Spring - InsideOutdoor Magazine

May/June 2005
Food For
Thought
Textile Ideas to
Chew On
· Ingredient
Branding
·
Feel Good
Fabricss
Adventure Ventures
Bee Dance
Marketing

12
18 28
OUTDOOR TEXTILES 2006
TALK TO THE HAND 12
The aesthetic performance of fabrics won’t protect wearers from
the elements, but whether combined with protective technology or
flying solo, they aid in comfort level, style, versatility and durability.
Literally a feel good story.
By RJ Anderson
NOT-SO-SECRET INGREDIENTS 18
The brand visibility of component technology on retail merchandise
can be an important leveraging tool for both manufacturers and
their suppliers. Others would rather go it alone. Ultimately, does the
customer really care?
By Tony Jones
BACK OFFICE
DATA POINTS 34
Some stats and figures that make you go, “Hmm…”
By Martin Vilaboy
GORP
FAST, LIGHT AND OUT OF CONTROL 36
Emergent signs of fast-pack marketing
By Stuart Craig
Letter from the Editors 6
Retailers Report 8
Rep Moves & News 10
Advertiser Index 37
THREADS & SPINS 26
Outdoor textiles news and notes.
FEATURE
UPHILL CLIMB 28
If you expect to gain revenue by adding an adventure travel component
to your retail business, you better be in it for the long haul.
By Lou Dzierzak
The Legend of Dagda Mor
Dagda, “The Good God,” is an Irish earth and father god,
leader of the ancient Celtic tribe Tuathe De Danann, or People
of Dana. A master of magic, the Dagda possessed both superhuman
strength and appetite. Among his wealth were an
enormous club that could both destroy and restore life and a
great cauldron that provided an inexhaustible supply of food.
He called the seasons into being with his harp and, from the
cauldron of his plenty, fed the entire earth.
A fearsome warrior and artisan, the Dagda has been
resurrected by the founders of INSIDE OUTDOOR to protect
and guide the publication as well as its fellowship of readers.
Powerful, wise, authoritative, generous and unafraid of mischief,
the Dagda will appear from time to time in INSIDE OUTDOOR to
inspire, teach, amuse and occasionally cause trouble.

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Penny Pinching
Behold the power of the penny. For all
that it lacks in physical might, the penny
Thus, any additions to these types of
pricing models resonate exponentially
more than makes up for incrementally across the number of consumers
and conceptually as our root of economic
exchange. It is more powerful as an
intangible unit of measure than a zincfilled
piece of legal tender. You know this
to be true, if you’ve ever fantasized about
receiving a penny from every person in
America. No doubt a quick $2.96 million
would fill out the old savings account
quite nicely, no matter how long or how
many penny rolls it would take to cash
it in.
affected by the increases. There’s no
better example (or hotter topic) than
our current flogging at the gasoline
pump. Although early indicators in the
first week of May showed that national
gas prices were down from a record
$2.28 per gallon in mid-April, we are
still paying, on average, 39 cents more
per gallon than at this time last year,
according to the Energy Information
Administration.
Regular Gasoline Prices
240
Tony C. Jones
Editor-in-Chief
tony@dagdamor.com
Gary Kim
Executive Editor
garykim@concentric.net
Ben Folkerstma
Creative Leader
ben@dagdamor.com
Martin Vilaboy
Founding Editor
martin@dagdamor.com
Ernest Shiwanov
Editor at Large
ernest@dagdamor.com
Editorial Contributors:
R.J. Anderson, Stuart Craig,
Lou Dzierzak, Brian Hewitt
Jennifer Vilaboy
Production Director
jen@dagdamor.com
Berge Kaprelian
Publisher
berge@dagdamor.com
Cents per gallon
220
200
180
160
140
Jun Sep Dec Mar Jun
2003-04 2004-05
Source: Energy Information Administration
DAGDA MOR MEDIA
Robert C. Titsch
President & CEO
Gary Kim
Chief Operating Officer
Deborah Dellisanti
Executive Vice President
Becky Pennington
Vice President/Finance
Corporate Headquarters
Schools regularly hold penny drives
based on this concept and do quite well,
thank you. Moreover, there are volumebased
industries that are built on the
concept of the penny. The photocopier
business, for example, is predicated on cost
per copy averages that in many instances
are less than a penny. Similarly, our friends
in the gasoline industry have long exploited
the value of an extra nine-tenths of a cent.
The return from high-volume business in
these cases certainly adds up.
The ripple affect across our national
consumer base is staggering. “The
consumer is responsible for 70 percent
of the economy, and every additional
penny at the pump takes $1.5 billion
out of people’s pockets,” offers Merrill
Lynch analyst Rich Bernstein in the April
4 edition of Fortune magazine. Moreover,
Bernstein says the 32-cent rise in
gasoline futures experienced in March
equated to a $48 billion tax increase.
If I have a 17-gallon tank and fill up
21001 N. Tatum Blvd.
Suite 1630-449
Phoenix, AZ 85050
480.203.2513
480.203.2514
fatpipe@dagdamor.com
www.dagdamor.com
Editorial Offices
INSIDE OUTDOOR
1405 E. Campus Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85282
480.820.5676
outdoor@dagdamor.com
www.insideoutdoor.com

my car twice per month, an extra 39
cents per gallon means that I likely have
$13.26 less to spend elsewhere each
month than I did last year and reduces my
potential spending by nearly $160 for the
year. Apply that to the outdoor recreation
pool of 145 million participants the
Outdoor Industry Association tells us we
had in 2003, and we’re talking $1.92
billion less a month in available funds
and a potential loss of $23.2 billion in
spending power for the year. Outdoor
retailers would likely have garnered only
a small percentage of these dollars, but
the amount of money lost at the pump is
readily apparent.
How such incremental price changes
actually affect overall consumer spending
depends on many factors, but some
indicators hint that consumers may
be inclined to watch their pennies, if
you’ll pardon the pun. Overall consumer
confidence fell 5.1 percent between March
and April, with expectations also declining
6.9 percent, according to the Conference
Board’s Consumer Confidence Index. The
fact is that outdoor specialty retailers not
only rely on discretionary spending for
sales of gear and apparel, the industry
as a whole is reliant upon enthusiasts’
ability and desire to travel to recreation
destinations to put that gear to use.
On the positive side, general
consumers seem to be less reactionary
to ping-ponging gas prices than a year or
even six months ago, although this could
be simply a byproduct of having dealt with
volatile pricing during the last 12 months
and already adjusting their purchasing
behaviors. Still, the number of shoppers
traveling to stores closer to their homes
in order to reduce driving distance is down
from 43 percent last May to 35 percent
in March, according to Retail Forward
ShopperScape. Likewise, the number of
consumers changing their vacation plans
to reduce driving distance was at 13
percent in March, down from 20 percent
last May. ShopperScape also indicates,
though, that 38 percent of shoppers are
planning to change their driving behavior
if gas prices remain high, which is up 8
percent from last August.
Traveler sentiment also seems to
be up according to first quarter results
released by the Travel Industry Association
of America. Overall sentiment is up 2.5
percent from the fourth quarter of 2004,
while the ability to travel for pleasure based
on personal finances is up 6.7 percent from
last quarter. The affordability index is up
3.5 percent from last quarter but is lagging
12.3 percent from a year ago.
This isn’t too surprising considering
the TIA Travel Price Index at the end
of March showed that the overall cost
of travel is up 5.6 percent compared
to a year ago. For its part, the price of
gasoline jumped 16.9 percent compared
to last March and was up 15.4 percent
from the beginning of the year.
One saving grace is that these travel
figures are based on general consumers
and not necessarily core outdoor
enthusiasts. Outdoor recreation for many
is both a lifestyle and a hobby, meaning
the emotional attachment and value
placed on recreational pursuits and their
accompanying gear ranks much higher for
them than the average Joe. As disposable
income tightens, consumers still have a
tendency to scrape together money to
purchase items and experiences that they
find fulfilling and equate with happiness.
So while an occasional hiker may
choose to spend discretionary dollars
on a CD rather than a new pair of socks,
chances are your core customers will
continue to invest in outdoor products,
albeit a few pennies less. – TJ

