Story By Marcus Wolf

Certainly, a store’s success depends on an owner’s ability to understand current and potential customers. But, it also helps to be in the right place at the right time, and before too long Massey’s will be in the thick of the downtown action. The Rails-To-Trails Conservancy is planning to build a three-mile bike and pedestrian path in an old rail corridor that runs from Canal Boulevard to the French Quarter. “And it’s going to start right on our loading dock,” Massey said with a real note of excitement.

“You woke in the morning to the smell of gardenias, the electric smell of the streetcars, chicory coffee, and stone that has turned green with lichen. The light always filtered through trees, so it was never harsh, and flowers bloomed year-round. New Orleans was a poem, man, a song in your heart that never died.”

In his short story titled “Jesus Out to Sea,” James Lee Burke describes beautifully the vibe of New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina swamped the city. Though the storm’s effects linger, the sun is shining once again, and the Crescent City is in bloom. Not only are people rebuilding their lives, but commerce is picking up as small companies move into the heart of New Orleans. Just this April, Massey’s Professional Outfitters, a chain of four outdoor specialty stores in Louisiana, opened its new headquarters and a retail store in a historic downtown building.

“It’s not a high-traffic, retail hub… and it has been desperately in need of local businesses after Katrina,” said owner Mike Massey, describing the Mid City location. He told SNEWS® that since the 1900s this part of town has typically been home to light industry and warehouses, though it is primed for growth. While New Orleans’ suburban shopping centers are losing their appeal and charging ever-higher rent, real estate and rent prices downtown remain low. Plus, Mid City is easily accessible from other parts of New Orleans thanks to a streetcar line that runs near the Massey’s storefront…

For the full article and more news from the Outdoor Industry and independent stores like Massey’s go to SNEWS

Grassroots Outdoor Alliance held our Early Show Last week, and SNEWS Staff followed up the show with this recap of the event.  Please read the story below and go to SNEWS for more in depth analysis of the show and impact.

The Grassroots Outdoor Alliance Early Show, held last week in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the Snowbird resort, brought together 32 retail stores and 30 vendor companies for what Grassroots president David Matz described as, “Our best show ever.”

“The vendors came fully sampled and with all paperwork and terms ready to go, and our member retailers arrived open-minded, optimistic and ready to embrace new products,” Matz told SNEWS®.

But while the show itself was good, Matz underscored the common sentiment expressed at previous shows SNEWS® has attended: The opportunity to see product and place orders before Outdoor Retailer Summer Market is good, but what makes the Early Show so great is the opportunity to network and spend time meeting with other retailers, reps and company executives in an intimate setting.

Added Matz, “Without a doubt, it’s the human interaction — at breakfast, lunch and dinner, in our seminars, and in the various meeting areas around the resort — that is the Early Show’s most valuable asset.”

In all, 96 retailers, including store owners and buyers from the Alpine Shop, Appalachian Ski, Base Camp, Benchmark Outfitters, Bill Jackson’s, Black Creek, Buffalo Peak, Casual Adventure, Champaign Surplus, Elephant’s Perch, Great Outdoor Provision, Half Moon Outfitters, Idaho Mountain Touring, Massey’s, Midwest Mountaineering, Nat’s, Northern Lights, Outdoors Inc., Outside Hilton Head, Pack Rat, Pine Needle, River Sports, Rock Creek, Skinny Skis, Summit Canyon Mountaineering, Summit Hut, Travel Country, Trailblazer, Ute Mountaineer, Wild River, Wilderness Sports and Wilson’s met with 97 vendors and reps from Asolo, Camelbak, Contourwear, Deuter, ExOfficio, Gregory, Horny Toad, Keen, Kelty, La Sportiva, Lole, Lowa, Marmot, Mountain Hardwear, Montrail, Olukai, Optic Nerve, Outdoor Research, Pacific Outdoor Equipment, Patagonia, Patagonia Footwear, Royal Robbins, Salomon, SmartWool, Smith Sport Optic, Spyderco, Timbuk2, Vasque, Wigwam and Yakima.

For the vendors, the show continues to be a key element in ensuring their lines are fully dialed by the time Summer Market arrives.

“The Early Show is always very productive and we really value early input,” said Brad Bates of Mountain Hardwear. “This is the first show that many of these vendors go to, and it kicks off the season. It gives vendors time to react to the information received and we are able to make some changes to our line if we can.”

And for the retail member who attend each year, the Early Show continues to be as much about seeing new products as locking down orders from vendors they know are in their buying mix, saving time and money at future trade shows.

