Outdoor industry roundtable

ORIGIN:  How do you see consumer behaviour in the outdoor industry evolving over the next few years? Are there any shifts in values or purchasing habits that your brand is keeping an eye on?

Jill Shinn, onX Maps: As we’re seeing in Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) data and other channels, outdoor participation continues to grow, however ‘core’ participation is lower than ever (definition of core by OIA = person who takes part in outdoor activities 51 times or more in a year). We’re seeing the post-COVID-effect on outdoor participation frequency balance out, along with increased distractions that are competing with participants’ time. I think we’ll see many brands try to rally consumers to get out more and to go deeper with their experiences, to further anchor consumers in their outdoor passions.

Simon Brizard, Orage: We’ve obviously seen a major shift in how consumers' purchasing behaviours have changed over recent years, mostly in the way consumers bridge the gap between offline and online shopping. We’ve seen consumers use retailers’ space as ‘changing rooms’ to then end up buying online, whether that’s through online retailers or the brands own .com. You can't stop progress and force consumers’ hands, but I think it’s more important than ever for brands and retailers to understand the responsibility they hold against one another. It’s a fragile equilibrium in our progressive space that we call the outdoor industry. When I say equilibrium, others have thought the solution to be served on a silver platter: hone in on D2C. While this is an attractive approach for many reasons (you control the narrative, you own your own space and the way your brand comes to life, etc,), Goliath brands like Adidas, Nike and Burton have tried their hands at a full D2C-focused model and had very debatable results. This only reinforces the fact that retailers and brands need to hold a unified front; consumers will discover, understand, engage and eventually shop your brand via one of those channels - it’s important we all understand this and try to find communal ground.

Corey Stecker, VF Brands: With the cost of living exponentially higher for everyone, it is forcing consumers to be more thoughtful and deliberate with their discretionary spends.  Products that are versatile AND innovative are going to win.  I think we will continue to see a surge of interest in the Hike, Running and Active categories as the lower cost of entry into these activities will drive participation. This is evident with the momentum across the run channel right now.

ORIGIN: The outdoor market has seen significant growth in recent years. How sustainable do you think this growth is, and what factors could impact it in 2025?

Jill Shinn: Reiterating from the previous question, I think we’ll continue to see outdoor participation grow, but the question is whether the industry can encourage participation frequency to increase, as well. Factors like inflation and rising prices could certainly come into play, as outdoor recreation is ironically anything but cheap. There’s also issues like public land access (look at what’s going on in Utah and the Wyoming corner-crossing case) that could affect how and where people are able to recreate in the future. Another factor I see coming into play is the ability for the outdoor industry to continue to rally diverse and under-represented groups to further explore the outdoors, making sure we continue to encourage an environment of inclusion and belonging in outdoor spaces.

Simon Brizard: We, players of this industry, all faced the same exact challenge in the past 2-3 seasons: the infamous Covid Hangover. A Hangover caused by extremely high levels of inventory across the entire distribution network, levels caused by a shared false optimism that the level of sports participation we saw during Covid years would be the new normal and that this growth curve for all of us would be the new trajectory, the new forecast, the new norm. Safe to say we were all wrong. This caused increased stress on retailers who were sitting on much too big of stocks, stress on brands who had to rethink their entire model and forecasting. The winners in this were the consumers since they were able to have access to much bigger supply (during a demand’s low), but it also means we lost a fair share of valuable, seemingly strong brands who couldn’t weather the storm.

I believe 2025 might be the year where we level the playing field once again. I’ve witnessed real optimism from retailers and industry players while attending recent tradeshows. The risk nowadays is that we have less flexibility, less confidence and less trust in anything that’s not data-driven. Retailers will take less risks, brands will still need to innovate and pierce through the noise, and consumer wallets are really opening up. We still consider outdoor industry goods to be somewhat luxurious, meaning that during a time where consumers have very little purchasing power and inflation stills climbs, we can expect less people buying outdoor goods or at least buying more affordable goods if they have to.