Retailers Report
Consolidation Prize
This month we ask: How has vendor consolidation affected the
relationships you have with your suppliers? Have you experienced
some positives, such as broader product lines under a single brand
and perhaps lower prices? What about negatives, such as less flexibility
in placing orders (lead times, quantities) and a switch in customer
service from a personal touch to a colder corporate approach?
Northeast
“Honestly, consolidation hasn’t really
changed anything with us,” says Dede Clapp,
general operations manager at Bob Smith’s
Wilderness Shop, a 17,000-square-foot
standalone outdoor specialty store located
just outside of Boston, whose doors have been
open for more than 100 years. “I’m thinking of some of the bigger
mergers, like Marmot and a lot of the snowsports companies as
examples, and they’re all still operating as separate entities.
“So depending on what you’re buying, you’re still dealing with
the smaller segment of the larger overall company,” adds Clapp.
“Nothing has really changed, but who knows what will happen
down the road as they integrate a little more.”
“So far it has had only minor effects,” says Mitch Osur,
owner of Snow Country, a 9,000-square-foot specialty retail
shop in Pittsford, N.Y., located 10 miles east of Rochester. “But
I’d underline the term ‘so far.’
“With most of the companies we deal with there haven’t been
any major changes,” he adds. “In fact, I was talking to my Marmot
rep the other day about it and he said, ‘If someone hadn’t told
me we were bought out by K2, I would have no idea anything has
changed. The company is running just like it always has.’”
However, as vendor consolidations continue, Osur is wary
of where specialty shops may fall within each vendor’s dealer
pecking order. His concerns include potential ramifications
of applying economies of scale, which could affect customer
service, expanded territories for reps, shipping time, pricing and
discounts for larger competitors.
“A big concern is that the deliveries could start to become
a disaster, especially now that smaller retailers are being a
little more conservative and depending more on reordering and
special orders,” he adds. “For example, one of our vendors used
to be very good with deliveries, but now that they are so big and
owned by such a big company, if you place a special order, you
might get it in two weeks. By comparison, if I’m dealing with
a small company and I place an order today, it will get here
tomorrow.” RJ
Southeast
Vendor consolidation has left Bobby McCain
with mixed emotions. McCain, owner of 19-yearold
Buffalo Park Outfitters, a 5,700-square-foot
specialty retailer housed in an upscale shopping
center in Jackson, Miss. says, “One of the fun
things about this industry that I really miss is
dealing with small, independent, entrepreneur-driven businesses,
which are becoming few and far between. Sometimes the smaller
companies that are gobbled up lose some of the charm and the
identity that made them appealing.”
In particular, McCain says consolidation seems to be driving the
paddlesports industry toward becoming “one big company.”
“On the flipside, there are some cases in which smaller companies
aren’t equipped to grow on their own, and the larger companies
come in and improve the operational aspects, improvements that
otherwise probably wouldn’t have happened,” adds McCain, citing
Columbia Sportswear’s acquisition of Mountain Hardwear as a
positive example. “I’ve seen reduced prices and samples arriving
on an earlier basis.
“But it’s really a case-by-case scenario, and the success really
depends on the company in the acquisition mode,” continues
McCain. “Some, like Columbia, have their act together and really
improve the companies they acquire. VF acquiring The North Face is
another example of that. It’s been great seeing the turnaround with
The North Face since that acquisition.”
Chuck Walker, general manager of Rockfish Gap Outfitters, a
standalone 6,000-square-foot specialty retail shop in Waynesboro,
Va., says he hasn’t really noticed any change in dealing with
vendors affected through mergers and acquisitions. “For example,
with Watermark and Yakima coming together, none of the potential
negatives that could have arisen have been an issue,” he says,
adding that placing orders hasn’t been any easier or more difficult.
“It’s pretty much the same for both preseason ordering and when
doing fill-ins.
“That said, from my position, it is a positive,” adds Walker. RJ
Rockies
Susan Lambert, manager at Active Endeavors,
a three-year-old 3,000-square-foot action sports
boutique in Boulder, Colo.’s Pearl Street Pedestrian
Mall, says her store hasn’t noticed any changes
resulting from vendor consolidation. “There really
hasn’t been much of an effect on us in terms of customer service or
pricing or anything like that,” she says.
8 |IO May|June 2005

David Goodman, owner of Mountain Miser, a specialty retail
shop in South Denver, also says that not much has changed in
terms of working with vendors. “Nobody is easier to deal with after
consolidation,” says Goodman. “But we haven’t found anybody to be
worse to deal with either.”
Business logistics aside, Goodman does believe that once a
company gets too large, they have a hard time remaining true to the
“specialty” component of outdoor specialty. “Now with everybody
owning everybody, what used to be specialty is even less so,” he
says. “As a result, we’re constantly looking for the next special thing,
which is the way it’s always been.” RJ
Northwest
Northwest specialty retailers in general
say that vendor consolidation goes against
the grain of the long-established specialty
concept of small shop customer service
and expertise.
“Now more than ever, you’ve got little specialty companies that
want to be bigger so they can be purchased by the conglomerates,”
says Steve Teufert of Olympic Mountaineering in Port Angeles, Wash.
“This industry didn’t used to be about the money. It used to be about
the spirit of it all, about how cool it was to make something to help
people climb Mount Olympus or put up a new climbing route in Index or
crank tele turns in the back country. Now it’s about the homogenization
of America. If this keeps up, pretty soon small specialty shops like
ours will be forced to become just like big box chains or go out of
business, and the customer will suffer if that happens.”
“I’ve been in this business for over 20 years,” says one senior
staffer at a small specialty shop in Boise, Idaho, “and I can tell
you that the consolidation of the past five years has really caused
vendor customer service to change, compared to the old days.
Some of them just don’t know their product like they used to. And
some of them have ‘timed’ allotments for each call. It’s ridiculous
and doesn’t seem like you’re calling in to an actual outdoor
industry business.”
“We’re small. We run lean and mean, and money is always tight,”
says an owner of a small independent climbing gym/specialty
store in the Northwest. “With consolidation, a huge disadvantage
for us is that we now have one accounts payable where we used to
have three or maybe four accounts for the same products. You can’t
shuffle your payable priorities very well when you have one big bill
versus three or four smaller bills. Before consolidation it was easier
to strategize cash flow in lean times.”
This owner also says he feels as though his store is always
under threat of being dropped by conglomerates for not meeting
yearly dollar minimums. He contends that was not a factor when
dealing with some vendors prior to being acquired. BH
Southwest
“Vendor consolidation has been great for
us,” says a supervisor at the Albuquerque
REI. “It has helped the way we do business
and interact with vendors. When vendors
consolidate it’s nice to have one payable instead of five when you
operate with regional accounting for your store. It makes it simpler.
Shipping turn times have gotten better with some of the smaller
brand names that used to be slow.”
This positive perception is not the case with some smaller stores.
“I don’t like it one bit,” says a long time buyer at a small specialty
shop in Sedona, Ariz. “The new large-company customer service can
come across as detached, compared to how it used to be, and strict
changes in billing practices can make it difficult to juggle finances
sometimes. When you need it, there’s not much accommodation for
long-standing relationships with a given brand.”
Staff at a self-described “hardcore” shop in Dallas say that some
of their favorite reps have been casualties of consolidation, severing
what had been pleasurable business relationships: “The products
are still available, but the familiar reps are gone. Sometimes after a
small vendor is acquired someone new is assigned to the territory,
and much of the time our employees aren’t real receptive to these
new corporate reps. They were used to reps blowing into town and
setting up climbing trips with them. Then suddenly someone new
selling the same brand shows up and tries to high-pressure everyone
into buying more, more, more. It doesn’t come off so well.”
Adventure 16 in Costa Mesa, Calif., has rolled with the waves of
consolidation. Says one staffer: “I see improvements in marketing
from some of these small brands that suddenly have a big engine
behind them. This improves public perception of the product, and we
get heightened interest and increased sales as a result.” BH
Rep Moves and News
Wenonah Canoe/Current Designs has named Peter Whaley
as its Eastern Canadian representative. Whaley’s territory includes
Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward
Islands and Nova Scotia …
TrailHeads announced several additions to its sales team. Mark
Charpentier, formerly national sales manager of Cannondale Corp., is
director of sales. In addition, Jackson Cyr, Matt Kabza and Libby Bliss
from Action Sales have joined the TrailHeads sales team to represent
the Pacific Northwest. Matthew Cox will service northern California,
and Kenneth Miner will sell in Colorado and New Mexico …
Indigo Equipment has retained three sales representatives to
10|IO May|June 2005
cover its New England and Pacific Northwest territories. Velocity
Sales, founded by partners Michael Schmidt and Bill Bruzzese,
represent Indigo in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine. In the Pacific Northwest,
Indigo added Mike Burns to cover northern California, Oregon,
Idaho and Montana. Burns was hired in conjunction with the Alta
Group, which represents Indigo in Washington, Alaska and British
Columbia. In addition to Indigo, Velocity Sales also represents
K2 telemark skis, Garmont, Jetboil and Nikwax. The Alta Group
also represents Atomic Nordic and telemark skis, Petzl and Sea
to Summit.

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T a l k t o t h e H a n d
S p e a k i n g t o a e s t h e t i c
p e r f o r m a n c e
by R.J. Anderson
Over the last few seasons the
outdoor industry fashion
market has undergone a certain degree
of trend swapping with its mainstream
cousins. As the function of outdoor
technology has integrated the demands
of mainstream fashionistas, savvy
outdoor shoppers have come to expect
more aesthetic appeal from their favorite
outdoor brands.
“We design with the concept of
adding fashion to function, which is key
for the outdoor market, but those same
designs also cross over into the broader
mainstream market,” says Kevin
Williams, sales and marketing manager
at Coville Inc, a Winston-Salem, N.C.-
based design, marketing and conversion
company for specialty knitted fabrics.
“Both markets are evolving at the same
time, and the two different crowds end
up liking the same thing. It’s interesting
the way it’s all gelling and coming
together at the same time.”

BE THERE.

