A new study published by the subscription-box service Cairn shows that outdoor brands are producing apparel that’s too small, on average, for consumer demand.

Cairn, which is owned by 国产吃瓜黑料 Inc. (国产吃瓜黑料 Business Journal’s parent company), analyzed 70,000 of its own customer-provided data points spanning seven years to get a picture of average size preferences across a broad swath of outdoor consumers. The team at Cairn then compared those numbers to production-run distributions at four undisclosed outdoor brands and found that, almost across the board, apparel production favors smaller sizes than what consumers actually want.

“One issue we constantly run into is the lack of extended sizing for both males and females on both ends of the sizing spectrum,” said Jared Peterson, senior manager of commerce at 国产吃瓜黑料, explaining the motivations behind the project. “Our hope was that we could use our demographic data from subscribers and marry that with industry data to shine a light on the issue.”

In the report, Cairn pointed out that sizing for outdoor brands rarely goes above a men鈥檚 or women鈥檚 XL. Despite that limitation, “Cairn receives feedback regularly from our members that failing to provide higher sizing leaves many without an option among outdoor brands,” according to the study.

“We think [this study] is a representative sample of the general outdoor enthusiast,” said Matt Keenan, senior manager of finance at 国产吃瓜黑料. “Overall, we found that the sizing distribution in the Cairn demographics skews higher than what brands are producing.”

The study also noted that the problem extends to sample sizes shipped to retailers, sales reps, and media for testing. The standard sizing for these samples, Cairn said, tends to be women鈥檚 small and men鈥檚 medium. But according to the study data, brands should be shipping women’s medium and men’s large, as those are the sizes representative of the greatest number of consumers who will actually purchase the goods.

“I believe that the standard sizes used as brand samples are not a good representation of what the average consumer will be wearing,” Keenan said. “If the average male upper body size is just above a large鈥攁s is seen in the Cairn data鈥攖hat is the size a brand should produce as a sample to better understand the fit and form for their average customer.”

Mismatched Demand and Production

The discrepancies between sizing and demand are most distinct at the higher end of the sizing spectrum, the study noted. This follows a clear industry trend of underproducing clothing for consumers who need larger sizes.

According to the study, “for men鈥檚 upper body sizing, no brands surveyed had production runs that produced the XXL size in proportion to the sizing represented by the Cairn customer demographics. This difference is almost always offset by an over production of sizes small and medium.”

For women鈥檚 upper-body sizing, only one brand showed production of any XXL apparel at all, despite the fact that XXL is the appropriate size for 4 percent of Cairn’s female customer base鈥攏early one in 20 women.

“In addition,” the report stated, “size XL represents 16 percent of the Cairn customer demographics [for women’s upper-body apparel] and three out of the four brands surveyed designate at most 10 percent of their production run to this size.”

The problem also seems to be worse among women’s apparel than among men’s. “For men鈥檚 lower-body sizing, brand production was much closer to what is represented by the Cairn sizing data,” the study said. “For women鈥檚 lower-body sizing, all brands skewed their production percentages lower than what is represented by the Cairn sizing data. The production of apparel in women鈥檚 small is much higher for all brands studies than what the Cairn data suggest it should be.”

A summary of the report’s findings, including graphs illustrating production-demand discrepancies, is .

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国产吃瓜黑料 has sounded a steady drumbeat of acquisition news in the past year, as the Boulder, Co.-based creator of active lifestyle content and experiences continues to snap up companies across the industry, from long-running print magazines like 国产吃瓜黑料 and Trail Runner to apps and services like Gaia GPS and athleteReg. This week, the company’s march continues with its acquisition of Cairn, a Bend, Ore.-based business that sells curated outdoor goods to consumers on a subscription basis.

The news marks the first foray by 国产吃瓜黑料 (国产吃瓜黑料 Business Journal’s parent company) into commerce services鈥攁 departure from past acquisitions that 国产吃瓜黑料 says will benefit its industry partners as well as consumers directly.

“For industry partners, Cairn鈥檚 subscription platform serves as a powerful activation tool, with a demonstrated ability to increase brand engagement and drive incremental sales,” the company said in a release.

CEO Robin Thurston echoes the sentiment in statements published this week, pointing out that although Cairn represents a different kind of brand than those 国产吃瓜黑料 has pursued in the past, the deal is in line with the company’s larger mission of “build[ing] the world鈥檚 best consumer experience across a wide range of activities.”

鈥淥ur audience is made up of the world鈥檚 most active hikers, skiers, cyclists, climbers, and other outdoor athletes who love to discover new gear,” Thurston said. “By adding Cairn鈥檚 services to our Active Pass membership, we鈥檒l help our members enjoy their passions with greater comfort, ease, and safety.鈥�

What Cairn Brings to 国产吃瓜黑料

Founded 2014, Cairn has established itself as one of the top subscription-box services in the outdoor industry, with more than 34 million products from 300 brands shipped to 75,000 customers in monthly, quarterly, and one-off installments. It’s the kind of direct channel between product-based brands and consumers that 国产吃瓜黑料 didn’t own outright until this week鈥攁 missing link in the company’s drive to serve outdoor participants with everything they need to pursue their passions.

