈥�

Before Indigitous, Pluimer spearheaded Amazon鈥檚 efforts to bring outdoor products to the Marketplace starting in 2009. Part of his job was developing Amazon categories that allowed sellers to merchandise gear like tents and crampons, but creating a proper online retail outlet for outdoor gear was only half the battle. Pluimer and his team also had to convince brands and retailers to join the Marketplace. That wasn鈥檛 very easy at first, but eventually it started to pay off. 鈥淎mazon was controversial and brands were reluctant to engage,鈥� Pluimer said, referencing a general distrust that many retailers and brands had for Amazon at the time. 鈥淏ut, in a couple of years, we had signed over 200 brands to sell to Amazon. Some of our early partners included Keen, Osprey, Eagle Creek, Sierra Designs, MSR, and Kelty.鈥�

Today, Amazon has grown into the largest retailer in the world, with annual revenues topping $200 billion. With more and more consumers turning to the website to find products, partnering with Amazon can be rewarding for both brands and retailers. But there鈥檚 more to succeeding in the ever-expanding Marketplace than simply slapping a few products on the site: Like any other part of a successful business, you need a strategy. Our list of 25 outdoor industry-tested tactics, tips, and best practices is here to help you develop the right one for you, scoring a win on the world鈥檚 biggest e-commerce website.

1-3. Choose Your Selling Approach

There are a few ways to join the Marketplace鈥攚hich is the one for you?

4. Nail SEO

Search engine optimization is just as vital on Amazon as it is on Google. Pay attention to proper keywords in titles, subtitles, bullet points, and product descriptions, but don鈥檛 get overly mechanical with your approach. 鈥淢ake sure your product listings read like they were written by a human and not a robot,鈥� said Yoon Kim, founder of Blogs For Brands, a company that assists outdoor brands with marketing and Amazon strategy. 鈥淎nd [remember that] Amazon does not account for misspellings. You鈥檒l need to include every possible misspelling of your product on the product description page in order to cover all your bases.鈥� As with Google, Amazon SEO can be confusing. Kim suggests bringing in some backup: 鈥淗iring an SEO expert can speed up projects and lead to better results, especially for tedious projects like Amazon copy.鈥�

5. Choose Your SKUs

Just because you鈥檝e made the decision to join the Marketplace doesn鈥檛 mean that you have to list every product your company has to offer. Many brands and retailers find value in only selling a portion of their catalog online. Outdoor Research鈥檚 Andy Burke said, 鈥淲e鈥檝e found that a segmented offering on Amazon provides both broad visibility for the brand and simultaneously provides a special experience for our brick-and-mortar retailers. Our specialty offerings are focused on key items and collections that are better served in the hands of educated sales staff and customer service people.鈥�

6. Mind Your MAP

Maintaining control of minimum advertised pricing (MAP) can be difficult in the free-for-all that is the Marketplace. Even authorized retail partners might drop prices too low in search of a quick sale, but 鈥淒on鈥檛 let rogue sellers define your price,鈥� Larry Pluimer said. 鈥淵our distribution policy needs to be deliberate and focused鈥濃�攚hether that means working with only a select group of trusted 3P partners, or even nixing 3P sellers altogether. Yoon Kim agreed: 鈥淲hen MAP gets out of control, Amazon is the first to know, and if Amazon stays under MAP, everyone eventually matches. Control your distribution so that if MAP issues arise, you can cut off a rogue seller.鈥�

7. Understand Amazon鈥檚 Reach

8. Create Opportunities for Impulse Buys

A recent survey of online shopping trends from CreditCards.com shows that 44 percent of Americans admit to making an impulse purchase in the last three months. Amazon sellers can take advantage of this trend by offering unique and useful products at very affordable price鈥攍ike the LifeStraw Personal Water Filter, which retails for just $17.47. 鈥淎mazon introduced our products to a massive audience who saw the value of being prepared for emergencies and having something lightweight and easy to add to their pack,鈥� said Tara Lundy, the company鈥檚 head of brand. 鈥淲e have a great business on Amazon. We utilize the platform to reach hundreds of thousands of customers who may not be able to access our products in-store.鈥�

9. Don鈥檛 Be Afraid to Break Up

Off-price Amazon competition eating into your brick-and-mortar business? You don鈥檛 have to take it anymore, says Wes Allen, owner of in Cody, Wyoming. 鈥淭he worst thing specialty retailers can do if they鈥檙e having this problem is to continue to write [orders with] the brand,鈥� Allen said, noting that his store has stopped carrying gear from brands that couldn鈥檛 or wouldn鈥檛 rein in below-MAP sales on Amazon. 鈥淭here are very few brands out there making things that somebody else doesn鈥檛 make. Look around at who has the best brand hygiene and figure out who you want to work with.鈥�

The key, said Allen, is tracking prices and opening up conversations with vendors based on data. Sunlight Sports will match a lower Amazon price in the store, and Allen receives a daily sales report noting how often that happens. He then takes those numbers to brand partners: 鈥淵ou have to show them what the impact is. Tell them what you鈥檙e seeing so they can take action.鈥� And if they don鈥檛? Find someone who will. Allen says he鈥檚 increased orders with The North Face, K脺HL, and Nordica in recent years in part because they do a great job controlling MAP across the board.

Champaign Outdoors in Illinois automatically price matches products over $30. “”The reality is, customers will pull out their phone and look to see if they can get a better deal on something. And who can blame them?” Owner Dan Epstein said. “But we are pretty confident that we curate brands with strong protection online.”

10. Spend Money to Make Money

Don鈥檛 overlook the benefits of buying ad space from Amazon. You鈥檒l catch the attention of more shoppers and potentially even push items onto the first page of search results. Want to see this in action? Do a search for Patagonia鈥攁 brand that isn鈥檛 even officially part of the Marketplace鈥攁nd see what comes up. Besides Patagonia gear from unauthorized sellers, you鈥檙e also likely to find advertisements for The North Face or Columbia displayed along the top of the page, giving the competition the chance to lure away potential customers.

11 & 12. Tap into Prime Customers

Amazon鈥檚 100 million-plus Prime members spend $1,400 per year on the website鈥攎ore than double that of regular shoppers鈥攎aking them a good group to get to know. But you鈥檒l have to pick one of these two sides to reach them.

13. Fight Back Against Counterfeits

Copycat merchandise and outright counterfeits can make operating on the Marketplace a challenge at times, eating into legitimate sales for authorized retailers and gear manufacturers alike. But by taking an active part in the Amazon ecosystem, brands gain access to Project Zero, a program designed to hunt down and remove counterfeits. The system uses machine learning, product serialization, and old-fashioned human diligence to protect a brand鈥檚 intellectual property on the Marketplace.

Sellers can also join the Amazon Brand Registry (ABR), which provides enhanced search options that let companies locate and stamp out trademark infringement on the Marketplace. How effective is it? According to Amazon, more than 130,000 brands have joined the program, and members report 99 percent fewer suspected trademark infringements since before the tool was launched in 2017.

Nite Ize and OtterBox have both had issues with counterfeits on Amazon; both sued companies for violating their trademarks, with Amazon joining in on the lawsuit (OtterBox won; Nite Ize is awaiting its day in court).

14. Capitalize on the Prime Day

Beyond Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, Amazon鈥檚 own Prime Day, an exclusive sale that takes place in mid-July, has grown into a significant sales opportunity. A well-timed sale, advertising campaign, or product launch during these events can result in massive success for a seller.

Just how much of an impact can Prime Day have? LifeStraw, which allocated some of its budget to Amazon鈥檚 paid search platform and ran a timely sale, sold more than 200,000 units of its Personal Water Filter on Prime Day 2019 alone, making it one of the top-selling products in the U.S. and Canada and increasing its visibility dramatically. That helped the company achieve another one of its goals: providing safe drinking water to students around the globe. 鈥淲ith the sales from Prime Day 2019 alone, we were able to reach over 200,000 more school children,鈥� said Head of Brand Tara Lundy.