From finishing techniques to the basic design of the fabrics, outdoor
fabric suppliers and apparel manufacturers are stepping up their game
to feed this increased consumer appetite, and they are moving quickly to
up their market ante. Gone are the days of cardboard-feeling synthetic
fabrics and stinky polypropylenes, today’s specialty outdoor clothing
racks are filled with all sorts of technology enhanced by aesthetic
improvements. From the obvious, such as increases in natural fiber usage
and blending, to the more discreet, such as using piece dyes in place of
yarn dyes, outdoor gear is looking and feeling more like fashions found
in upscale department stores.
Coville has been at recent outdoor trade shows exhibiting a new
line of bi-component fabric that is a lightweight double knit featuring
stretch polypropylene on one side and stretch nylon on the other. The
polypropylene worn against the skin offers the wearer antimicrobial
benefits, odor control, moisture wicking and temperature regulation,
says Williams, while the nylon provides softness and durability.
The yarns are not a microdenier, he says, but they have similar benefits.
“You don’t have to go all the way to a microdenier to get a great hand,”
notes Williams. “That they are made from stretch yarns as opposed to
spandex adds to the softness because of the way the yarns bulk.”
The Demand for Hand
One company that is doing its share to soften fabric technology is
Malden Mills. Recently, the Massachusetts-based company switched
many of its high loft fabrics from a yarn dye to a piece dye approach.
Company spokesperson Nate Simmons says the improvements have
created a softer glide, which eases layering and reduces bunching while
offering what he calls a “super-luxurious touch.”
Another benefit is that Malden’s fabrics will be available in smaller
quantities, allowing more companies to offer more styles and colors.
“The Mountain Hardwear Poodle Hoody is a great example of this
fabric’s success,” says Simmons. “It has been hugely successful in core
outdoor and has reached a very broad audience too.”
An apparel manufacturer firmly entrenched in the middle of the
fashion and technology integration trend is Royal Robbins. With a
breadth of product that addresses the fashion-into-function angle, as
well as the function-into-fashion elements, Royal Robbins is updating
the feel and features of the fabrics the company uses.
“We are working with Schoeller on their 3XDry to incorporate
that into a very quick-drying performance cotton product,” says Diane
Gallagher, product manager at Royal Robbins. “And we worked with
Invista using some of their Teflon stain repellant finishes on synthetics as
well as applying them to some more technical, synthetic bottom-weight
fabrics.”
In addition, Gallagher says Royal Robbins is also incorporating
elasterell-p into denim. “Denim is very strong in the market right
now, and we’ve got a really great functional denim which, because of
the elasterell-p, incorporates stretch and wicking properties,” she says.
“As we go into Spring 2006, another one of the functional features we
are including is a core-spun, polyester wicking fiber that is coated with
cotton so that it has the hand of cotton.”
“The hand demand continues to be strong every season,” says Coville’s
Williams. “The retailer and the consumer always want something softer
so there’s a lot of focus in the manufacturing part of the supply chain to
find ways to make a product softer and softer.”
Softness, in many instances, is being accomplished through the use
of microfiber yarns, higher filament counts in the yarn and knitting
techniques, he says.
“There also has been a bit of a return back to plain surfaces, which
are naturally softer than textures,” adds Williams.
Finishing techniques also can enhance the hand, whether face
finishing, knapping or sueding, he says. “There are also some silicone
finishes that are hydrophilic, meaning that you can put those on the fabric
to give them a nice hand, but they won’t interfere with performance
features like wicking and antimicrobial,” continues Williams.
14|IO May|June 2005
The Poodle Hoody from Mountain Hardwear
Coville offers its bi-component group in three stitch types. There is a
pointelle targeted primarily at women’s wear, a textured filament group
designed to be a little more masculine, and a plain surface double knit.
Another company reacquainting itself with the outdoor trade show
circuit is American Fibers & Yarns Co., which is working to reposition
its performance apparel fiber, Innova. “Through proprietary texturing
techniques, Innova combines the hand and aesthetics of cotton, rayon
and acrylic but with added inherent performance characteristics,”
says Tracey Welch, market development manager for AF&Y. “With
those techniques we can create softer, more colorful and more versatile
garments, from casual apparel to athletic wear and outdoor apparel.”
The fiber, which is used in woven and knitted goods, including
socks, sweaters, jeans, thermals/base layers and fleece garments, touts
aesthetic benefits that include pill resistance, stain and fade resistance and
antimicrobial properties. “Innova is not topically treated so its performance
benefits are inherent in the yarn,” adds Welch. “And garments made with
Innova can be cleaned safely with chlorine bleach.”

Envying Green
While comfort and feel certainly are important to pushing fabric and
apparel, many apparel manufacturers are promoting fabrics that are easy
to care for, something AF&Y speaks to with the bleach-friendliness of
Innova. Kavu, which primarily uses wash-and-wear fabrics in its clothing
lines, continues this trend with garments constructed with a Bamboo
viscose blend, which the company introduced for Spring 2005.
Bamboo provides the durable, broken-in hand Kavu customers
expect, along with adding a component suitable for designing for the
dressed-up consumer. “With the bamboo women’s pieces, we had
this nice dressy, lineny, almost Asian-type fabric feel to it, and those
characteristics influenced how we designed around it,” says Jodi Barr,
Kavu marketing manager.
Aesthetic Characteristics of Popular Synthetic Fibers
Acetate
Acrylic
Lyocell
Microfibers
PLA Fiber
(corn-based)
Polyester
Rayon
Spandex
Triacetate
Source: FabricLink.com
“When we’re designing we’re trying to target an audience interested
in wash and wear,” adds Barr. “I was talking to one of our athletes and
he said, ‘It’s amazing, but over the last year or so, I’ve become a buttondown
shirt guy.’ And that now seems to be a demand from consumers.
They want to be able to get away with wearing outdoor clothing brands
at work.
“We want them to be able to wear our products, look presentable,
then throw it in the washer and dryer and wear it again without any
added care,” continues Barr. “As an outdoor clothing company, we have
to set ourselves apart from the Gap, Banana Republic and those places,
and the best way to that is with the fabrics we use.”
And as usual, it is key for that separation to be communicated on
the retail sales floor. When a sales associate finds a customer looking at
the product, it helps if the employee tells the story behind the fabric.
For instance, when customers are holding a bamboo viscose piece, Barr
suggests something as simple as, “Hey, check this out, it’s bamboo. The
care is really easy because it’s wash and dry. And since bamboo is porous,
it is breathable and wicking which makes it great for traveling.”
And if it’s a fabric that will appeal to an eco-conscious consumer,
a sales associate shouldn’t hold back any information about a fabric’s
origins. “Like with our bamboo,” adds Barr, “we hope they’ll let the
customer know that bamboo is a low-impact, readily available and
renewable resource.”
16|IO May|June 2005
On the Same Page
Luxurious appearance, crisp or soft hand; dyes and prints well; excellent
drape; pill resistant
Soft, wool-like hand; excellent color fastness; resists wrinkles and
shrinkage; excellent pleat retention; flexible aesthetics
Soft hand; resists wrinkles; excellent drape; dyes and prints well
Finer than silk; extremely drapeable; very soft, luxurious hand; excellent
pleat retention; available in acrylic, nylon, polyester and rayon
Similar in appearance and hand to cotton; excellent drape
Crisp, soft hand; resists shrinking; excellent pleat retention
Soft hand; drapes well; dyes and prints well; resists static and pilling
Stretch and recovery; smooth, supple hand; static and pill resistant
Luxurious hand; excellent drape; excellent pleat retention; pill resistant
Whether supplementing function with fashion or implementing
function into fashion, it is imperative for apparel vendors to have
unencumbered dialogue with their fabric and fiber-distributing
partners as they pursue desired techno-fashion mediums. At Royal
Robbins, which offers a wide product base that works with both
synthetic and natural fibers, working closely with its suppliers has
been a key element to their success.
“When we’re concepting, we look at where we want to be at the
end, and that generally starts on the fabric side,” says Gallagher.
“In many cases we work with fiber suppliers and fabric mills as they
develop new methods of finishing. On CoolMax jersey fabric, we
worked with the yarn supplier to get the right blend so that it has a
hand that feels like cotton, while also
incorporating the CoolMax function.
“We work with companies as they
are developing so we can give them our
feedback on how it would be utilized
in our industry,” adds Gallagher.
“We also give them direction on what
fabric mills to use to incorporate and
commercialize some of their fabrics
and finishes.”
At Kavu, Barr says the company’s
designers are always on the lookout for
cool, new natural fabrics. “Suppliers
will offer up some examples and we
might say, ‘That’s great, but for it to
work for us, it needs to be sturdier,
or we need it with a different type of
blend or a certain weight,’” she says.
“A lot times we go back and forth
and often nothing happens … but we’re really excited about the
bamboo because this is one time we got the right blend and the
right way to use it.”
Driving the Markets
The outdoor apparel market originally developed with the male
consumer in mind. Enthusiasts were locked into shopping for
specialty outdoor apparel that contained only the most cutting-edge
technical design with little regard for how it looked or how soft
it felt. But as the years have passed, outdoor apparel has evolved
from its backcountry beginnings to a product category that finds
itself upping its contribution to, if not driving, increasingly high
expectations for function in mainstream fashion—for men, women
and kids. You see it on hiking trails and golf courses, at outdoor
concerts and in your local coffee shop.
“Identifying market segmentation is very important, as is knowing
the consumer,” says Coville’s Williams. “There is an evolution going
on in the apparel market. Five, six, seven years ago you didn’t see as
much performance in the mainstream market as you do today, which
speaks to the transition and growth of performance. It’s important
not only for the apparel people to recognize it but also the fabric
people. We need to answer that demand and be focused on product
development that speaks to that demand.” IO

E X P E R I E N C E T H E
S P E C I A LT Y FA B R I C S I N D U S T R Y
S a n A n t o n i o , T e x a s • O c t ober 2 7–29, 2005
Including:
FABRIC STRUCTURES 2005 AND TEXTILES & GRAPHICS 2005
For information about attending
or exhibiting at IFAI Expo 2005
visit www.ifaiexpo.info
Industrial Fabrics Association International
1801 County Road B W., Roseville, MN 55113 USA

Not-so-Secret Ingredients
What is the value of component co-branding?
by Tony Jones
In
the race and clamor for market position and consumer
investment, the size of your pie slice is often determined either
by one’s personal fortune and fame or by the quality of the company you
keep. Campbell’s Soup, IBM and Pepsi are household brands that command
attention in their own right, without much pretense or concern from consumers
as to how they are made or what technically differentiates them from their
competitors. Conversely, in order to gain market leverage, lesser-known
brands often turn to the strength of their technology partners in component
co-branding efforts that leverage the value of partnership in promoting the
end-consumer brand alongside a key element in that product’s construction.
This type of ingredient branding is almost always a boost to component
partners, which often exist in fiercely competitive and crowded “behindthe-scenes”
environments. Positive consumer recognition for a component
brand allows that supplier to leverage its position against competitors, which
potentially means commanding premium pricing for its services and increased
demand from other product manufacturers.
The two best examples of this are probably Intel and NutraSweet.
NutraSweet was introduced in 1981 by Monsanto and watched its consumer
brand trust skyrocket after it secured visibility through Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Within six years, it had produced annual revenues of nearly $850 million
and is now used in more than 3,000 food and beverage brands, according to
Intangible Business, a brand valuation and development consulting firm.
Intel, on the other hand, took its case directly to retailers and consumers
by way of some 200 OEM partners, launching the “Intel Inside” campaign
in 1991. In the midst of a blossoming PC market, Intel’s campaign created a
point of differentiation whereby its message became associated with consumerperceived
quality and reliability. Within four years of exposing its European
markets to the “Intel Inside” campaign, Intel’s consumer recognition
ballooned from 24 percent to 94 percent, according to a case study published
by Intangible Business. In 2001, Intel was listed as the sixth most valuable
brand in the world, with an estimated brand value of $35 billion.