Corey Stecker: I would have to disagree with this comment about growth. True, the industry did experience a surge of growth at the onset of the pandemic. However, once the world opened back up again consumer spending transitioned to travel and service rather than the activity-focused surge that quickly faded and resulted in a glut of product. Most brands are looking at pre-pandemic revenue numbers as the benchmark now that the pandemic tide has receded. Both brands and retailers alike have spent the past two years rightsizing their inventories to reflect this reality. Overall, I think the market is coming out of that dark tunnel and stabilizing. Over the past 5 years, we have seen the pendulum of supply and demand vigorously swing back and forth and it feels like it is finally finding its resting spot.

ORIGIN:  As the demand for more eco-friendly products increases, how is your brand balancing sustainability with performance and innovation? Can you share any upcoming products or initiatives that reflect this balance?

Jill Shinn: onX provides tech-based tools that exist on devices you already have - your phone, tablet, and computer. So our physical product footprint is fairly small. Our sustainability focus is on the outdoors–and the access to and stewardship of those places. Through our land access, stewardship, and conservation efforts, we can help make sure that our public lands and wildlife habitat are protected for generations to come.

Simon Brizard: I can’t lie; although it sits very much at the core of everything we stand for and believe in, having a proper, impactful sustainability program is very costly for smaller brands, both financially and resource-wise. With that in mind, we fully believe in baking that sustainability-driven mindset into our own processes; meaning that whenever we think of a new product, consider a marketing initiative, rethink our supply chain actors, or any other action, we think it through with the intent of reducing our impact. I do believe there is strength in the smallest of actions for businesses, but it’s extremely right to say we could always do more and do better. We’ve found solace in partnering with expert entities, people and movements that know the root-cause of the problem(s) and can help facilitate the joining of this movement by creating platforms for brands and consumers. Protect Our Winters is obviously the standout in this conversation; we’ve been working hand-in-hand with the Canadian chapter for years, and I’m happy to report we’ve created a new partnership with the French chapter beginning in 2025.

Corey Stecker: Great question. The balance between sustainability, performance and innovation can’t be a This or That compromise. It is clear that the consumer will not rally around a less performance based or less innovative product solely because it is a more sustainable option.  Sustainability is an imperative, but it needs to perform as high or higher than other options, and innovation needs to drive that.  Smartwool introduced its 2nd Cut Hike sock three years ago which utilized used wool socks through our take back program, ground them down and spun them into new yarn to produce a sock that performs as good as our legendary hike sock. Taking this circularity mindset one step forward, Smartwool is now leveraging that knowledge into a 2nd Cut Fleece program. This time around they are utilizing all of the scraps from our baselayer manufacturing process to re-spin into a buttery soft fleece that rivals the warmth and comfort of any synthetic fleece out there.  It has already been recognized as an award winning product at ISPO this past November.

ORIGIN: What opportunities do you think the outdoor industry has yet to fully capitalize on? Are there underserved areas of the market that you’re excited to explore as we move toward 2025?

Simon Brizard: We have been in a rebuilding phase for a few years at Orage; it was a massive shift to gear up from being Freeskiing pioneers to now adding a new flavour built around uniqueness in border skiing (with of course a strong emphasis on Freeride). I say this because this means a thousand stones yet unturned, a thousand underserved areas to tap into! That said, we ourselves have been capitalising on following the trend in which retailers (and consumers) pursue versatility in the products they purchase - in our case, this means a very challenging mandate of remaining true to our core (skiing) while becoming more credible in the spaces, seasons and culture surrounding skiing. In other terms, producing a product that stands the test of the seasonal needs, pushing a brand that stands the test of being credible outside pure winter engagement. Our patented Gilltek innovation and technology was the first step towards this a few years back -  creating a piece of equipment for the backcountry that works better than similar products but that can still be used in everyday life, by everyday consumers.

Corey Stecker: Our habits have changed. Younger adults are spending their time and money WAY different than us crusty old Gen X and Gen Y’ers.  They are consuming alcohol at record low rates, and instead they are training and running socially.  Part of the magic moment that running is having right now is the social, group aspect of it. Run clubs have proliferated and have become driving forces in participants' social lives. They’re also incredibly inclusive, embracing all ages, races, body types, and experience levels. It has transformed running from a solitary, pain cave, hyper-competitive experience to a fun outing with friends filled with good conversation, personal bests, and loads of laughs. With the lines becoming more and more blurry between outdoor and run, especially at retail, the outdoor industry has an opportunity to learn from this and apply it to help build community across different activities.