15. Embrace a Product鈥檚 Amazon History

Introducing a new version of a legacy product? Don鈥檛 reinvent the wheel. Rich Hill, president of Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, has consulted with dozens of brands and retailers on how to best work with Amazon. He鈥檚 learned the value of consistency on the Marketplace, telling clients, 鈥淣ever change the name of a product. When you do, you lose all of that product鈥檚 history on Amazon, including reviews and customer feedback. Those items play a role in page rankings and are difficult to replace or rebuild.鈥� Case in point: the Nalgene wide-mouth water bottle, with nearly 6,500 ratings and a 4.7/5 average. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 change, it鈥檚 iconic, and it just keeps building its ratings,鈥� Hill noted.

16. Turn Alexa into Your Pitch Person

Amazon鈥檚 popular voice assistant, Alexa, can be used for more than just answering trivia questions. In fact, just about anyone can create an Alexa Skill, which is essentially a voice-activated app that delivers custom functionality. Clever brands have already found creative ways to engage with their customers, like REI鈥檚 Skill, which touts the brand鈥檚 Deal of the Day and provides store locations and events. Other brands outside the outdoor industry deliver recipes (Campbell鈥檚) or daily allergy forecasts (Zyrtec). Right now, the market is wide open for a branded Skill that delivers hiking trail suggestions, ski area snowfall reports, or packing lists for camp outings. You鈥檙e welcome.

17. Win the Buy Box

As a retailer, how do you stand out from the hordes of other sellers hawking the same gear? Data show that 82 percent of all sales on Amazon come from the Buy Box鈥攖he section on the product details page where customers can add an item to their cart or purchase it instantly. The Buy Box is an important piece of real estate on the Marketplace because it often lists multiple retailers that are offering the same product. In short: You want to be in there.

Sellers who earn that coveted space must satisfy Amazon鈥檚 algorithm by offering that product at a highly competitive price with the cost of shipping factored in. They must also have inventory on hand to fulfill the order, and a good seller rating based on customer feedback over the past 30, 90, and 365 days. Any retailer who meets those criteria greatly increases its chances of being listed in the Buy Box, even on a competitor鈥檚 page selling the exact same product.

18. Don鈥檛 Go It Alone

19. Fill Up Your Photo Album

Data show that good photos help keep customers on a product page longer and result in higher conversion rates. In fact, consultants advise that Amazon shoppers value high-quality images more than the descriptive text that appears on a product page. Amazon lets sellers include up to six images on any product page, but often brands and retailers don鈥檛 use all of the available space. As Fred Dimyan of consulting firm Potoo pointed out, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 equivalent to Target giving you seven feet of retail space, but you only use two of those feet.鈥�

20. Learn to Master Your Channel

If you鈥檙e looking for insightful and creative tips for how you can succeed on the Amazon Marketplace (and on an array of other e-commerce platforms), then the Channel Mastery podcast (channelmastery.com) is a must-listen. Each week, host Kristin Carpenter welcomes smart, plugged-in guests from a wide range of industries to discuss strategies and techniques designed to meet the unique needs of outdoor brands and retail outlets. 鈥淭he podcast came about because there were no other resources available for specialty retailers,鈥� Carpenter said. Tune in to a special Channel Mastery series produced in partnership with OBJ.

21. Sell the Right Stuff

The Marketplace may be huge, but it鈥檚 not the best outlet for everything, says Rich Hill. Accessories, commodity items, and replenishment products (think: another pair of your favorite socks) kill it on Amazon, while high-touch, fit-dependent gear is a tougher sell.

22. Go on the Hunt for Unauthorized Sellers

There are outright counterfeiters, and then there are unauthorized resellers. The latter cuts into sales and margins by dumping product at steeply discounted prices. These sellers don鈥檛 have permission to sell a brand鈥檚 merchandise on the Marketplace, but do so anyway. They often obtain a brand鈥檚 merchandise through backchannel means, finding a wholesaler who鈥檚 willing to sell product with no questions asked or sometimes even going directly to the factory. The end result: Sales get siphoned away from legit sellers.

Amazon can help brands stomp out these unauthorized sellers, but sometimes it pays to get a little outside help. Potoo Solutions uses proprietary data analytics to rein in resellers for many of its more than 500 clients.

鈥淲e can reduce unauthorized sales by as much as 83 percent,鈥� said Potoo CEO Fred Dimyan. 鈥淚n doing so, the average selling price of a product goes up, both on Amazon and in brick-and-mortar retail outlets, which often end up seeing better sales in the long run.鈥�

Or go it alone: In 2017, Osprey launched a systematic campaign to shut down anyone who didn鈥檛 have permission to sell its products on Amazon. That process began by surveying the activities of all of its retail partners, including ones that had been working with the company for years. The result was new contracts that restricted Amazon sales to a few trusted partners, bringing the number of authorized sellers down from nearly 200 to just eight in about a year.

23-24. Don鈥檛 Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Amazon may be a sales juggernaut, but don’t focus all your e-commerce energy there. Here are three smart ways to diversity your strategy.

Turn Online Browsers into Local Customers

“We set out to build bridges between online and offline shopping,” said Mike Massey, co-founder of Locally.com. How, exactly? The website helps online shoppers find the products they’re looking for at a nearby brick-and-mortar outlet.

Customers can go directly to the Locally website to search for an item: The site then scans its database to find that specific product and examines the inventory of stores located close to the customer to find where it is available. Or browsers on brand’s own website will see a “buy it locally” option when perusing specific products. Both options drive shoppers to local retailers, where they can usually pick up their purchases the very same day.

Win the Delivery Game

One of Amazon鈥檚 biggest appeals is a vast distribution network that allows it to conveniently ship products to a customer鈥檚 door, fast. But Amazon doesn鈥檛 own speedy delivery. Last August, Brooks and Locally launched Locally On-Demand, a program that allows shoppers to see merchandise that鈥檚 available in local retailers, buy it, and have it delivered the same day for a small fee. This usually matches or even beats Amazon鈥檚 ability to ship quickly and cheaply.

The program is now available in 2,200 U.S. cities and is growing at a rate of 365 percent per month.

25. Make an Escape Plan

And finally, a counterpoint: For some brands, divorcing Amazon actually is the best move. When Lowa Boots saw margins on its products shrinking due to unauthorized Amazon resellers automatically matching steeply discounted prices, the company made the tough decision to exit the Marketplace altogether. Cutthroat competition was impacting nearly all of Lowa鈥檚 retail partners, and leaving Amazon helped to reverse that trend, although the transition wasn鈥檛 easy.

鈥淲e knew the day we stopped our business would go down, and it did,鈥� Lowa General Manager in the U.S. Peter Sachs said. 鈥淲e predicted a two-year claw-back, and that鈥檚 what it took for topline sales to get us back to where we had been.鈥� Eventually, both online and traditional retail sales adjusted to the shift away from Amazon and things began to turn around. 鈥淎mazon has some heavy expenses attached to it, and without them our expenses did go down and our margins increased,鈥� Sachs added. 鈥淭he end result is that we have a heathy, diversified, and profitable business鈥濃�攑roof that there can be life after Amazon.

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In front of a room of journalists in March, Jonathan Nielsen described himself as really good snowboarder, a frequent mountain biker, and an adequate climber. The audience chuckled and the聽Backcountry聽CEO took a pause before spilling his excitement over the company’s biggest namesake product expansion to date. The collections鈥攃limb, apparel, and travel launched for spring/summer that week, mountain bike launched a few weeks ago, and ski and snowboard launch later this year鈥攏ot only build on the company’s first foray into gear making in 2018, but mark a new era for the brand that was founded in 1996 by two ski bums.

After his presentation at the headquarters in Park City, Utah, 国产吃瓜黑料 Business Journal sat down with Nielsen for a one-on-one interview to discuss the company’s growth, first as a service and now as a brand. He told us that Backcountry’s customers have evolved to identify themselves by more than one outdoor activity鈥攖hey’re climbers, cyclists, runners, yogis, snowboarders, skiers, mountain bikers, and more. And it’s part of Backcountry’s strategy to develop the best gear possible, based on feedback from millions of customers over 20 years.