Textile Tech
These business models certainly are not lost on the players inside the
world of textiles and outdoor products. After failing to trademark nylon
as a brand and losing it to the purveyors of generic commodities, DuPont
is credited by many as being among the first to pioneer the concept of
component branding. As a result, Lycra and CoolMax are among the most
well-known textile components recognized by consumers worldwide. In
the outdoor industry, the list of relevant DuPont-created brand names is
particularly impressive when you also consider that Thermolite, Cordura,
Supplex and Tactel originated from the same supplier.
firm based in the United Kingdom.
Noting that this can vary by region, Penman says, “Lycra has a 50
to 100 percent premium over other elastomerics in Europe but only 10
to 15 percent in the United States.” A portion of Lycra’s extraordinary
success in Europe could have resulted from an aggressive $30 million
global advertising campaign that DuPont launched in 1999 to reinforce
the brand and reach a broader audience. Also of note, reports Penman,
was a successful Woolmark campaign that allowed the company to
command nearly twice the price of competing fibers based “solely on
its image.”
The “World of Extremes” – a polarizing marketplace
Growth and perceived customer value
Customers seek low cost for basic
goods with low emotional investment
Mega-players capture market share by
delivering “good enough” value at very
low prices
Mass
Source: IBM Institute for Business Value
To get an idea of what the component branding business is worth to our
industry, consider that Koch Industries last year purchased these and other
brands marketed under DuPont Textiles & Interiors for $4.2 billion. The
former DuPont brands now share an impressive stable under the INVISTA
name, alongside original KoSa brands like Polarguard and ESP.
A successful ingredient branding strategy is an endless loop of ebb
and flow between evaluation and validation. A component’s industry
value can be determined by both trade and consumer demand, while
that demand is created by trade and consumer perceptions of value
added to an end product. When it works, the payoff can be lucrative
because the value-add is typically in the form of functional features that
improve a product’s technical performance, quality or aesthetics. This
could mean softness provided through Tencel, stretch from Lycra or
waterproof/breathable functionality by Gore-Tex.
“Branded fibers in clothing can command high premiums usually
between 20 to 50 percent, and sometimes higher, than their equivalent
non-branded products,” writes Jessica Penman in a 2002 special focus
report on textile branding for David Rigby Associates, a textile consulting
20|IO May|June 2005
“Bell curves”
Undifferentiated
competitors fade into
irrelevance
“Well curves”
Competitive spectrum
Elements that Impact Purchase Decisions
Tangible Influences
Intangible Factors
Element Types
Consumer wants and needs
Consumer actions
Competitor actions
Source: IBM Institute for Business Value
Consumer beliefs and emotions
The Gore Point
As with most textile discussions in the outdoor
industry, the conversation inevitably circles around
to Gore-Tex. This isn’t by accident. While outdoor
products feature several noteworthy component
brands, including Vibram, YKK and Polartec,
none commands the general consumer recognition
or trust enjoyed by Gore.
While Vibram outsoles and Polartec fleece
products are arguably the premium standards by
which competitors in the market are compared,
they simply have not burrowed their way into
the public’s brand consciousness like Gore-Tex.
Consider that in a 2004 Gallup poll conducted on
behalf of Gore, 58 percent of respondents said they were aware of the
Gore-Tex brand, and half of those said they had purchased a Gore-Tex
product. If we are to believe the numbers, that means that more than 200
million people in America are at least familiar with the brand. That’s a
powerful stick to wield, and it slipped into the hands of W.L. Gore and
Associates because it blazed a trail that parallels the success of brands
like Intel.
Frankly, if you’re going to be a successful component brand, it certainly
helps to be the inventor of a category or the first to market it. But you
also have to craft a product that works, capture demand and deliver. You
also have to be marketing savvy, and Gore believed, like Intel, that the
path to ultimate success begins right at the gate of consumer awareness,
particularly backpacking and mountaineering enthusiasts.
“Since there was not a lot of market inertia with consumers asking
for something that they had
no idea existed, we went to
the consumer directly and
Customers seek greater “personal
value” when purchasing goods with
high emotional importance
Differentiated specialists build
profitable niches by delivering relevant
value to targeted groups of customers
Specialized
Examples
told them the story and
created that pull through,”
says Steve Shuster, Gore-Tex
brand manager. “In turn,
that end consumer started
going into their local retail
or specialty shop and asking
for this Gore-Tex fabric stuff
they heard about.”
Although it proved to be
an expensive proposition, the
idea worked. Retailers that
were pressed about the fabric
called manufacturers who, in turn, inquired to Gore about the technology.
Landing The North Face as a licensee certainly went a long way toward
building credibility, but Shuster says the real turning point was the
initiation of Gore’s “Guaranteed to Keep You Dry” campaign in 1989.
• Most preferred product features
• Preferred information sources
• Envisioning the best purchase within budget
• Seeking new options and ideas
• Setting product and service prices
• Launching new marketing campaigns
• Brand reputations of companies A, B and C
• Emotional drivers for purchase

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“[Prior to the campaign] consumers were not satisfied,” recalls
Shuster. “They were calling Gore saying they were getting wet and
talking about it in terms of their ‘Gore-Tex jacket.’”
To Gore, that meant consumers were equating the failure of a garment
with the PTFE membrane instead of the manufacturer’s construction of
the end product. Gore’s guarantee was initiated to preserve the integrity
of the product, as well as strengthen its brand value.
“We really had no other choice if we were going to be in this for the
long haul,” says Shuster. “We developed end-performance specifications
that really set us apart.”
The result reinforced Gore’s pull-through model, increasing demand
from would-be licensees and strengthened consumer belief in the
technology. What we have today is a brand used as a point of reference
by product manufacturers and retailers and a full-fledged trust mark
with consumers.
Elbow Room
Gore’s lofty position doesn’t leave a lot of space for competitors
to grab large portions of market share, and the company’s
dominance is somewhat of a microcosm of occurrences within
general consumer products as a whole. In a 2002 brand study
published by IBM Business Consulting Services, analysts wrote,
“It is estimated that just 150 SKUs in a household provide over 80
percent of a family’s needs.” Moreover, new brands that enter the
market have been slow to garner sales, and many struggle just to
stay in business.
“An IRI Information Resources study concluded that 80 percent
of new brands’ year-one sales have been below $10 million and only 3
percent have been over $50 million,” say IBM analysts. “Additionally, an
analysis has shown that more than half of new products introduced in 20
categories failed within two years of introduction.”
That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for success. Competitors and
their partners must be targeted and strategic, if not realistic, about the
type and amount of business they believe they can win. A good start is to
find a point of differentiation.
“It’s very difficult to come up with your own proprietary type of
technology and compete against Gore,” says one industry veteran.
“Many people will try to approach it from a different angle, such as
through coatings, so they are not competing head to head.”
The real challenge is in creating demand. IBM analysts suggest
companies become “either a manufacturing company or a branding
company, and adopt an operating model that fits. Choosing brings
consumer importance and retail leverage into greater clarity, and focuses
resources on core capabilities and on the things that give competitive
advantage.”
Analysts suggest a back-to-basics grass-roots attitude, hitting the
pavement in an attempt to earn a groundswell of consumer and retail
support. Ultimately, IBM analysts say, competing brands have to move
away from simply offering products and, instead, foster solutions that fill
the life needs of consumers. Value is then placed on bundled products
and services, co-branded products, brands that extend across categories
and products that provide new benefits.
This is potentially good news for textile components fighting for their
fair share of the pie. In the tight waterproof/breathable space, eVENT
has displayed some of this tenacity in winning support from European
retailers and respected European product manufacturers like 66 o North