“The Early Show format forced us to look at lines we wouldn’t see normally, and as a result, we will spend less time at other industry shows. It’s saving us time and money,” said Carl Moak of Summit Canyon Mountaineering.

Bob Wade of Ute Mountaineer added, “The format of the show encouraged us to see new lines and vendors, and we were able to take advantage of programs from new vendors that we had not worked with recently.” 

Naturally, SNEWS® was most interested in what the Early Show attendees thought were the must-see, hot products as we go into Summer Market, so get your notepad or laptop ready to take some appointment notes. Here are a few of the products that multiple Grassroots Outdoor Alliance retail members told SNEWS® are stellar and will likely make it onto their sales floor in the coming season:

• Timbuk2 — Rolling luggage, as well as shoulder bags with sleeves that fit over the luggage handles for easy toting
• Keen — Harvest (Rice Bag shoe)
• SmartWool — Women’s bike jerseys
• SmartWool — Women’s Metro sock styles
• Mountain Hardwear — Reality Check bags
• Mountain Hardwear — Clouds Rest sleeping bag
• Mountain Hardwear — Switch sleeping bag
• Mountain Hardwear — Intention pack, men’s and women’s
• Montrail — Mountain Masochist trail running shoe
• Marmot — Down Yurt sleeping bag
• Marmot — Mica and Crystalline jackets
• Kelty — Shiro tents
• Outdoor Research — Dry Vaults, soft-sided dry bags
• Outdoor Research — Exped mats and pads
• La Sportiva — Wildcat trail running shoe
• La Sportiva — Cascade GTX and Cypress GTX hiking shoes
• La Sportiva — Gandolfo approach shoe
• Camelbak — Alpine line
• Gregory — Z-65 and Jade 60 packs
• Salomon — Tech Amphibian redux
• Lowa — Zephyr shoe
• Olukai — Sandals
• Patagonia — Sugar & Spice, women’s lifestyle shoe
• Asolo — Omni shoe
• Vasque — Solera VST shoe
• Salomon — Exit Sport 2, women’s shoe
• Vasque — Solera VST shoe
• Asolo — Omni shoe
• Royal Robbins — No particular product was pointed out, but retailers said the line “looked better than it has in years.”

For More on the event from SNEWS, please go to the story http://www.snewsnet.com/cgi-bin/snews/12153.html

SNEWS® Did You Hear? BuzzBack Market Research conducted a Project Green survey of 1,141 consumers living in the United States and the United Kingdom to determine how concerns over the environment and global warming may be influencing buying habits and how consumers live their lives.

While much of the news is good, the study found that only one in three consumers were familiar with the term sustainable and what it actually meant. The implication is that sustainable is a buzzword among industry, but not yet understood by consumers, proving that much more education is needed.

The study also found that 75 percent of respondents were “extremely/slightly” worried about global warming. However, U.K. residents have been more proactive than U.S. residents in taking action to address their worry. In the United Kingdom, approximately two-thirds of those who expressed concern about global warming had made changes to buying habits and lifestyle. In the United States, only half had made such a change. The results of the survey, completed prior to Earth Day (April 22, 2008) can be found at www.buzzback.com.

PDF Version of the Buzzback Survey Report

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(In Partnership with SNEWS, Grassroots brings you a comprehensive look at the Controversial BPA Debate)

Since SNEWS® first addressed the issue of BPA leeching into water in a Nov. 12, 2003, story, “Sierra magazine story causes stir over Lexan safety” (click here to read), the curiosity and mild concern over possible human health impacts has turned into a feeding frenzy whipped up by government and media reports and devoured by consumers. On Dec. 6, 2007, Canadian retailer MEC announced that it was pulling all polycarbonate bottles from its shelves “until guidance is provided by the government of Canada on the health risks posed by BPA.” (Click here to read the SNEWS® story.)

The irony in all of this is that we are collectively experiencing far more exposure to BPA through the lining of canned goods than from any water bottle we’ve ever used. Every can on every kitchen shelf is likely lined with a coating that contains BPA. Yes, the canned food industry is now scrambling to find alternatives too, but no one is suffering quite the brunt of scorn and media ridicule as Nalgene. The company was an easy and, as we’ve stated, unfair target. But, that’s now moot. By this time next year, we expect that polycarbonate bottles and containers still in the retail pipeline will have been depleted, replaced instead with alternatives, including the new Eastman product Tritan. Of course, who knows if some scientist down the road will not find something bad about Tritan, too. Only time will tell, but let’s hope for the best.

Please read the full article by the SNEWS Staff here

To read other articles and resources provided by Grassroots Manufacturers on BPA please go here.