On pushback from other brands when Backcountry decided to make its own gear:

“There鈥檚 been less pushback than I expected. It鈥檚 2019. Everyone gets where we鈥檙e going from an industry perspective. Not everyone loves it, but they understand it and it鈥檚 a sound decision and the right thing to do for all of our businesses. The best retailers and brands are trying to get closer to having a deep relationship with customers.聽We鈥檝e got to do what鈥檚 right for our customer and what鈥檚 healthy for our business. Our customer wants Backcountry product. They鈥檝e said it over and over again. When I get questions about pushback, I flip it on its head and say, for us in an Amazon-driven world, we need to have unique product that enriches our brand and will make our business healthy. The healthier we are as a business, the better we鈥檙e going to partner for you. Similar to how brands go direct to consumer and that makes you healthy, building our own product ultimately makes us a healthier business.”

On bringing brands together for the collection:

“Because we鈥檙e this hybrid retailer becoming a brand, we can bring people together. If you look at our touring collection last year, it was Flylow, DPS, Black Diamond. This year, it’s聽Black Diamond and DPS again, Edelweiss, Metolius, So iLL, Gore-Tex, and Burton. There鈥檚 not really another paradigm where those all come together鈥攐utside of just a traditional retail setting鈥攖o create a full kit together. I think we have a unique ability to do that. We have a consumer they all want to reach.”

On giving the ever-evolving customer what they want:

“We鈥檝e really embraced this notion of lifestyle. Twenty years ago, people were like, I鈥檓 a skier. We find that our customers do multiple sports and they actually want to wear apparel that represents who they are. We have a lot of great brands that hit that hit that nexus of outdoor. There鈥檚 a trend with athleisure. You go to a climbing gym, everyone is climbing in leggings. It鈥檚 comfortable and it works and it looks great. We have brands like Alo and Beyond Yoga. They hit that combination, especially for our female customer, of functional, looks great, performs. It鈥檚 everyday wear, plus you can climb in it. Everyone鈥檚 doing it. One of our bestselling products in 2018 was our female fleece-lined tight. We sold out of it.”

On selling on Amazon:

“One of the levers that Amazon uses to get brands to join is if you鈥檙e not on, they don鈥檛 police gray market and they let it be the wild west. They say, hey if you come on, we鈥檒l get rid of all this gray market stuff for you. We do participate in the marketplace as a third-party seller, but that鈥檚 a direct function of whether our brand partners are on Amazon or not. In a perfect world, we would love specialty to be specialty. But I understand. Roughly 50 percent of all e-commerce growth comes from Amazon, so I get it. Brands need to tap into that channel and if they鈥檙e going to do that, what we like to do is help them think through it because we鈥檙e actually quite good at e-commerce and quite good at the Amazon ecosystem.”

On the health of brick-and-mortar retail:

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think retail is going away, it鈥檚 just different. Retail used to be just a function of location, right? When there鈥檚 no internet, it鈥檚 like, I own this location and therefore that is convenience. The internet blew that up. Now, you have to tell a story, you have to offer the customer something different than just a spot down the street. I think for a lot of retailers, it鈥檚 hard.”

On the inspiration for the Gearhead program:

“I think everyone thinks technology is here to destroy everything. I don鈥檛 have that view. And Gearheads are a great example. We actually think that personalization for us is less algorithmic and more people鈥攊t鈥檚 the people that enrich the website experience.聽You used to just walk down the street and say, yeah you鈥檙e my person.聽We take that local shop experience and give you access to it in a 2019 kind of way.”

On what鈥檚 next for Backcountry:

鈥淭he backcountry brand is here to stay. We had a small launch in 2018 and we鈥檙e taking a giant step forward in 2019. I think you鈥檒l see continual large steps forward. Our goal is to become a major outdoor brand on the product side and continue to do what we鈥檝e always done on the retail side and lean in to our Gearhead program.鈥�

The post An Exclusive Interview with Backcountry CEO Jonathan Nielsen appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

There was a time in Tayson Whittaker鈥檚 life when $200 was a lot of money. In 2014, when Whittaker was a 23-year-old finance student at Southern Utah University, he struggled to come up with enough cash to buy ultralight backpacking gear. He already had a closet full of hunting and fishing equipment that he鈥檇 acquired as a kid growing up in rural Richfield, Utah, but his college pals had turned him on to hiking鈥攁nd the comforts that come with lightweight gear. Even the Kelty Cosmic (the cheapest down sleeping bag he could find) cost almost two Benjamins, which Whittaker couldn鈥檛 afford.

Most people, faced with a similar situation, would make do with eBay and move on. But Whittaker had another idea. If no gear company sold the product he wanted at a price he could afford, why not launch a brand that would? After all, he鈥檇 already taken loads of business courses, and had even peered into the direct-to-consumer world as a part-time employee with a health supplies importer. 鈥淚 knew I enjoyed business, but wanted to get into something I was passionate about,鈥� he said.

So with $500 in his checking account and a newly minted bachelor鈥檚 degree, Whittaker founded Outdoor Vitals. In this case, 鈥渇ounded鈥� meant establishing an LLC and a website, becoming an Amazon seller, and placing an order (for just five units) with a manufacturer in Asia. No in-house designer, no marketing department, no sales reps鈥攈e couldn鈥檛 afford them, but he didn鈥檛 need them. He simply browsed the Chinese online database Alibaba until he found a factory that promised to make what he wanted: a down-filled sleeping bag that he could sell for less than $100.

In July 2014, he listed Outdoor Vitals鈥� first product on Amazon. His 500-fill Atlas mummy bag weighed a little more than three pounds, promised a 15-degree comfort rating, and cost consumers a whopping $99. His margin was 30 percent after Amazon fees.

It was an instant hit: Whittaker had to order more bags鈥攁 lot more鈥攁s the Atlas reigned as Amazon鈥檚 number one-selling sleeping bag for more than a year. Since then, Outdoor Vitals has expanded its 鈥淟ive Ultralight鈥� mission to include hammock-specific bags, backpacks, tarps and tents, and a synthetic-fill jacket. And Whittaker has more than $500 in the bank these days, with Outdoor Vitals selling more than $2 million in product annually.

The success of Outdoor Vitals was made possible by two key changes in the way gear is made and sold. First, the evolution of Asian manufacturing makes it possible to hand off design and materials sourcing to the factory. Communicating with factory management is also easier than ever, with email replacing the costly, face-to-face negotiations that were the norm as recently as ten years ago. Gear production is hardly an infant industry these days; it has grown up, with established norms and a sophisticated workforce.

And second: Amazon. There鈥檚 nothing new about the math of selling direct to consumers, but it used to take capital to reach those shoppers. Now, access to a nation of bargain-hunters is just a few clicks away.

Outdoor Vitals is not alone in pioneering this model. A growing number of similar upstarts are discovering this low-cost formula, and they can鈥檛 be written off as simply cheap. Many of their products please consumers: piles of five-star reviews confirm it. And, proponents argue, these brands are filling a gap in the marketplace for basic, affordable, functional outdoor gear. The low-investment model also makes it easier than ever for any hiker or climber to turn his or her passion into a business鈥攁 dream that has sparked many a career in the outdoor industry.

But critics point out that this emerging model hurts the industry by undercutting its retailers (though the same can be said of all direct online sales). And some accuse these startups of copycatting: instead of pioneering their own designs, company founders make small tweaks to existing products鈥攚hich often look a lot like models that were developed and tested by established brands that invest in R&D.

So are these startups leeching off the industry鈥檚 innovators? Or does the model democratize outdoor gear by giving consumers affordable, basic options鈥攁nd offering scrappy entrepreneurs a low-investment way to get in the game?

After a 17-year career as a civil transportation engineer, Bart Przybyl quit his job. He simply didn鈥檛 have time to report to the office anymore, because his company, Paria Outdoor Products, was growing so fast. When Przybyl founded Paria in October 2015, he intended it to be a sideline business that would bring in enough supplemental income to let his wife stay home with their three kids. But two years later, with the 鈥渟ide business鈥� grossing more than $1 million annually, Przybyl decided it was time to make gear his main gig.