and Vaude. The company also has received consumer kudos domestically
from independent gear heads, and in today’s realm of viral marketing,
the worth of Internet-savvy early adopters spreading their good words
via e-mail and blogs may prove to be invaluable.
Still, these are small steps, and for any ingredient brand trying to
make a name for itself and build value among consumers, retailers
and manufacturers, the endeavor is a lengthy and expensive process.
“Length of time is a function of investment,” says an industry insider.
“If you wanted to do it all today and wanted to invest into some global
ad campaigns that hit many different levels, you could certainly shorten
the length of time. At the same time, though, you’re taking on a ton
of risk.”
Part of the danger is in placing resources. If a branding relationship
is successful in one step of the push model with retailers, will it have
the resources to pull customers into the stores? “Creating that perfect
balance is so difficult because if you create tremendous sell-in and wind
up with a ton of retail product on the floor that doesn’t sell out, it’s a big
issue for the following year,” confides an industry source. “You lose a
level of trust that is difficult to get back.”
Name Game
Much rests on the nature of the co-branding relationships. In all,
there seems to be few drawbacks for component brands entering into an
ingredient brand strategy with a product manufacturer. Partnering with
an established brand with hangtags and logos on product is a virtual
endorsement to the consumer by the host company that the component
technology works, whether it’s an insulation, DWR coating or moisture
management solution. Likewise, if the ingredient brand is well known to
consumers, then a lesser known product brand benefits from perceived
quality and credibility. Additional benefits can include shared production
costs, promotions, advertising and research and development. For both
parties it is strength by association, where the whole is greater than the
sum of the parts.
“Competition is so stiff out there that almost every product is a
commodity, and if you’ve got a technological difference that can be
twisted into a healthy branding story, then it’s a barrier to entry,” notes
another industry veteran. “You can create a little more value there, and
there’s not a lot of that when you’re talking about raw materials in terms
of fibers and yarns.”
But product manufacturers also can be leery of branding their names
alongside a component that is widely used in an industry out of fear
that the ingredient relationship will genericize the technology and, thus,
weaken the product’s brand strength. The opposite side to that coin is
what is at risk by not incorporating or promoting the use of a CoolMax
or Lycra? If a component brand is well known and trusted among a
majority of general consumers, then some customers may be suspicious
as to why certain products wouldn’t include it as a component.
Although IBM uses Intel’s microprocessors in some of its PCs, it does
not actively market the relationship, and the familiar “Intel Inside” swirl
that has helped bolster countless other computer brands does not appear
on IBM products or packaging. IBM’s reasoning could be that it didn’t
want to risk diluting its own brand strength by lumping itself with lesserknown
brands that use the same Pentium chip technology.
This is a legitimate fear among brands that view themselves as
achieving premium status. In a report on ingredient branding published
by Landor Associates, the consulting firm recalls a study conducted by
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Research International in which consumers were shown several brands
of chocolate chip cookies and asked if the addition of a premium brand
of chocolate chips would increase the appeal of those cookie brands.
While consumers believed the premium brand chips enhanced the
value of middle-tier cookie brands, they thought the chips actually
lessened the brand value of Pepperidge Farm. Consumers considered
Pepperidge Farm to be a premium brand by itself and assumed that
its cookies already contained the highest quality ingredients. “Instead
of reinforcing consumers’ positive perceptions, the heralding of a new,
premium ingredient actually generated consumer skepticism,” according
to the Landor report.
Stages of the Consumer Purchase Process
Incubation
stage
Shopping and
purchase stage
Source: IBM Institute for Business Value
Trigger
stage
Target decision:
Choice of
retailer
Product
selection
In the outdoor industry, several major brands choose to tout “secret”
ingredients in the form of proprietary components and technology, rather
than promote an outside brand used by competitors. Not surprisingly, this
occurs quite a bit within the waterproof/breathable and moisture management
categories. Thus, consumers are treated to names like Helly Hansen’s Helly
Tech, Columbia Sportswear’s OmniTech and Patagonia’s Capilene.
Typical Fiber Brand Support Activities
End-user Type
Spinners, weavers,
finishers and printers
Garment manufacturers
and retailers
Consumers
Source: David Rigby Associates
Brand Support Activities
Trade advertising
Trend information
Trade show attendance
Trade show sponsorship
Technical assistance
New product development
Point-of-sale material
Trade advertising
Post-purchase
expectations
stage
Retailer info packs and education
Fabric fairs
Branding and quality assurance programs
Swing tickets
Explanatory leaflets
In-store promotions
Fashion magazine advertising
Designer link-ups
Billboards
In each of these instances, the manufacturers’ names remain the topline
focus and, in effect, position them as developers of sophisticated
technology. With strong brand loyalty among their core customers, this
likely bolsters their value. Interestingly enough, these brands and several
others don’t exclude component brands entirely. Instead, they pick and
choose to offer products and SKUs where they see strategic advantages
to do so.
Promoting a product brand without a component brand may also
afford manufacturers complete control over the promotion of particular
silhouettes and when and how a technology is used within a product.
“Why be one of many?” asks a former industry veteran who has
worked with several major brands. “Why not create your own technology
if you’re going to spend that many dollars anyway?”
For component suppliers, dealing with manufacturers that want
to use their premium branded product but would rather not promote
the component brand name, licensing negotiations can be a frustrating
process.
“Brand confusion, brand delusion is a critical issue,” asserts Shuster.
“In today’s market, there is this explosion of waterproof/breathable as a
kind of cost of entry. If it’s not waterproof/breathable, it’s very difficult
to sell anything.
“There’s a lot of confusion in the marketplace. We’re going to be
taking a more aggressive approach,” he continues, noting that Gore
will encourage consumers to look to its label for waterproof/breathable
authenticity. “If we’re doing our job correctly, innovating and keeping
the energy going into the brand, then our partners are going to want
to use [the Gore-Tex brand] on the outside. If not, then we’ll have
those discussions, and I’m not so sure how we’ll continue to have those
relationships.”
Consumer’s Choice
The offshoot to all of this is what do end consumers care about? Are
they more concerned with the performance of the component technologies
or in the trust they’ve enlisted with a favorite manufacturer brand?
Frankly, it’s difficult to tell. Industry veterans contacted for this
story were split on what is currently driving consumer decisions.
“The [primary] brand name is the first thing they look for to
determine if they’re loyal to that brand or can identify with that brand,”
offers one insider who believes component brands are becoming less
important. “If they believe in the brand and it stands for innovation,
leading edge and so on, they’re more apt to purchase it. That’s more
difficult for a small, lesser-known brand with their own proprietary
technology. They’re going to have to spend more marketing dollars to
educate the consumer or retail channel.”
Going forward, product positioning appears to be paramount. The
danger is in disappearing from consumer consciousness completely.
Many believe consumerism is fast becoming a polarized marketplace,
where consumers seek goods either with lower prices and “good
enough” value on a mass level or goods offering “high personal” value,
emotional fulfillment and perceived relevance on a specialty level.
While this bodes well potentially for the specialty channel,
middle-tier brands may be forced with unpleasant choices.
To optimize an ingredient branding strategy, the component
supplier and product manufacturer must create the perception
of premium value or risk falling into a group that IBM analysts
call “undifferentiated competitors” that “fade into irrelevance.”
There’s certainly no value in that. IO
24|IO May|June 2005

Threads & Spins
Outdoor Textiles News and Notes
Partnerships
The board of Australian Wool Services Ltd. has proposed
a single vision approach for the wool industry that would see
the structural integration of Australian Wool Innovation Ltd. and
Australian Wool Services under the management of a single board
and single executive. AWS officials believe stronger unity between
the two organizations will improve relationships within the processing
and retail sectors and help build global demand for Australian
merino wool.
“The Australian wool industry has fallen well behind in the
marketing of its product compared to its major competitors of cotton
and man-made fibers,” said Trevor Flugge, AWS chairman.
The integration also would pave the way for increased joint
funding and partnering on marketing projects on behalf of the
Australian wool industry and drive unified efforts with research and
development and technology.
The earliest a formal proposal could be brought to shareholders
would likely be late this year, the companies said.
Global View
China’s textile and apparel exports to the United States grew by
63 percent in the first quarter of the year, according to preliminary
data released by the federal government and reported by World
Global Style Network. China’s success has reignited concerns for
protection from the domestic textile industry.
The amount of wool exported from China to the U.S. between
January and March grew 62.5 percent from the same period a
year ago. In individual categories, WGSN reported that the biggest
increase was in cotton and synthetic fiber trousers, which grew
1,521 percent. Cotton knit shirts grew by 1,257 percent, while
synthetic filament fabrics grew 769 percent.
The American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition reported
that 17,200 U.S. textile and apparel manufacturing jobs have been
lost this year and said those losses would likely continue to mount
unless the U.S. government initiates safeguards. Employment in
the U.S. textile industry has fallen 36.4 percent from 1.05 million
workers in January 2001 to 665,900 in March 2005, WGSN
reported …
United States imports of textiles and apparel grew in volume
and value in December 2004, as well as for the year, and showed
a steady rise continuing in January, according to The Woolmark Co.
26|IO May|June 2005
Wool textiles and apparel saw the largest gain of all fiber types in all
three periods, Woolmark reported.
Although China was the largest supplier for all U.S. textile and
apparel requirements in both December and aggregate 2004, India
was the main supplier to the U.S. of wool textiles and apparel,
ahead of Italy and Canada. In January, China gained first position
with an outstanding lift in aggregate wool apparel volumes imported,
Woolmark said …
In its 2004 annual report, Australian Wool Services Ltd.
reported that global net domestic wool availability was down by 18
percent in total and 25 percent in the apparel sector from 2000
to 2003. The company predicted that global wool production would
increase 2 percent during the 2004-2005 season, for the first time
since 1989-1990.
Fashion forecasts for last year and this year also indicate “a
return to smarter dressing and natural fibers, with wool expected to
have a higher significant presence at retail” for fall in the Northern
Hemisphere.
Products & Programs
dri-release with FreshGuard has caught the eye of designers
outside the sports apparel market, with women’s casual wear lines
featuring dri-release recently launched by two women athletes familiar
with the technology. Janice Fetter founded Spooney Wearever in
Charleston, S.C. as a casual/loungewear line, and Helen Rockey
has launched Seattle-based wildbleu sleepwear.
Both Spooney and wildbleu are using dri-release cotton knits, a
combination of a special co-polymer polyester and cotton. While the
fabric possesses the feel and appearance of 100 percent cotton, it
has a softer drape and is wash and wear.
Both Fetter and Rockey set out to create multi-use apparel that
allows a woman to feel fresh and comfortable around the clock.
Another new market to embrace dri-release technology is next-tobody
daywear such as bras and briefs, said Karen Deniz, president
of Optimer’s European division and head of marketing. Optimer also
expects dri-release with FreshGuard to soon be available in dress
shirts and uniforms …
IFAI Expo 2005 will be held Oct. 27-29 at the Henry B. Gonzalez
Convention Center in San Antonio. More than 8,000 participants are
expected to take part in the expo’s exhibits, educational programs
and other events. This year’s educational program features more