“To us, membership is a holistic experience for the active life participant,” said 国产吃瓜黑料 COO Danielle Quatrochi. “We believe that to help active lifestyle participants do more of what they love, commerce is a piece of that solution.”

The deal also represents a new opportunity for 国产吃瓜黑料 in the form of customer review syndication across the industry. In its seven years of operation, Cairn has collected nearly 250,000 customer reviews from early adopters of products seeded through its subscription boxes鈥攔eviews the company then syndicates to retailers like Dick鈥檚 and REI.

“This acquisition represents not only a new member benefit for our Active Pass subscribers, but a completely new touch point for our partners as well,” Quatrochi said. “This is a way for our brand partners to authenticate products through a real-world review process.”

From the perspective of Cairn’s founders, Rob Little and Jared Peterson, their core mission is equally bolstered by the deal.

鈥淲e founded the company to inspire everyone to get outside by helping them discover new brands and products,” Peterson said. “We鈥檙e thrilled to bring our technology and community into the membership ecosystem that 国产吃瓜黑料 is building. We see incredible opportunities to help even more people discover all the awesome outdoor brands and products our industry has to offer in hope of inspiring more people to get outside.鈥�

All 11 members of the Cairn team have been offered positions with 国产吃瓜黑料. The brand will remain in Oregon following the acquisition, with Little and Peterson managing day-to-day operations and reporting to Quatrochi.

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It’s a regular Sunday morning in Bend, Oregon’s old Box Factory building: pairs eat sweet and savory treats at Foxtail Bakeshop & Kitchen, men sit still as hairdressers trim around their ears at West Side Barber Shop, and groups of people sift through consignment backpacks, kayak paddles, and hiking boots at The Gear Fix.

But the gear shop’s staff of about 26 is especially excited. They’re closing down early to head out on their annual staff trip, this time to Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. They deserve it after a wildly busy summer.

The Gear Fix was founded in 2006 as聽Repeat Performance Sports and bought two years later by current owner Josh Sims. He led the name change and made room for a ski/bike repair service area, sewing machines, and cobbling equipment. Repairs, tune-ups, and consignment have become the bedrock of the business.

“Our biggest objective is keeping stuff out of the landfill and getting it back out on the trail,” said Katie Marvasti, assistant sales manager. “That makes it less intimidating for people who are just starting to get into a new sport, too.”

Repair and Resell

In December 2012, The Gear Fix bought resole and repair equipment from Portland’s Mountain Soles when the store decided to stop the rock shoe and boot resoling part of their business. But cobbling isn’t a skill learned overnight, and it took a lot of practice and advice to train Gear Fix staff. In 2014, they resoled their 1,000th pair of climbing shoes.

“We鈥檒l resole climbing shoes from the ’80s sometimes,” Marvasti said. “A lot of climbers have their favorite shoes and they don鈥檛 want to let them go. It鈥檚 a little stinky back there, but we鈥檙e cool with it.”

A big bin of donated shoes in the store helps veteran cobblers apprentice newbies and gives customers a place to put their old kicks. Because there are only a handful of cobbler shops around the country, The Gear Fix receives shoes from everywhere. The sewing department also sees items from hundreds of miles away.

“When we鈥檙e hiring new cobblers, when we have time, or when somebody wants to learn, we resole them and put them on a donation account, sell them, and that money goes to a nonprofit,” Marvasti said.

Giving Back Through Donation Accounts

On some items’ price tags, a little number in the lefthand corner is connected to a specific donation account for a nonprofit鈥攍ike the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation or the Bend Endurance Academy. A portion of sales from those items are set aside for the various organizations.

“For us, it鈥檚 a no brainer,” said Matt Deacon, general manager of The Gear Fix. “It鈥檚 a model that we hope to do with some other nonprofits.”

One of the shop’s biggest accounts is Cairn, a Bend-based monthly subscription box for outdoor gear. Through its Gear Up, Give Back program, launched in 2018, Cairn subscribers can request a bag and retire products to The Gear Fix. The shop then fixes it and sells it, and matches net proceeds along with Cairn to donate to The Conservation Alliance, also based in Bend. The nonprofit has received nearly $1 million to date, Marvasti said.

“We’re excited with the volume of gear they’re getting, the quality of gear and ability to sell that gear,” said Rob Little, co-founder of Cairn. “It’s a really great community partnership.”

More recently, Cairn added exclusive incentives. Right now, anyone who sends a sleeping bag or technical camping blanket to The Gear Fix through the program receives 40 percent off a new Therm-a-Rest sleeping bag, quilt, or blanket. It’s a boon for both.

“Gear is really worth a lot and it can go to a good cause instead of ending up in somebody鈥檚 basement,” Marvasti said.

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