It all started with a podcast that Przybyl heard one day while creeping through traffic in Denver. The interview, with someone who鈥檇 started an e-commerce business, inspired Przybyl to leverage his passion for backpacking into launching a gear brand. As a kid growing up in Vancouver, Przybyl went for a weeklong trek on British Columbia鈥檚 West Coast Trail, and he has loved backpacking ever since. His first desert adventure, in Utah鈥檚 Paria Canyon, inspired the name of his company.

Like Whittaker, he searched through Alibaba鈥檚 database, then listed the specs he wanted for a trekking pole and asked a few factories to send him their samples. 鈥淚鈥檝e used poles for a long time, and appreciate their benefits for backpacking,鈥� Przybyl explained. But the folding style that he prefers (because it packs shorter than telescoping models) costs $100 to $200 from brands such as Leki, Helinox, and Black Diamond. So Przybyl set out to make a cheaper version: 鈥淢aybe not as high quality, but good enough,鈥� he said. This philosophy鈥攖hat a lot of backpackers just need gear that鈥檚 鈥済ood enough鈥濃�攊s key to his approach. So he selected his favorite factory-direct sample, dictated a smattering of changes, and ordered 500 pairs. They arrived 40 days later, and on January 21, 2016, he made his first sale, for $55, on Amazon.

鈥淎mazon has a program that lets you store your inventory at their distribution centers, and their staff picks and packs it,鈥� said Przybyl, explaining his low overhead model. Amazon鈥檚 shoppers quickly took notice of Paria鈥檚 bargain-priced poles. 鈥淪ometimes, we鈥檇 sell 50 pairs a day,鈥� Przybyl said. 鈥淪o I got to wondering where to go next.鈥�

Paria has since expanded into sleep systems, tents, and even double-walled titanium mugs. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have R&D,鈥� said Przybyl. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not developing products from scratch.鈥� Instead, he targets basic, low-cost construction and asks himself, 鈥淐an I make some modifications to existing products to make them better?鈥�

Judging from the glowing reviews (five stars each for Paria鈥檚 Thermodown 15 sleeping bag and Tri-Fold Carbon Cork trekking poles), Przybyl鈥檚 products typically please purchasers. 鈥淚 love the sleeping pads that I bought,鈥� raved one buyer. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e great!鈥� Another attested, 鈥淚 have pitched the [Sanctuary SilTarp] along the wilderness coast of Olympic National Park and in the Hoh Rainforest. It has performed flawlessly.鈥� Indeed, Backpacker testers have favorably reviewed three of Paria鈥檚 products. No surprise, the prices are also a hit. 鈥淵ou are doing an awesome job of helping more people to get outside and play!鈥� wrote one satisfied Paria customer.

鈥淲hat I鈥檓 trying to do is fill a gap in the market,鈥� said Przybyl. 鈥淭here鈥檚 really good backpacking gear made by companies such as Nemo and Big Agnes, and they鈥檙e awesome brands, top quality, but expensive. Then on the flip side, there鈥檚 the really inexpensive gear that you find at Walmart that isn鈥檛 good for backpacking because it鈥檚 so heavy. It seemed like there was a spot in the middle for lightweight, quality gear that鈥檚 suitable for backpacking, but isn鈥檛 premium.鈥�

But Greg Wozer, vice president of Leki USA, prefers to assume that all consumers need the best possible reliability鈥攅specially in his category of equipment. If a telescoping mechanism fails, or a pole shaft buckles, the user could fall. So even though there are no safety standards governing trekking pole design, Leki subjects all its poles to third-party testing to make sure that even its lowest-cost models exceed industry recommendations.

He also disputes the claim that big-name brands don鈥檛 offer entry-level options. 鈥淭he idea that we only develop products for the elite could not be less true,鈥� Wozer said. 鈥淵es, it鈥檚 a challenge to continually renew those products at the top of the pyramid, but every time we do, it allows us to take those high-end qualities and filter them down to entry-level products.鈥� Leki鈥檚 cheapest pair of poles (a telescoping model) costs $60, but its folding designs start at $140 per pair鈥攁nd Paria sells its folding poles for $50 to $60 per pair.

But it鈥檚 not just about price, said Bill Gamber, founder and co-owner of Big Agnes. Product testing and research matter, he believes. Big Agnes prototypes go through multiple iterations, each one informed by extensive in-field use to make sure they鈥檙e ready for consumers. With factory-direct models that forgo that development process, paying customers become the guinea pigs.

Gamber added that brands with no R&D 补谤别苍鈥檛 just skimping on testing: they鈥檙e ripping off standards that he and others established. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e selling someone else鈥檚 thought process and design and hard work.鈥� In fact, he claimed, it鈥檚 inaccurate to say that factory-direct startups don鈥檛 use designers. 鈥淭hey do. It鈥檚 Big Agnes, or MSR, or Mountain Hardwear. They鈥檙e just not paying for it.鈥�

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and every industry has to accommodate it鈥攁nd has since the second wheel was made. From smartphones to coffeemakers to cough drops, the trickle-down effect is a key part of market growth. Some companies prioritize innovation, while others target affordability. The mix of both creates a diverse marketplace that serves a range of consumers. Should the outdoor industry be any different?

In fact, many innovators actually welcome new ideas that challenge the status quo. 鈥淭rue competition spurs innovation and pushes us to be better,鈥� Wozer said. But he points out that being part of the outdoor industry has always been about more than making widgets. Leki and most brands that are firmly part of the outdoor ecosystem support nonprofit trail associations. Many support conservation causes and outreach programs. Then again, most companies need to get their financial footing before ramping up donations. Outdoor Vitals currently donates 1 percent to environmental causes, and Whittaker said he plans to develop a more robust giveback program. Paria occasionally donates gear to the local Boy Scouts chapter and similar nonprofits.

Wozer also takes exception to the parasitic nature of some startups. Some Amazon sellers (not Outdoor Vitals or Paria) copy entire pages of educational content from the websites of established brands, and list products using keywords borrowed from the bigger names. 鈥淲e鈥檒l see listings that use the names of our best-selling models and features,鈥� Wozer said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e disingenuous in the way they present themselves to the consumer.鈥� Thus Wozer isn鈥檛 convinced that Amazon shoppers are making fully educated purchases. Some bargain-priced lookalikes come so close to Leki鈥檚 original designs that even he can鈥檛 discern the difference at a glance. 鈥淏ut you can鈥檛 gauge tensile strength by appearance,鈥� said Wozer. (It鈥檚 important to note that factory-direct brands are not all the same. Ones like Paria and Outdoor Vitals have customer service and product expertise, while the knockoff artists Wozer is referring to often don鈥檛; we tried to contact several of the latter for this story, but none responded.)

Whittaker says that consumers don鈥檛 always get what鈥檚 advertised, but it鈥檚 not necessarily because companies are deliberately deceitful鈥攖hey鈥檙e just ignorant. Sometimes sellers are copying features that they know nothing about, so they鈥檙e cavalier about the facts. When a competing company plagiarized Outdoor Vitals鈥� own product copy, said Whittaker, it labeled its 500-fill bag as 800-fill down. 鈥淭hey assumed that 90/10 [down-to-feather ratio] meant 800-fill,鈥� said Whittaker. 鈥淵et [the bags] still got five-star reviews, because customers didn鈥檛 know the difference.鈥� (The copy was eventually corrected.)

Of course, imitation is not limited to low-cost companies. Take the folding trekking pole. Several leading brands now use this design, and you can bet they didn鈥檛 all invent it independently. Still, Gamber believes it鈥檚 important to bring something original to the table. When Big Agnes set out to develop its own lightweight camp chair, after years of distributing the Helinox version that enjoyed widespread popularity (and cloning), BA designers were careful to engineer their own, differentiating features鈥攍ike bent poles and innovative joints. Still, it looks quite like the Helinox chair at a glance.

To make its own line of branded gear, REI Co-op employs a team of in-house designers that make sure each product bears REI鈥檚 brand DNA. 鈥淭he majority of Co-op Brands product is ground-up concepted, designed, and executed by our creative team,鈥� said general manager Paul Calandrella.