than 90 sessions, offering a combination of technical papers,
seminars, case studies and panel discussions.
Included among the 14 market-specific tracks are business and
leadership, sports and recreation, and textiles and graphics …
Australian Wool Innovation Ltd. has pledged $5 million to
an international apparel marketing pilot program. In April the
International Wool Textile Organization Retail Taskforce requested
funding from woolgrowers, international wool and textile businesses
in part to help market merino wool globally.
AWI’s pledge is contingent on being matched dollar for dollar by other
international wool and textile businesses. The offer expires Aug. 31 …
The reconstruction and expansion of Schoeller’s headquarters in
Sevelen, Switzerland, recently passed the halfway mark. The textile
company has been concerned with space restrictions in recent years
and decided to expand its high-performance weaving mill, as well as
the entire dye works and finishing department at the Swiss facility.
In addition, a new logistics center is under construction with the aim
of increasing supply readiness and customer service.
In the context of the expansion work, and in addition to other
measures, a new exhaust air purification plant also is being installed.
a welcome figure considering the company’s string of consecutive
net earnings losses of $28.2 million, $1.5 million, $7.6 million and
$1.5 million in each quarter last year. Sales climbed to $386.3
million for the first quarter this year, which was $92.5 million or 31
percent higher than the same period a year ago and $14.1 million or
4 percent higher than the previous record set in the fourth quarter
last year. This increase was attributed to higher selling prices. The
quarterly earnings were Wellman’s highest since the second quarter
of 2002.
Achievements & Awards
Malden Mills Industries Inc. finalized its senior management
team, appointing Jonathan Adelman as executive vice president of
global sales and Edward Schade as chief financial officer. Adelman
and Schade join COO Andrew Vecchione under the direction of new
CEO Michael Spillane, who joined the company in July last year.
Adelman has nearly 30 years of executive experience in the
textile and apparel industry. He comes to Malden from New River
Industries where he served as managing director. Prior to New
River, Adelman was president and CEO of Lida Stretch Fabrics and
China’s textile and apparel exports to the United States grew by 63 percent in
the first quarter of the year. The biggest increase was in cotton and synthetic
fiber trousers, which grew 1,521 percent. Cotton knit shirts grew by 1,257
percent, while synthetic filament fabrics grew 769 percent.
The plant will be linked to the existing machinery as well as a new,
large-scale coating plant. Schoeller expects these measures to
reduce emissions by 80 percent and cut energy input by 20 percent.
The system is equipped with an electro filter and a wet filter that
make it possible to purify the exhaust air while at the same time
recover the heat. The move highlights Schoeller’s commitment to
the bluesign standard for safe and sustainable textile production.
The current construction is due to be completed Sept. 5 …
PrimaLoft has signed on as a supporter of the Northern
Forest Canoe Trail project, a 740-mile water trail which links the
watersheds of northern New York, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire
and Maine.
“The Northern Forest Canoe Trail project is a great example of
how private landowners, state and federal agencies and businesses
can work together to create an ideal recreational area that benefits
everyone,” said Tom Mendl, marketing director for PrimaLoft. “The
trail is virtually in our back yard, and we feel it is important to support
such a worthwhile project.”
P&L
Wellman Inc. reported its second consecutive quarter with record
sales and recorded its highest quarterly net profits in nearly three
years. Earnings for the quarter ended March 31 were $11 million,
business manager/director of marketing of Milliken & Co. He will
oversee sales in Asia and Europe, as well as in North America.
Schade brings more than 35 years of corporate finance experience
to Malden, most recently as CFO with The Hinckley Company …
Smart Fabric Technology by Outlast Technologies was inducted
into the Space Technology Hall of Fame April 7, as one of four 2005
honorees, joining 48 previous innovators. Outlast founders Ed Payne
and Bernie Perry were honored as Individual Inductees, and Individual
Commendation awards recognizing those instrumental in bringing
the technology to market included Martin Bentz, managing director
of Outlast Europe; Roland Cox, Acordis Acrylic Fibers; Andrew Bell,
global product manager for Ciba; and Monte Magill, vice president
of business development for Outlast Technologies …
Former DuPont employees Don Sandusky and Michael O’Neill
have opened a product laboratory called PRIMO Innovations in
Newark, Del. The new company will offer comprehensive materials
science-based product innovation and product development services,
specializing in recreational equipment and sports gear.
Since June 2004, PRIMO has worked with a major U.S. sporting
goods brand to develop and commercialize advancements in the
bicycle tire and inner tube categories. The company’s NeverFlat
technology promises to improve pressure retention of inflated sports
products, according to Sandusky, PRIMO president. IO
May|June 2005 IO |27

Image Courtesy of Royal Robbins
U p h i l l C l i m b
O f f e r i n g t r a v e l s e r v i c e s c a n b e a r e a l a d v e n t u r e
by Lou Dzierzak
If you’ve thought about adding adventure travel as an ancillary
service to help differentiate your store and provide the springboard
for you to circumnavigate the globe, you’re certainly not alone. It’s a
romantic business notion that will most certainly enable you to see
and experience many exotic lands. But it’s also a juggernaut of time
consumption, logistics and low revenue.
“It is a very difficult business requiring a great deal of time,
generating little on the bottom line,” confides Steve Piragis, owner of
Piragis Northwoods.
Located near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in
northern Minnesota, Piragis Northwoods began offering guided
28|IO May|June 2005
paddling trips in 1979 and expanded to international tours in 1995.
“We wanted to go on these trips ourselves, go along as guides and
hopefully make some profit at it,” recalls Piragis. “Everybody I know
who is in the business started because they wanted to see the world.”
Despite troubling economic times and gloomy forecasts, the
romanticism Americans invest in adventure travel seems to at
least give the idea some merit. According to the Outdoor Industry
Association’s 2004 Participation Study, the popularity of adventure/
outdoor activity vacations increased 14 percent in 2003, with some
54.9 million people participating in vacations that were inspired by
outdoor adventure activities.

In addition, the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA)
last year cast a favorable outlook toward adventure travel, reporting
during its 30th annual Marketing Outlook Forum that 44 percent
of CrossSphere (formerly the National Tour Association) operators
offered soft adventure tours in 2003, up from 25 percent in 2001. In
contrast, Hard adventures were offered by 10 percent of CrossSphere
operators during that same period, a 3 percent increase from 2001.
Likewise, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA)
reports that “there are roughly 10,000 operators that offer adventure
travel as part of their business.”
The point is that whether travelers are interested in “soft” activities
like camping, easy hiking and horseback riding or “hard” activities
like whitewater kayaking, rugged backpacking and spelunking
matters less than the mere fact that they are motivated to travel and
apparently willing to spend their money.
Last year, TIA forecasted a 6.9 percent gain in total direct
domestic and international travel expenditures in the United States
for 2004, which would account for $592.6 billion. The organization
expected travel expenditures to increase through 2006, predicting
a 5.3 percent increase this year to reach $624.1 billion in travel
expenditures, which would break the $600 billion mark for the
first time.
What percentage of that will be allocated to adventure travel is
unclear, but the willingness of would-be travelers to want to spend
their money is certainly encouraging.
“Folks are looking for something above and beyond. Something
extra. Something different,” says Ed Schiller, director of Wild River
Outfitters Touring Co. in Virginia Beach, Va. The company gained
a solid reputation for its local guiding trips before branching out
to adventure travel destinations such as the Caribbean and Belize.
“We’ve been in business for over 25 years, and I thought if I could put
together an international trip, our regular customers would know we
would do it right.”
Not All Fun in the Sun
The excitement of international travel and the satisfaction of
offering customers once-in-a-lifetime memories can be tempered by
the work involved to pull it all off. “For the most part, customers
are looking for us to handle all the details,” explains Schiller. “They
expect one-stop shopping. Tell me what the price is and take care of
everything from there.”
Offering trips to locations like Chile, Belize, Costa Rica,
Greenland, Iceland, Turkey and Vietnam requires tremendous
dedication from a point person and additional staff, says Piragis.
“It’s a huge time commitment; it takes away from everything else I
do. It takes a lot of time and money to set these up, get insurance
and get customers. It changed the way I do my business. I have a
crew of 26 people working with me, so I can take time to do some
of this. You need at least one full-time person, possibly more, to
handle it.”
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Both Wild River Outfitters and Piragis Northwoods rely on
partners in the destination country to help with equipment, local
knowledge and guide support. “It’s impossible to do the trips we
do without having someone there with the gear, guides and local
knowledge,” explains Piragis.
Taking the time to find the right partners is an important step
in ensuring a safe and successful journey. “We screen them pretty
closely and we’ve enjoyed good relationships with the outfitters we’ve
selected,” offers Schiller. “They provide all the things we need for our
guests that we can’t bring along.”
When arranging trips to Belize, Schiller considers several options:
“I can charter the trip, meaning I buy the trip and it’s up to me to sell
the trip, or I can add people to the charter company’s existing trips.
Obviously, I’d rather charter the trip, but I have to accept the risk of
selling it.”
Securing customer commitments can be a difficult task.
Marketing and promoting the adventure travel service can take more
time and resources than the trip itself. “The trips are present all over
the store [with photographs, posters and brochures]. You can’t walk
into the store without knowing that we offer trips all over the world,”
says Piragis.
Customers are invited to attend slide shows and clinics presented
by past participants who add credibility to the pitch. Getting
customers to commit money and register is critical to success.
“Running the trip is difficult, but selling the trip is the hardest part,”
offers Piragis. “It’s always been that way no matter if you are outfitting
in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area or Chile. Marketing the trip
and the actual selling is harder than you imagine.”
Schiller says his existing customer base is the best source for
selling trips. “I have a good database of customers who have taken
trips with us in the past,” he says. “We send out an e-newsletter that
highlights things like our Caribbean trips. We have loyal customers,
and the best advertising is a satisfied customer’s word of mouth.”
Once registered, customer service requires managing
expectations and confirming checklist after checklist of details.
“We clearly set out the guidelines. We spell out the activities on the
trip. We give them a comprehensive package of information about
passport, licenses and more,” says Schiller.
Customers also receive information about purchasing travel
insurance. “If you want to go to the Caribbean in September or
October at the tail end of the hurricane season, travel insurance
can cover trip cancellations, delayed flights, lost bags and medical
emergencies,” he says. Travel Guard International offers customers
comprehensive trip-based insurance coverage, including medical
evacuation coverage, adds Schiller.
Logistics are always an issue, and each destination offers its
own set of challenges. “It’s very difficult setting up transportation to
remote sites,” notes Piragis. “Charter flights, connection issues, travel