ORIGIN: What do you believe will be the most significant change in the outdoor space by 2025—whether in terms of marketing strategies, consumer trends, or product innovations?

Jill Shinn: There are a ton of mergers, acquisitions, and buyouts happening across the industry. It will be interesting to see what impact that has on brands and their marketing in 2025. These deals often come with changing goals and expectations on what brands need to return. With increased demand on how to deliver on that, there’s interesting testing going on out there. Some brands are leaning into their core audiences and authenticity (Ex. Mammut, “Not a Streetwear Brand” campaign), some are turning to more mainstream trendy plays (hello, The North Face + SKIMS). Some are activating both approaches at the same time, which can be a smart test-and-learn approach as long as you don’t get cancelled midstream. But I think we’ll continue to see tests like this out in the market, as people try to learn what sticks, what delivers short and long term results, and in an era of “the most outrageous content wins,” what doesn’t turn people off.

Simon Brizard: This answer could go a thousand different ways because I firmly believe the outdoor industry (and FMCG in general to be honest) cannot resist and will require a drastic change in the near future. One standout channel (if we want to call it that) is influencer marketing - I personally think it’s a field in which we’ll see an important shift in the way it’s being perceived by consumers, the way influencers monetize their own persona and actions, and finally how the brands budget towards it. It's a channel that got saturated and honestly abused recently. 

I also have thoughts on innovation. I read a study that hypothesized that leading brands currently returning their focus to pure performance might hit a wall they’re not yet seeing. The hypothesis was that these behemoth brands will fall back on what once worked by appealing to the 1%, assuming it will have a long-term effect of impacting the rest of the 99%. The problem is that the marketplace has already started changing a bit - consumers with less purchasing power want affordable quality (and performance) but also versatility. Performance-based innovation might not have the elite standing it once had, but usability-based innovation might be the card to play.

Corey Stecker: With the market stabilizing once again, I think we will see the bigger national retailers double down with the category leaders and lean into the brand stories and product launches in a bigger and more meaningful way. At the independent retail level, there will be a need to differentiate assortments and brands and truly bring back the special in specialty. Brands will need to focus on and tell big, meaningful stories that are unique from their competitors. Uniqueness and fearlessness will win. This will then act as a catalyst across all brands to ignite an arms race around product innovation and differentiation.

ORIGIN: In such a competitive industry, what do you see as the most important aspects of a successful marketing strategy for an outdoor brand in 2025? How do you differentiate your brand in a crowded marketplace?

Jill Shinn: The most important aspects are leading with a powerful consumer insight and honing in on your truly-differentiated value proposition. In a sea of comparable products and compelling end-uses, why your brand instead of another? What emotional connections are you creating with your potential customers that encourage them to choose you when they finally arrive at the point of purchase? And what’s going to make them stay with you in the future? This takes an examination of the full funnel, to understand what messages you’re serving up at each key interaction point and making sure they’re relevant and compelling based on what you truly know about your audience.

Simon Brizard: I read in market trend research a hypothesis surrounding the fact that big brands might struggle a bit more in 2025, while giving even more space to smaller brands. I’ve interpreted this one as part of this ‘fatigue’ I’ve witnessed towards bigger, more generalistic brands in the outdoor space. This is being felt by consumers in a way that only a few behemoths seem to control most of the goods consumed or used by intermediate and expert outdoor consumers. There is a growing space for more demand towards the specialised and hyper-specialised product offering out there. It was costly in recent years to define yourself only within a niche, but I do feel like 2025/26 might be the years in which this pays off and starts generating more traction for smaller, expert and perhaps independent brands out there. At Orage, we have taken great pride in resisting the urge to even go into snowboarding for a long time - this is no small feat if you ask me!

To close this thought with more factual research, we know the gorpcore movement for example has been losing heavy steam lately - I think it’s a symptom of perhaps a lack of innovation in our marketplace. It was said that consumers might now gravitate towards niche brands that offer authenticity and more value for your buck.

Corey Stecker: Emotional connectivity always wins in the end. RIP ROAS, and let’s really focus on winning the hearts and minds of both the consumer and retailer. The in-store experience, whether DTC or wholesale, needs to truly be an experience and needs investment to support that. Once again, brands need to be unique and fearless which leads to disruption and catching the consumer in unsuspecting ways and places.  Brands need to step back away from their laptops and get back in the trenches.