But, says Przybyl, some standbys don鈥檛 need to be reinvented every time. Paria鈥檚 1P and 2P Bryce tents, for example, employ a widely used geometry. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been around forever, and is offered by lots of other companies,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not working with product that necessarily needs a designer to rethink it from scratch.鈥�

In other words, nowadays a tent is like a water bottle: if you just want a basic model, the factories don鈥檛 need a lot of instruction.

For some startups today, the first contact with a factory is through Alibaba (tagline: 鈥淕lobal trade starts here鈥�). The site publishes contact information for thousands of manufacturers and suppliers across a wide range of industries. Before Alibaba, you had to travel to Asian factories and negotiate designs and terms face to face, said Richard Amodio, a Bangkok-based production consultant and former factory manager who now advises brands on sourcing, design, and product development.

鈥淭hese days, it鈥檚 easier to find [a factory],鈥� Amodio said. But prospecting startups probably won鈥檛 be able to partner with the best factories, he claims, because those operations tend to work with bigger, established outdoor brands.

And while it鈥檚 possible to get quality work done, said Amodio, when you outsource everything to the factories, you outsource control. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a gamble in so many ways, because you鈥檝e got no control over how it鈥檚 made, where it鈥檚 made, or who鈥檚 making it,鈥� he explained. From afar, low-cost startups can鈥檛 supervise quality control. They can鈥檛 evaluate materials to confirm that their second batch of fabric is as good as the first one. And they certainly can鈥檛 know whether the factory is following acceptable environmental and human rights practices, Amodio said.

Bigger brands dedicate significant resources to compliance鈥攖hey make sure that materials, production methods, and working conditions comply with international standards and laws. And, of course, this is another factor that drives up price.

For example, Big Agnes employs two full-time quality inspectors, plus two more just for materials testing (the company verifies every batch of down to make sure it meets the declared fill rating). Each Big Agnes sleeping bag goes through a metal detector to make sure there are no needles lodged in the seams鈥攂ecause sewing needles sometimes break. Gamber doubts that ultra-lean startups are providing that kind of quality assurance. (Both Paria and Outdoor Vitals do quality-control inspections. Though their process may not be as thorough as ones used by larger brands, they back their products with a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects.)

And Wozer noted that Leki has developed sustainable production methods that prevent chemicals from getting into waterways and capture waste aluminum for recycling. He said low-cost production methods may impose a higher environmental impact.

Przybyl disagrees, and disputes Amodio鈥檚 claim that startups and big brands don鈥檛 share factories. 鈥淪ome of our products are made in the same factories as the big brands, so in those cases, [charges of environmental and social harm] are just not true,鈥� he said. Whittaker also produces some of his products in factories that he shares with bigger brands, so he knows they adhere to higher standards. And at the smaller factory that Whittaker initially partnered with, he negotiated a five-day work week for his product line.

But factories are only part of the equation for this new breed of brand. The other part is direct-to-consumer distribution.

So far, companies such as Outdoor Vitals have found customers primarily through Amazon. But Amazon itself is getting into the game with its Amazon Basics line, and Whittaker expects that in the race for ultralow prices, the behemoth will ultimately beat out the independents.

Yet the model allowed Whittaker to turn $500 into a foothold in the outdoor industry, and now, he intends to climb. 鈥淚nitially, my biggest selling feature was price,鈥� he said, but as his prices rose, his visibility on Amazon plummeted. That鈥檚 OK, he says. 鈥淔or me, Amazon was a stepping stone.鈥� Now, Outdoor Vitals processes 50 percent of its sales through its own website (direct sales remain the goal). It has built a community of brand devotees through its YouTube channel, which has 15,000 subscribers. Whittaker is developing fresh product like the LoftTek 国产吃瓜黑料 Jacket, which uses a new synthetic fill and raised $750,000 in 35 days on Kickstarter. 鈥淚 feel extremely blessed to be able to work in the outdoor industry,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s a kid, I never would have guessed I could combine my biggest passions into my everyday career.鈥�

But Whittaker admits that he鈥檚 reaching the limits of the factory-direct model and will probably soon start hiring his own designers鈥攊nitially on a contract basis, and eventually, he expects, as employees. 鈥淲e now have way too many designs to keep doing it the way we have been,鈥� he explained.

And that鈥檚 not the only sign that Outdoor Vitals is becoming more like the brands it once imitated. When competitors started knocking off Whittaker鈥檚 own products, he responded by moving into new territory. In July 2016 he debuted the Aerie underquilt for hammocks, and in July 2017 he developed (and patented) the MummyPod, a sleeping bag with a novel footbox design that slides over a hammock to provide insulation beneath the sleeper.

Within months, he saw cookie-cutter versions of both products appearing on Amazon.

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If it鈥檚 not a big-box store and it鈥檚 not an independent specialty retailer, then what exactly is it?

REI Co-op defies easy definition. It鈥檚 a builder of brands and a risk to them. It competes with smaller shops around the country while throwing its weight around to protect recreation access and grow outdoor participation. It鈥檚 a powerhouse that holds influence over its partners, customers, and politicians. And it鈥檚 a profitable business that isn鈥檛 totally profit-driven: annually, it gives back millions of dollars to co-op members in the form of dividends, and reinvests millions more into industry causes. Still, in some ways, it鈥檚 also a bully.

Undeniably, REI鈥攚ith its 154-plus stores in 35 states and Washington, D.C., and six million members鈥攊s the big fish in the outdoor industry鈥檚 pond. And for every small retailer who bristles at yet another brand giving REI an out-of-the-gate exclusive on new gear, or company that feels compelled to target new products to an REI niche, there鈥檚 a brand hitting it big-time with the co-op鈥檚 help, or a nonprofit enjoying its largesse.

One thing鈥檚 for sure: the industry would be a very different place without it.

The Competitor

Independent retailers have always feared REI moving in next door, and that concern has deepened as the co-op targets smaller markets around the country. Case study: REI鈥檚 first New Hampshire location will open in North Conway, population 2,300, next fall.

Michael Scontsas, the manager of one of the last Eastern Mountain Sports stores, said he鈥檚 not sure what REI hopes to get out of North Conway, nor what to expect when EMS moves out of its current 20,000-square-foot building for a smaller footprint鈥攁nd REI moves into the space. (EMS announced its plans to downsize first.)

鈥淚t鈥檒l be interesting to see what happens because, you know, the pie is only so big here,鈥� Scontsas said. 鈥淭he other three gear stores are definitely going to feel an impact with REI coming to town.鈥�

But according to a statement REI provided to The Voice, it isn鈥檛 out to steal customers: the co-op opens stores where member bases already exist. 鈥淲hen we add a new store, we help impact the outdoors positively, which tends to float all boats,鈥� it noted, adding that REI invests in local communities where it has stores.

Rick Wilcox, president of North Conway-based International Mountain Equipment, doesn鈥檛 expect problems: 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 room for everybody if [we鈥檙e] careful about what [we] do.鈥� IME鈥檚 bread and butter includes specialty ice climbing gear that more generalist stores like REI don鈥檛 sell. That鈥檚 where problems start, he said鈥攚hen a generalist store tries to sell specialized gear its customers don鈥檛 want, and then floods the market with discounted goods.

Changing times play a role in retailer attitudes, too. 鈥淎 decade ago, REI was the number-one threat to mom-and-pop specialty retailers,鈥� said Ross Saldarini, co-founder of Mountain Khakis (he left in late 2018). 鈥淭oday, Amazon has replaced REI as the ecosystem threat.鈥�

The Gatekeeper

To keep its offerings fresh, REI tries to get in on the ground floor with new brands whenever possible鈥攁 game-changing boost for a fledgling company. Kuju Coffee landed in all REI shops in September 2018, when the brand was three years old. Co-founder Jeff Wiguna says selling at REI gives instant legitimization to a new brand like his: 鈥淭hey are essentially the industry authenticator,鈥� both to stores and consumers.

