By Kathleen Gasperini and Ryley Bane The Burton U.S. Open of Snowboarding is the largest and longest-running snowboarding competition in the world. Last week in Vail, CO, the Open marked its 33rd anniversary and wrapped-up another epic event series with Kelly Clark claiming her 8th U.S. Open title in the Superpipe and Jaime Anderson taking […]
The International Olympic Committee Executive Board has moved forward with several initiatives approved from the Olympic Agenda 2020 which was agreed upon during a meeting eight weeks ago in Monaco. First, for the bidding process of host cities, the new Invitation Phase for the 2024 Games is in place which gives interested cities the chance […]
VF reported their fourth quarter results for 2014, and outlook for 2015 today, February 13, 2015. Revenues were up 8% to $12.3 billion. The leaders for the corporation were once again The North Face and Vans. The big news however is that Vans passed the $2 billion dollar mark in 2014 to become VF’s second […]
There have been a number of smaller surf brands and retailers that see the gaps and opportunities available since the kingpins of surf, Billabong and Quiksilver, have moved over. From Kelly Slater’s Outerknown, which is a lifestyle brand with surf-inspired roots and sustainability, to the women’s surf-inspired brand Amuse Society, to retailers Saturday Surf in […]
The annual Snow Industries of America (SIA) trade show in Denver, CO, January 29-30, brought together the industry of snowboarding and skiing, but with an additional boost from outdoor sportswear, athleisure brands, and wearable technology. The lines between industries are forever blurring, and based on demand from a new, DIY youth marketplace, technology is at […]
Changes in spending patterns among today’s youth culture market means that retailers and brands need to incorporate new methods to fit the needs of buyers who are easily adept at technology, social media, and mobile phone culture. That’s why Adidas’ latest app that lets people get in a virtual line for fresh kicks is on […]
Just off the heels of announcing the direction of his new, sustainable-driven apparel brand Outerknown, Kelly Slater, the 11-time Association of Surfing Professionals World Champion, has told Slab Magazine, his intentions for buying a majority stake in Firewire, the surfboard brand. Firewire is one of the few surfboard brands in the industry that have been […]
Story and Photo by Tom Wallace and Kathleen Gasperini Outdoor Retailer at the Salt Lake Palace, UT, is the premiere outdoor trade show in the U.S., which featured 1,036 exhibitors, and an estimated 22,000 attendees over the course of 4 days running from January 20-24, 2015. Key themes this winter included the usual technical outerwear […]
There was a lot of talk last week during the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show in Salt Lake City, January 20-24, 2015, regarding just who is the modern outdoors person? From Range magazine’s excellent presentation on the Modern Outdoors Woman, to the New Product TV area interviewing panelists on the Modern Outdoors person in general, to […]
X Games Aspen 2015 wrapped up yesterday, January 25, 2015, with some incredible results. On day 4, the X Games achieved the largest single-day crowd in X Games Winter history with 48,500 fans. The X Games Winter also featured more of a festival-like experience, ramping-up its musical performances throughout the Games and featuring a highlight […]