insurance … it’s complicated. We are prepared with contingency
plans for everything. Liability insurance is a large expense.”
Schiller agrees: “Liability insurance rates in the outdoor industry
have gone up significantly in the last couple of years. If there is an
incident somewhere, it gets nationwide [media] coverage and that
affects your rates for your trips.”
Great Expectations
As customers prepare for a trip, a logical assumption would be
that customers’ preparation for the journey could be a nice bolster
to gear sales. Although additional purchases of trip-related clothing
and accessories do take place, both Piragis and
Schiller report that they do not typically account
for significant amounts.
Similarly, one might also assume that
gathering a dozen strangers with different skill
levels and expectations together for the first time
in a new environment could lead to personality
conflicts, but Piragis says the opposite is
typically true.
“To be honest, we haven’t had to deal with
that problem,” he says. “We don’t do anything
high adventure; we do easy trips for average
paddlers. Most of the people on these trips
are not aggressive 25-year-olds. They are baby
boomers who want someone to show them these
beautiful places.”
This is an important point and an opportunity
to target a very specific customer segment
inside your store. Older travelers can exhibit a
more refined sense of community, patience and
acceptance, and are less likely to be irresponsible
during the trip. They also have deeper pockets.
In its 1997 Adventure Travel Report, TIA
reported that travelers venturing outside the
continental United States were typically college
educated with a median age of 43.5 and a median
household income of $73,000. Although this
information has not been updated, it’s likely
that the age of travelers has remained fairly
constant, while their household incomes have
probably increased.
Another characteristic of soft adventure
travelers is that they are more likely to bring their
spouses and children, which also creates a family
vacation opportunity. In that same Adventure
Travel Report, TIA noted that 60 percent of
soft adventure travelers took their spouses as
compared to only 42 percent of hard adventure
travelers, and 41 percent of soft adventurers
included either their children or grandchildren
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during their most recent trip as compared to an understandably
lower 18 percent of hard adventurers.
Although neither Piragis nor Schiller have experienced any
major conflicts during a trip, strangers suddenly thrust together,
spousal squabbles and sibling rivalries all hold the potential to be
combustible situations.
“We train our guides to adapt and recognize a situation that’s
developing and handle it,” says Schiller. “We’ve had good chemistry
on most of our trips. We try to keep the groups to 10 to 12 people. It’s
more sociable, and they feel like they are getting personal attention.”
Piragis takes a similar approach: “We hire mature people to
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guide the trips who have life experiences and
understand personalities and group dynamics.
Our guides are in their 50s and 60s. They’ve
CrossSphere Operators’ Products
firm. “It’s hard to sell a trip if you haven’t
been on it,” notes Piragis. “We bring
potential partners along so they can
Percentage of CrossSphere Operators
Source: CrossSphere and TIA
been around. The most important thing we
do is send an e-mail to our customers about
a week before the trip telling them that the
most important thing they can bring along is
a good attitude. It works well.”
The Long Haul
If you are considering adding an
adventure travel component to your
business, keep in mind that you won’t
likely blaze any revenue trails. Building the
business requires time and patience.
experience the destination this year and
then sell it the next.”
Schiller agrees. “The outfitters that
I deal with are reputable. I know they
are going to do it first class,” he says. “If
it’s something new, I will go and check
it out first so I can market it fairly. It’s
easy to talk about if you have first-hand
experience.”
Which is, after all, why most retailers
get into the adventure travel trade in the
first place. IO
Travel Expenditures Will Continue to Rise
Reserve your space in
INSIDE OUTDOOR’s
Outdoor Directory
Coming in December
For advertising information
Call 480.503.0770
berge@dagdamor.com
www.insideoutdoor.com
Source: TIA and OTTI
“Our travel business has been growing
but only because of the groundwork laid
in the past,” says Piragis. “We’ve been
offering Boundary Waters trips since
1979 and international trips since 1995.
It takes that long to build credibility and
gain a core group of participants that keep
coming back year after year. Those are the
people that support the business.”
One way to add adventure travel
services is to partner with an experienced
If you are serious about adding an
adventure travel component to your
business, you may want to consider attending
the Adventure Travel Trade Association’s
World Adventure Travel Summit in
Seattle, Oct. 16-18. Expert presenters will
discuss marketing challenges, liability
insurance, consumer trends and how to
expand the adventure travel marketplace.
More information can be found at
www.adventuretravelworldsummit.com.

B
A
Data Points
Numbers worth noting
by Martin Vilaboy
C
K
Rich Content Radio
Adults with household incomes of $75,000 spend between
six and eight hours with the media on an average weekday. And
in almost all markets, radio and television occupies half or more
O
of that total time per adult, say researchers at International
Demographics. In many markets, radio gets the lion’s share
F
F
I
C
E
of minutes with media and appears to be the best means
for targeting affluent Americans. That’s particularly true when
considering that more and more adults are using more than
one media at a time, says Bob Jordan, president of International
Demographics, but much of radio listening is done while in the
car, suggesting higher levels of attention. The impact of satellite
radio is still unclear but certainly growing.
Media Habits of Affluent Adults
Market Media Minutes Share Media Exposure
Eugene
Radio 143 32.8%
Television 123 28.3%
Print Media 27 6.2%
Outdoor 78 18.0%
Web Sites 63 14.5 %
Jackson, MS
Radio 115 25.2%
Television 170 37.2%
Print Media 27 5.9%
Outdoor 87 19.0%
Web Sites 58 12.7%
Pittsburgh
Radio 204 38.3%
Television 163 30.6%
Print Media 27 5.1%
Outdoor 79 15.0%
Web Sites 59 11.0%
Sacramento
Radio 134 30.9%
Television 125 28.7%
Print Media 25 5.8%
Outdoor 84 19.3%
Web Sites 67 15.4%
Salt Lake City
Radio 140 33.8%
Television 115 27.7%
Print Media 25 5.9
Outdoor 73 17.7
Web Sites 61 14.8
Seattle-Tacoma
Radio 130 30.8
Television 125 29.7
Print Media 23 5.3
Outdoor 78 18.5
Web Sites 66 15.8
Source: The Media Audit
34|IO May|June 2005
Retired but Still Working
As retailers increasingly look to retired and semi-retired
professionals to bolster their part-time work forces, it’s probably
worth noting that older Americans are looking for more than pay
in their “post-career” jobs. A survey of adults of more than 40
years of age by JWT Mature Market Group and ThirdAge found
that personal fulfillment was a primary factor in the decision to
work in retirement. What’s more, of those who say they plan to
“fully retire,” 70 percent say they plan to continue working at
least occasionally in some form.
Key Reasons for Continuing to Work after
Retiring, Among those 40 or Older
Stay mentally active 74%
Be productive or useful 63%
Stay physically active 62%
Be around people 55%
Keep learning new things 52%
Source: JWT Mature Market Group and ThirdAge
Loyalty Does Not Equal Exclusivity
“The idea of customer loyalty, where consumers shop
exclusively at a particular retail store, ceased to exist long
ago,” says Gary Drenik, analyst with BIGresearch. Loyalty has
been replaced by cross shopping, says Drenik, so your best
customers are also likely shopping your competitors.
Sample of Leading Retailers That Share a
Majority of their Best Customers with Wal-Mart
Category
Retailer
% Best Customers
Shared with Wal-Mart
Shoes Payless 71%
Electronics Best Buy 62%
Linens & bedding Bed, Bath & Beyond 54%
Home improvement Home Depot 64%
Prescriptions Walgreens 71%
Groceries Kroger 65%
Source: BIGresearch
A Big Problem?
Whether or not childhood obesity is a national crisis,
marketing outdoor recreation as a way to combat obesity should
resonate well, at least on some levels.
Concern Regarding Childhood Obesity
Believe it is a …
All Adults
Parent or Guardian of
Child Aged 12 and Under
A major problem 77% 70%
A minor problem 21% 27%
Not a problem at all 2% 3%
Source: Harris Interactive

“…In my 15 years in the
outdoor industry, I have
rarely come across a project
with the unique combination
of virtue and service to
community as Medicines
Global(GB)…”
Kenji Haroutunian
OUTDOOR RETAILER
Medicines Global Celebrates 5 years
'Inspiring' Travelers to Give Back
“ Most adventure travelers
want to give back to places they
visit without corrupting the
culture. The idea of bringing
medicines, which are badly
needed, to drop off at designated
sites is the most beneficial
way to give back. The power
of numbers is significant.”
Greg Wozer
Vice President
LEKI USA
“We proudly support the mission
of Medicines Global(GB).
Quietly yet strongly affecting
global health through adventure
travelers. Helping bring
basic humanitarian first aid
supplies to the remote regions
of Nepal…and the planet.”
Johnnie Kern - Team Member
Medicines Global(GB)
the humanitarian support arm for the
Tsangpo Expedition, 2002
Baby Friendly Hos pital - Lhasa, Tibet
"...as people, our highest calling is to make a positive contribution
to the world around us - wherever we are. Because we
and the outdoor industry as a whole make our living helping
people explore the globe, supporting Medicines Global(GB)
is a natural choice. Through them, we not only contribute to
the many communities that embrace our outdoor athletes, we
also enable adventure travelers to do the same."
Carry Porter
Director of Sponsorship Management
CASCADE DESIGNS
Michael Besancon
President
Southern Pacific Region
WHOLE FOODS MARKET
inspire
encourage
give
medicines global(gb)
1524 s rexford drive
los angeles, ca 90035
310.556.0809
Charlie Munsey ©2002
Help your customers “give back” today by sending them to
www.medicinesglobal.org

G
O
R
P
Fast, Light and Out of Control
by Stuart Craig
You might have heard something about “emergent
behavior.” It’s how birds flock, how ant colonies move and how
large populations in general become greater than the sum of
their parts and act with, well, “emergent” intelligence. It’s the
theory of the hive mind or of the swarm, the idea that there’s
nothing innate in a single molecule of water that predicts a
whirlpool or in a single snowflake that predicts an avalanche.
It’s also one of the central concepts of Kevin Kelly’s
outstanding book Out of Control, which is sort of an operator’s
manual for living in this era of information overload and total
connectivity. Reading it made me think that maybe, just maybe,
this emergent behavior thing explains how marketing often
unfolds in the outdoor industry.
is titled “America’s Hardest Dayhikes,” and the taglines crow
that “you can pull off the walk of a lifetime in one day. Just be
forewarned: It’s going to be a very, very long one.” The shortest
hike? Try 18 miles with 10,000 feet of elevation change. The
longest is 41 miles with a 12,000-foot change in elevation.
Even the Christian Science Monitor has taken up the cause.
In the Sept. 30, 2004 edition, author Todd Wilkinson writes
about GoLite founder and president Demetri “Coup” Coupounas
and his solo unsupported trek of Vermont’s 280-mile Long Trail
(12 days, 19 hours, 53 minutes) and Ryan Jordan’s electronic
magazine/forum/pay-to-join community BackpackingLight.com.
These two, says Wilkinson, are “leading a revolution that strips
conventional hiking down to its sparest essentials.”
Either fast-packing is indeed super popular among outdoor
enthusiasts or it’s a case of an emergent pattern, sort of like
how bees choose a new site for their hive.
Specifically, I’m thinking of fast-packing, that darling du jour.
Fast-packing and its equally nebulous cousins, “fast and light”
and “done in a day,” (three terms often used interchangeably
and/or as modifiers of each other) are everywhere — from
ads, to sport-specific magazine articles, to product catalogs, to
mainstream publications.
According to GoLite’s full-page, part one of three, “Special
Advertisement” in the latest Backpacker, “Fast-packing is hiking
more miles per day than with traditional backpacking.” It is “well
within reach for anyone in reasonable shape who is willing to
try a new approach,” which, for “the elite,” translates to making
“40, 50, even 60 miles per day…routine.”
In that same issue of Backpacker, the lead story covers Scott
Williamson’s (perhaps fast-packing’s premier poster child) first
continuous yo-yo of the Pacific Crest Trail, covering 5,120 miles
in 197 days while carrying a 20-pound pack. A second feature
Given this kind of presence, I have to conclude that
either fast-packing is indeed super popular among outdoor
enthusiasts or it’s a case of an emergent pattern, sort
of like how bees choose a new site for their hive. A few
worker bees scout out the sites then report their findings
by dancing for the swarm. The more enthusiastic the dance,
the better the site. Other bees then check out the site
and come back and add their emphasis to the original
scout’s report.
“It’s a rare bee, except for the scouts,” writes Kelly,
“who has inspected more than one site. The bees see a
message, ‘Go there, it’s a nice place.’ They go and return
to dance/say, ‘Yeah, it’s really nice.’… As per the law of
increasing returns, them that has get more votes, the havenots
get less. … The biggest crowd of dancing bees wins.”
Perhaps this is how all the marketing for fast-packing
36|IO May|June 2005