But that credibility has its price. To maintain its outdoor-focused product mix, REI requires brand partners to keep distribution tight鈥攚ithout much presence in big boxes or mass e-tailers.

鈥淲e draw the line at some stage鈥攊f [vendors] are ubiquitous, then that鈥檚 not specialty anymore,鈥� said REI general merchandishing manager Marshall Merriam. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when we start to pull away and say, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 not the best thing for our members.鈥� So yes, we push them.鈥� That鈥檚 on Wiguna鈥檚 mind as he works to grow Kuju Coffee beyond the outdoor crowd.

REI was a huge boon to BioLite, too, which launched in 2012 and was scouted by REI while it was still selling direct-to-consumer only. When BioLite started distributing its CampStove in REI stores, it was too short-staffed to both manage the REI account and work to expand in independent shops. The company has grown exponentially since REI lifted them from obscurity, but co-founder and CEO Jonathan Cedar said the brand has found it challenging to break into specialty shops because they didn鈥檛 build the necessary relationships from the get-go.

鈥淚f I were to go back and do it again, I would probably put larger effort [on specialty retail] right out of the gate,鈥� Cedar said.

What REI wants, or might want, impacts the rest of the industry, too. Brands angling for a spot within REI often develop products with that goal in mind, said Grassroots Outdoor Alliance president Rich Hill, who has previously held executive titles at brands like prAna, Patagonia, Marmot, and Ibex. And they don鈥檛 just think, 鈥淲ill REI buy this?鈥� but, 鈥淲ill this specific buyer at REI want it?鈥�

鈥淚t gets down to that level,鈥� Hill said. 鈥淲ith clothing, is it technical or is it lifestyle? Which one of those departments will buy more? REI is a huge organization with tons of layers, and you have to be really specific when you go in there. People absolutely target their product development on the needs of REI.鈥�

United by Blue CEO Brian Linton acknowledges his brand considers REI鈥檚 needs in the design stage. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a significant player in the industry and an important part of our business,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e also very careful we don鈥檛 let that overly dictate our product strategy.鈥�

And Bill Gamber, co-founder of Big Agnes, said his brand鈥檚 partnership with REI is a bit of a balancing act. 鈥淩EI has been a great partner, and supported us early on,鈥� he said. 鈥淥n the other side, REI can tend to try to control the direction of your brand, product assortment, and more. We just need to fight for who we are sometimes.鈥�

The Changemaker

Because it鈥檚 so big ($2.62 billion in sales in 2017), REI has the budget to pack a lot of positive punch, like donating $1 million to create the Nature for Health program at the University of Washington in 2018; celebrating outdoor women of all sizes, skin colors, and ages with its Force of Nature campaign in 2017; and inventing the #Opt国产吃瓜黑料 movement in 2015.

The retailer is also in a position to make a huge environmental impact. Even as the industry publicly grapples with sustainability issues, brands 补谤别苍鈥檛 facing many external pressures to do business more responsibly, either from legal standards or consumer demand.

But REI is stepping into this vacuum: in April 2018, the co-op announced product sustainability requirements for all vendor partners, including having a supply chain code of conduct regarding social and environmental standards. The co-op will also put the kibosh on long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (commonly used in DWR treatments) starting in 2020, as well as on certain toxic flame-retardant chemicals used in tents, and sunscreen products made with oxybenzone, a chemical found to be harmful to coral reefs. REI requires all apparel and footwear brand partners to regularly complete a Higg Index Brand Module to evaluate their sustainability, and share the results with REI.

鈥淲e want to make sure that we鈥檙e aligned with the science, and that we鈥檙e reflecting the way that the industry should be headed,鈥� said Greg Gausewitz, product sustainability manager for REI.

And many brands applaud the effort, even if it poses a challenge. Linton says the new standards are pushing United by Blue to address some issues, like Fair Trade and bluesign certification, sooner than it otherwise would have. 鈥淭he standards they鈥檝e set forth are by far the highest expectations we鈥檝e seen from any retailer,鈥� he noted. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important for key retailers to do these things, so the industry makes progress faster.鈥�

The Gateway

No one seems to dispute that one thing REI does better than most is broadening the outdoor base, converting more people into outdoor lovers by giving them an affordable entry into activities with high upfront costs. Not only do members enjoy dividends, special sales, annual 20-percent-off coupons, and access to garage sales, but REI鈥檚 in-house brand also offers products at a lower price point than many of its vendors.

That emphasis on affordability means that brands selling at the co-op should be wary of pricing, Hill said: REI can 鈥渓ove a brand to death.鈥� Once a brand gets to the point where its products are sold in all REI stores, the co-op may ask them to discount gear for its promotional periods. 鈥淎s brands participate more and more in the requested off-price activity, it can ruin the brand鈥攏ot within the industry, but within REI,鈥� Hill said, because customers quickly learn to expect discounts.

The Friendly Giant

鈥淲e should be thankful about [REI鈥檚] willingness to participate in the outdoor industry the way they do,鈥� Hill said. 鈥淭hey want us all to succeed. They do a lot of things that they don鈥檛 necessarily have to do, but they know it鈥檚 for the greater good. I give them credit for that.鈥�

And unlike companies that must hold market value above mindful business practices, REI鈥檚 co-op model offers it flexibility for taking stands on issues and making investments that shape the outdoor industry and recreation for all.

So imagine that there hadn鈥檛 been an REI these last 81 years. The industry might be without a household name that has, in turn, helped build other brands into household names. We might lack a major power player that has helped to influence public policy. And what other retailer would have both the influence and the freedom from shareholders to force advances in sustainability?

Maybe someone else would have evolved to take on these roles. Then again, maybe not.

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Walmart was going to disrupt the outdoors. It was late August 2018, a year and a half after the retail leviathan purchased the online outdoor retailer Moosejaw for a reported $51 million. Walmart was ready to put its investment to work.

Walmart, as everyone knows, is the largest retailer on the planet. It sells everything from tire chains to whey protein at bargain-basement prices, but its focus in the outdoor space has always been more about car camping and hunting. Moosejaw, on the other hand, has sold high-end outdoor gear on its website for 27 years, growing its business from online only to 10 brick-and-mortar stores in the process. And now, with Walmart, it was poised to deliver on the industry鈥檚 long-held dream: to tap a staggeringly wider audience.

On March 10 2018, Moosejaw CEO Eoin Comerford told the Grand Rapids News that he was 鈥渧ery excited about the idea that [Moosejaw] can introduce high-end, premium outdoor products to people who perhaps have thought about getting into the outdoors, but haven鈥檛 been exposed to this product before.鈥� Walmart spokeswoman Jaeme Laczkowski said at the time that walmart.com reached about 100 million unique visitors each month鈥攁 potential gold mine. It seemed like exclusive brands would finally go all the way mainstream, picking up millions of new customers and welcoming them to the party of those who live for and love playing outside.

That鈥檚 not what happened. On August 27, Walmart launched a 鈥淧remium Outdoor Store Curated by Moosejaw鈥� on its website. Brands who鈥檇 agreed to be sold through the store included industry heavyweights like Deuter USA, Katadyn, Leki, and Therm-a-Rest among 50 other outdoor companies. But on launch day, one brand balked.

When the store went live, it advertised several Black Diamond products, including climbing slings, carabiners, ATC belay devices, and a harness. Within hours Black Diamond distributed a press release stating that it had directed Walmart to 鈥渃ease and desist鈥� use of the Black Diamond庐 and diamond logo trademarks because the store鈥檚 use of them was 鈥渓ikely to confuse consumers into believing that Walmart is an authorized dealer of Black Diamond.鈥� Shortly thereafter, those four other high-end outdoor brands all pulled their products from the site, too.

The backpedaling was fierce and unexplained. Most brands gave canned answers that offered no insight into their thinking. Deuter USA president Bill Hartrampf said in a press release, 鈥淲hile we appreciate the concept of what Moosejaw is trying to accomplish with this new initiative, we have decided this is not the right time to participate.鈥� It was all slightly strange, since when Moosejaw first introduced the premium store idea, at the Summer 2017 Outdoor Retailer show, several participating brands seemed excited. 鈥淭he concept made sense,鈥� Hartrampf told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淲e would be exposing our brand in a premium shop to a new, diverse group of consumers.鈥�

But after Black Diamond鈥檚 response, Deuter USA, Katadyn, Leki, and Therm-a-Rest stood firm in their resolve to steer clear of selling directly on walmart.com.

So what happened? It had nothing to do with Moosejaw鈥檚 relationship with those retailers鈥攁ll of them still do business with the e-tailer. And it had nothing to do with discounts鈥攁ll products were listed full price. The catch seemed to be that these high-end outdoor products would now be marketed under the Walmart banner, and that clashed with how the brands viewed themselves.

In his statement, CEO John Walbrecht wrote, 鈥淏lack Diamond remains committed to its specialty retail partners,鈥� which, in an August 31 2018, column, Forbes analyst Chris Walton translated to mean: Black Diamond wanting to maintain its cachet 鈥渙n the principle of scarcity.鈥�

The wider problem, Walton added, was that 鈥淲almart can鈥檛 escape its brand connotations.鈥� Walbrecht declined to comment for this story.

Comerford, Moosejaw鈥檚 CEO, evidently thought that the way the entire situation played out whiffed of elitism. In an 鈥淥pen Letter to the Outdoor Industry鈥� published on his LinkedIn page, he argued that the Premium Outdoor Store was created 鈥渢o grow the industry beyond its exclusionary, historical [white, male] audience鈥� and echoed what has become a mantra in the outdoor industry: 鈥淚f we鈥檙e going to grow this industry鈥e need to reach new audiences…younger, more female, more diverse.鈥�

That鈥檚 true. But when the rubber met the road, the old troll named elitism emerged and with it, questions that have been plaguing the industry for years: Who are we? And perhaps more importantly, who 补谤别苍鈥檛 we?

In some ways, that sense of elitism is what drew many people to the outdoors in the first place.

I know it enticed me, back when I was a kid first learning my way in the world, in the mountains of southern Idaho. When I hiked the trails outside of Ketchum, I reveled in the fact that so few people seemed to know the trails existed. When I fished the Wood River with my dad or camped in the South Hills with a boyfriend, I celebrated the beauty we saw because we were bold enough to earn it.

I鈥檝e spent the ensuing 30-plus years living and recreating in a community of like-minded folks, and the outdoors have been central to who I am. And it鈥檚 not just me. A quick survey I posted on Facebook asking when friends first realized that the outdoors and the outdoor community was their 鈥減lace鈥� turned up several stories like mine.

Diehard mountain biker and former cycling tour operator Kelly Grebe answered, 鈥淚 started riding my freshman year of college and oh my, I was addicted. There鈥檚 this community created when you can look at a fellow rider and know that they know what others do not.鈥� This 鈥渟ecret frequency of stoke鈥� Grebe experienced keeps her in the outdoor community that values isolated places and outdoor adventure.

But how to maintain that feeling when the outdoor spaces are busier and busier? Over the past three years, according to Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), participation in the outdoors has been on a slow but steady upswing. In 2017, 49 percent the U.S. population ages six and older participated in an outdoor activity at least once鈥攁nd 13.6 million people tried outdoor activities for the first time or returned after a hiatus. Though 11.9 million people stopped participating last year, 1.7 million more people got out in 2017 than 2016 (the last year for which data are available).

The fastest-growing demographics are Hispanics and Asians, whose participation in activities like running, hiking, cycling, and camping has inched up about 1 percent over the last five years. But while the industry has been striving for greater inclusion, demographically speaking, the majority of outdoor users are white (74 percent) and 54 percent are male. Nearly one third of outdoor users have a college education, and a similar percentage has an annual household income greater than $100,000.

The second-largest grouping of outdoor users (22 percent) has less than three years of high school, and a similar percentage makes $25,000 to $49,999 annually. (The average Walmart shopper, by comparison, is a 50-year-old white woman with an annual household income of $53,125, according to a study by Kanter Retail in 2017.)

Outdoor brands, of course, have done well to market a relatable version of the outdoor ethos to the mass consumer. And not all brands herald 鈥渟carcity.鈥� As they鈥檝e grown, businesses like The North Face, Yeti, Marmot, and Spyder have increased their market share by selling outside specialty retail. Today, you can buy Spyder gear at Costco, a Yeti cooler at Sam鈥檚 Club, see a Patagonia Nano Puff vest on just about any guy who works in finance, and find more of The North Face on the quad than in basecamp.

Marketing is also pivoting from the elite to everyday. Merrell targets consumers who have real lives yet still enjoy being outside. Particularly popular are ambassadors who juggle full-time or multiple jobs while getting outdoors.

For Merrell, the decision to skew to a wider audience was an easy one. 鈥淧eople say hike is the new yoga,鈥� said Strick Walker, Merrell鈥檚 chief marketing officer. 鈥淔or us, this means making footwear and apparel for the trail. It also means inspiring folks to get out there鈥攁ll folks.鈥�

Anecdotally, the message is resonating with its target audience. 鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult to track sales specifically from our DEI efforts,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat I do know is that the brand is growing and we have a clear mission. We know who we are, we love our ambassadors, and we will continue to tell stories about interesting people living interesting lives in the outdoors.鈥�

Lifestyle is a much bigger component of the industry than technical is. And maybe by viewing it that way鈥攍ifestyle first鈥攊t鈥檚 easier to understand how and where the industry needs to position itself to grow.

By wearing Patagonia, you can align yourself with the brand鈥檚 political and environmental work, even if you鈥檝e never set foot in Utah, caught a wave in California, or fly-fished a day in your life. Black Diamond jackets bestow the aura of elite upon their wearers鈥攅ven on the sidelines at soccer practice. Yeti coolers are a potent status symbol, whether you鈥檙e on the river or at a tailgate party.

Even without technical context, these things signify a certain value placed on outdoor experiences, a scrapper鈥檚 mindset for problem solving, and a view of the earth as something to be enjoyed and perhaps, protected. When it comes down to it, that鈥檚 not so different from what I felt all those years ago on the 鈥渟ecret鈥� trails of Sun Valley, and what I still feel to this day.

That鈥檚 certainly one argument for adopting an industry stance around inclusion rather than the exclusion that elitism implies. And that brings this whole thing back around to Walmart.

The millions of people who visit walmart.com are potentially millions of untapped outdoor users. And we need users, said Steve Barker, the founder of Eagle Creek and current Outdoor Foundation board member, to protect the outdoors and the environment. Though OIA鈥檚 statistics show an increase in overall outdoor participation, they also reveal a 鈥渓eaky bucket.鈥� While 10.6 million Americans returned to or started participating in one or more of the outdoor activities measured, 8.6 million stopped. That equates to a net gain of 2 million total participants and a churn rate of 8.3 percent.

We can鈥檛 continue to leak, Barker said, or fewer people will experience the outdoors, appreciate it, and advocate for its protection. That鈥檚 where Walmart could come in. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always been a variety of entry levels for the consumer wanting to get into camping,鈥� Barker added. 鈥淚f Walmart is having that conversation, then we need to engage them at a deeper level.鈥�

But Rich Hill, president of Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, pointed out that having a good first experience with the outdoors is paramount for new customers鈥攖hat鈥檚 the reason they keep coming back鈥攂ut that鈥檚 something Walmart or Amazon can鈥檛 offer. Moreover, Hill said big-box retailers could put the entire industry at risk because they don鈥檛 understand how safety equipment works. 鈥淎 store like Amazon or Walmart is going to get someone killed,鈥� he said.

Hill realizes that sounds elitist, but, in his view, the outdoor industry has a responsibility to keep people safe. 鈥淚f that excludes some people from getting into the outdoors,鈥� he said, 鈥渢hen so be it.鈥�

While the connection between those who use the outdoors and those who advocate for it is notoriously difficult to quantify, there is no other widely accepted rationale for why it鈥檚 important to bring more people to our public lands. So let me offer one: all us lovers of the outdoors share something in common. Our connection to the wilds has to be earned individual by individual. But once it is, it doesn鈥檛 really go away. The world can do worse than to have more people feeling the outdoors in their chests and wearing it on their bodies鈥攁nd the future of the industry likely depends on it, too.