Editorial Index
66°North 22
About.com 38
Acordis Acrylic Fibers 27
Action Sales 10
Active Endeavors 8
Adventure 16 10
Adventure Travel Trade Assn. 29, 32
Alta Group 10
American Fibers & Yarns 14, 16
American Mfg. Trade Action Coalition 26
Atomic 10
Australian Wool Innovation 26, 27
Australian Wool Services 26
Backpacker 36
BackpackingLight.com 36
Banana Republic 16
BIGresearch 34
Bob Smith’s Wilderness Shop 8
Buffalo Park Outfi tters 8
Campbell’s Soup 19
Cannondale 10
Christian Science Monitor 36
Ciba 27
Coca-Cola 19
Columbia Sportswear 8, 24
CoolMax 16, 20, 23
Cordura 20
Coville 12, 14, 16
CrossSphere 29
David Rigby Associates 20, 24
dri-release 26
DuPont 20
Energy Information Admin. 6
ESP 20
eVENT 22
Fortune 6
Gallup 20
Gap 16
Garmont 10
GoLite 36, 38
Gore-Tex 20, 22,24
Harris Interactive 34
Helly Hansen 24
The Hinckley Co. 27
IBM 19, 20, 22, 23, 24
IFAI 26
Indigo Equipment 10
Innova 14, 16
Intel 19, 20, 23
International Demographics 34
Intl. Wool Textile Organization 27
INVISTA 20
IRI Information Resources 22
Jetboil 10
JWT Mature Market Group 34
K2 8, 10
Kavu 16
Koch Industries 20
KoSa 20
Landor Associates 23, 24
Lida Stretch Fabrics 27
Lycra 12, 23
Malden Mills 14, 27
Marmot 8
The Media Audit 34
Merrill Lynch 6
Milliken & Co. 27
Monsanto 19
Mountain Hardwear 8, 14
Mountain Miser 10
New River Industries 27
Nikwax 10
The North Face 8, 20
NutraSweet 19
Olympic Mountaineering 10
Optimer 26
Outdoor Industry Association 7, 28, 38
Outlast Technologies 27
Patagonia 24
Pepperidge Farm 24
Pepsi 19
Petzl 10
Piragis Northwoods 28, 30
Polarguard 20
Polartec 20
PrimaLoft 27
PRIMO Innovations 27
REI 10
Research International 24
Retail Forward 7
Rockfi sh Gap Outfi tters 8
Royal Robbins 14
Schoeller Textil 14, 27
Sea to Summit 10
Snow Country 8
Spooney Wearever 26
Supplex 20
Tactel 20
Tencel 20
Thermolite 20
ThirdAge 34
TrailHeads 10
Travel Guard International 30
Travel Industry Assn. 7, 29, 31
Vaude 23
Velocity Sales 10
Vibram 20
VF Corp. 8
Watermark 8
Wellman 27
Wenonah Canoe 10
Wild River Outfi tters Touring 29, 30
wildbleu sleepwear 26
Woolmark 20, 26
World Global Style Network 26
Yakima 8
YKK 20
AD INDEX
Adventure 16 7
ASF Group 31
Cam Commerce Solutions 22
Clear the Air 21
Conservation Alliance 33
Cyclops 3
dri-release 9
Durapeg 32
IFAI 17
Kelty 23
Medicines Global 35
Polarguard
Back Cover
Sevylor 39
Sure Foot 2
Synchronics (CounterPoint) 29
Tallysoft 30
Wingnut 25
Wynit 11
Wynit/Magellan 13
Wynit/Garmin 15
Yaktrax 5
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was born. A few people were doing it and talking about it —
doing the dance, so to speak. “That fast-packing looks cool.”
Companies and journalists saw the enthusiasm in the “dance,”
and joined in, dancing/talking excitedly about it. “Yeah, it’s
really cool.” Pretty soon, “As per the law of increasing returns,
them that has get more votes, the have-nots get less.”
OK, so people are talking about it and companies are
making gear for it, but are outdoor participants and enthusiasts
actually going fast-packing? Assuming they’d be included in
backpacking and hiking numbers, Outdoor Industry Association
participation figures indicate they’re not making a significant
impact on overall participation figures.
In both participant and enthusiast groups, backpacking is
down — way down — more than 15 percent from 2001 to
2003 in participant numbers, and more than 33 percent with
enthusiasts to reach that segment’s lowest numbers in six
years. Hiking shows a similar trend, with participant numbers
down more than 7 percent from 2001 to 2003, and enthusiasts
off by nearly 16 percent.
What if fast-packers consider themselves trail runners? No
joy there either. Enthusiast numbers declined over 16 percent
for the same period, and participant levels were down more
than 8 percent. How about Away from the Car Camping? Nope.
Down more than 8 percent in participant levels and a whopping
45 percent with enthusiasts.
In fact, the only enthusiast activity that showed a gain from
2001 to 2003 was road biking.
So, again, I have to conclude that the fast-packing
phenomenon is emergent, a product of the hive mind. In the
immortal words of Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke, “What we
have here is a failure to communicate!”
For at least the last six years, the outdoor population has
consistently shown itself to prefer to do its outdoor recreating in
short doses as a means to get away from the stresses of everyday
life. Indeed, part of the OIA top line sales report for August 2004
to January 2005 calls attention to the shift in why Americans hike
and camp. Their motivation is less about conquering than it is about
finding peace and having fun. And they’re willing to pay extra for that.
The average selling price is up 16 percent on every kind of gear,
which could mean that they’re buying more expensive gear or that they
are buying the higher-priced stuff on sale to get a better deal. Either
way, such purchasing patterns scream quality, not quantity. These
folks are after the depth of the experience, not the breadth of it.
And we promote fast-packing as “The Answer?” “In our hectic
society,” reads the copy in the GoLite ad, “most of us don’t have
the leisure time we wish we had. But here’s a way you can see
more in a day than you used to in a weekend, more in a weekend
than you used to in a week, and more in week than you used
to in a month.” Isn’t this just a new spin on the old Euro tour
philosophy of “if it’s Tuesday, it must be Berlin”?
This is not in the least to say that there’s no merit to fastpacking.
From a sales perspective, it certainly gives a strong
reason for ultralight gear, which is GoLite’s specialty.
My problem with this model is that it equates quality with
quantity. The same ad shows Coup with 21 pounds of gear and food
for a three-day backpacking trip but then suggests that “by doing the
same trip as a 15 hour fast pack, Coup can leave 13 pounds of gear
and food at home carrying only 8 pounds on his back. Woo-Hoo!”
These types of ads and 41-mile “done in a (never-ending) day”
hiking articles send the message that not only can you go further in a
day if you carry less, but that you should. Is that really the best way to
enjoy the wild? My goal when I want relaxation in the mountains is not
to “see more in a day than [I] used to in a weekend,” but to see (a la
William Blake) “a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wildflower,”
to “hold infinity in the palm of [my] hand and eternity in an hour.”
Given that, which sounds better, a three-day ramble in the
forest with a light, 20-pound pack or a single, hard, all-day push for
15 hours?
To be fair, such 15-hour days can be fun, and they have
merit. They offer challenges and give customers options.
And just because the backpacking and hiking numbers are
down doesn’t at all mean we shouldn’t try and rebuild them.
The walking activities are, after all, the real core of outdoor,
and perhaps another generation will discover the wonders
of backpacking, thanks to all the cool lightweight gear now
available. But marketing is not educating, and by equating
“light” with “fast,” by stressing the quantity of travel versus
the quality of the experience, I believe we are cutting our own
throats for the future growth of our industry.
How about “light and slow” as an angle? Enlighten hikers to the
joys of cutting their pack weight not so they can hammer harder, but
so they can simply be more comfortable, have more fun and, perhaps,
comfortably carry a bit of luxury like a loaf of bread or a jug of wine all
in a lightweight package. How’s that for quality of experience?
Many of the tenets espoused by the Ultralight Wingers, er,
Ultralight Weighters, are extremely valid, if for no other reason than
they are being articulated in new forms and to new users. The
systems and multifunction approach to gear and the “be a better
outdoorsman/woman” approach to outdoor recreating that Ryan
Jordan champions on his website and in a recent GoLite catalog are
great concepts for all hikers, not just those shaving grams for the
light and fast, done-in-a-day fast-pack.
I came across a truism on the Internet the other day, while I
was browsing the marketing section of About.com. “Customers
don’t buy products or services. They buy good feelings and
solutions to problems.” The first step is to figure out what
good feelings they’re after and what problems they want
solved. In that light, given what our market seems to want,
does fast-packing provide good feelings, and is it a solution to
a problem? Or is it an answer without a question? IO
38|IO GORP

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