In the end, there鈥檚 probably room for both elitism and mass consumerism in the outdoor industry without one devouring the other. We鈥檙e just going to need a bigger tent.

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It鈥檚 safe to say American shoppers don鈥檛 go to Walmart looking for top-of-the line backpacks, winter expedition apparel, and mountaineering gear. But the big box discounter challenged that assumption with the launch of a premium outdoor store last week.

鈥淲hen鈥檚 the last time you bought something nice from Walmart?鈥� said Wes Allen, owner of Sunlight Sports in Cody, Wyoming.

As Walmart continues to build its online marketplace in an attempt to keep up with Amazon as the sell-everything search engine, outdoor industry leaders say that brands can no longer ignore Walmart as part of their omni-channel strategy. They now need to decide if they want to be a pawn in the game.

Sure, individuals at the company might have a genuine interest in the mountains鈥擥reg Penner, chairman of the Walmart board of directors, reached the summit of Mt. Everest this summer. But since 2016, Walmart in its race with Amazon has been adding聽 inventory and brands by the thousands through third-party sellers. You can browse $200 handbags and upscale beauty products on the site鈥攕omething you can’t do in stores. In 2017, Walmart acquired a number of brands: the men鈥檚 line Bonobos, hipster women鈥檚 clothing site Modcloth, and Moosejaw, a reseller of some of the best brands in the outdoor industry. As expected, Walmart gained access to those and stocked its 鈥渃urated by Moosejaw鈥� store with nearly 50 different brands, from Black Diamond Equipment to Deuter.

For a store built on a foundation of bottom-of-the-barrel prices and quality, many people commented that it makes no sense for Walmart to sell the best of the best. Amazon has prioritized pricing and selection, but others made the argument that if brands sell on Amazon, why wouldn鈥檛 they sell on Walmart.com?

Who Withdrew?

What was appealing about the deal, according to insiders, was the chance to control third-party sellers and distribution, and list products online at full MSRP. No discounts. It鈥檚 important to note that Moosejaw is still a well-respected retailer in the industry, despite its new parent, and brands were willing to support them. But some brands quickly realized that selling on the Walmart-branded platform immediately shattered trust with specialty retailers, some of whom halted orders, and with consumers who define their image by where they shop.

鈥淢any brands are not playing a particularly long game here,鈥� said Mike Massey, founder of Locally and owner of Massey鈥檚 Outfitters. 鈥淚t took them 30 years to build their goodwill and reputation with consumers and making the wrong decision here with their intellectual property is like flipping a coin with the future. There鈥檚 a lot of large companies who would be happy to cash that goodwill in for one great quarter.鈥�

While $200 Deuter backpacks and $100 Black Diamond harnesses were on the microsite, some feared that, based on Walmart鈥檚 decades-old status, prices would eventually drop or products would be thrown into the mix on shelves in stores.

鈥淔or retailers, we鈥檙e ordering product a year ahead, based on product selection and brand positioning. We鈥檙e taking delivery of it now for fall and betting our livelihoods that we鈥檙e going to be able to sell it for enough money to pay rent, pay employees, maybe put our kids through college,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淵ou build relationships with people you trust that sell you things. Then somebody opens in Walmart, with no explanation. Your order ships next week. Would you still take that order? A brand鈥檚 worth has to do with how people feel about it.鈥�

In the video below, Allen talks to Verde Brand Communications founder Kristin Carpenter-Ogden about a number of aspects of the Walmart debate.

A little more than 24 hours after the launch, the fallout began. Black Diamond was the first to respond. The company sent a cease and desist notice demanding Walmart stop using logos and product images on the website. In the days following, Deuter, Katadyn, Leki, Yakima, Native Eyewear, and Therm-a-rest changed their minds about being sold through Walmart.com.

Shawn Hostetter, president of Katadyn North America, said, 鈥淲e made this decision after listening to the retailers we partner with鈥攊n doing so it became clear we needed to remove our brand and products from Walmart.com to best support their needs and to best caretake our premium brand position.鈥�

At the time of publication, Craghoppers, Klymit, Grand Trunk, Orca Coolers, PacSafe, Tentsile, Teton Sports, ExOfficio, and 18 others were still listed on the site.

Moosejaw’s Response

Eoin Comerford, CEO of Moosejaw and general manager of outdoor at Walmart e-commerce, in a LinkedIn post on Friday addressed concerns. He said that if the outdoor industry wants to advance beyond being exclusionary and dominated by a few large retailers, then they have to adapt to new ways and keep an open-mind. The retailer is known for not taking itself too seriously and because of that, according to Comerford, it has attracted beginner outdoor enthusiasts intimidated by the industry鈥檚 elitism.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 na茂ve enough to think that all outdoor retailers would welcome the Premium Outdoor Store with open arms, but I am surprised by the vehemence of attacks by some of our industry鈥檚 leading retailers and the threats to drop brands that participated,鈥� Comerford wrote.

Diversity, equity, and inclusivity have been leading topics in the outdoor industry. As a whole, the predominantly white and predominantly male industry is trying to figure out how to welcome and include more diverse populations.

Comerford said that in launching the store, he kept in mind how it would expose outdoor brands and activities to a massive audience, including underrepresented groups. In its response to Black Diamond, Walmart鈥檚 statement said: 鈥淎t a time when the outdoor industry is working hard to expose more people to the amazing experiences they can have outside, we feel like [having a premium outdoor store is] a really positive development.鈥�

However, others in the outdoor industry see it as a tactic. Rich Hill, president of Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, a consortium of more than 60 independent outdoor specialty retailers and more than 60 vendor partners, believes that the new site will not reach any new customers.

鈥淣ot a single new climber will discover their love of the sport through Walmart.com,鈥� Hill wrote in an email. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just expanding the number of locations customers can search for a lower price.鈥�

Walmart’s Specialty Veneer

In a continued effort to give consumers a special experience鈥攚alking through the front doors and feeling at home or stoked on adventure鈥攔etailers strive for quality customer service. Some, like Summit Hut in Tucson, Arizona, even rearrange their shops to guide shoppers through each brand鈥檚 stories. And with the rise of social media, brands are using storytelling to connect with fans. Think Patagonia鈥檚 Worn Wear and Merrell Magic.

Large corporate structures are trying to harness that magic and contribute by providing supplies needed for those premium experiences. Allen says that big box conglomerates鈥攕uch as Camping World Holdings buying beloved retailers Erehwon and Rock/Creek Outfitters鈥攁re attempting to engage shoppers in their hearts and emotions like specialty does.

鈥淚 totally get it鈥攊t鈥檚 flattering,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淭he environment that created that desirability needs to be protected if it鈥檚 going to survive. You can鈥檛 just rip it up by the roots and throw it out on a Walmart shelf and hope it survives. We need to safeguard this thing and water it.鈥�

Hill said that any brand that chooses to do business with Walmart has become irrelevant with specialty retail, REI, Backcountry.com, or even their own DTC strategies.

鈥淚 see it mainly as a desperate move by brands that cannot see a path forward other than to get in bed with the most dangerous retailer on the planet,鈥� Hill said.

And Massey said the most important thing brands can do is apply some of the same lessons they鈥檝e learned in brick and mortar to online, and make sophisticated decisions about how they want their products merchandized online.

鈥淢ost would never tolerate their merchandise shipping into Costco simply because lots of customers go there, but some might,鈥� Massey said. 鈥淎nd, on the other hand, just because someone is a dealer for your products in Waco or Bend doesn鈥檛 mean they should automatically be allowed to sell them online. Having no channel strategy is the worst-case scenario. It鈥檚 like trying to open 15 dealers in the same mall and hoping for the best.鈥�

If retailers and brands have learned anything about selling through Amazon and developing an omni-channel strategy, it鈥檚 that they have to consider it from all angles. And now Walmart is part of that sphere.

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