Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 39

chine (a laptop powered by a Brunton solar panel and connected with a wifi hotspot) to learning
what a manufacturer "rep" was.
He asked myriad questions that manufacturers were happy to answer because of his rental
biz. What made him unique was that he'd use a
manufacturer's gear to introduce people to the
outdoors, and the people, in turn, would associate a magical experience with the brands they
used. By the end of year one, he'd made $10,000,
and created a the first hint of a following among
the Park Slope residents.
They began trickling over, to order their own
sleeping bags, tents, and jackets. Sales varied
from $10 to $1,000 per day. Maybe he could
have kept it up, but street vending in a place like
New York City is hard (hypothermia, dehydration, competitors keying your Honda Element).
Besides, his dream all along had been to own a
real shop. That finally came to fruition when,
after months of cruising the streets and asking building owners if he could rent, he found

a store on a side street, the metal gate of which
looked permanently drawn. Rosenberg shoved
a business card under the gate, and when two
months passed with no response, he tried the
pharmacy next door. To the man behind the
counter, Rosenberg made his case: Do you
know anything about the space next door? Do
you think the landlord will be flexible on the
rent? Unbeknownst to him, he spoke to the
owner (of both buildings). They struck a deal:
graduated rent. In 2011, Rosenberg opened the
225-square-foot brick-and-mortar version of
Gear To Go.
It took a while for people to find it because
Garfield Street is quiet. But Rosenberg put up
a sandwich board, on the corner of Garfield. It
drew people off the main drag and into the store.
He also led his classes, which he calls "great marketing." And being a vet, he offered discounts
to FDNY, NYPD, Military, and Veterans. He
says he developed an especially close relationship with the local FDNY, many of whom are

hikers and climbers. So they'd pull up in their
Squad One truck, double park, and come in to
learn about the latest gear. It wasn't long before
Rosenberg had enough business to support hiring a couple of employees beyond the part-time
guides who had been helping him out. His first
choice: veterans, who made up 100 percent of
his staff between October of 2015 and April of
2016 and who've been a constant throughout
the entire creation of his business.
Between 2011 and June of this year, sales
also grew annually by a whopping 300 percent.
Rosenberg reinvested the profit back into the
shop, to grow the rental fleet as well as add new
products. Soon, despite his small size, he had the
largest rental fleet of almost every item a person
needs to go camping anywhere in the East. A
couple of years back, the small shop on Garfield
also grossed $365,000. By then, he had the credit, the capital, and the reputation to re-approach
his landlord-and a private investor-to see if he
could expand into the 1,000-square-foot phar-

Winter 2017 / OUTDOOR RETAILER 39



Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017

OUTDOOR RETAILER - WINTER 2017
CONTENTS
THE PULSE
HEADLINES
MERCHANDISING
MARKETING
BIG PICTURE
CASE STUDY
IDEAS
WYLDER WOMEN
RICH HILL
SUSTAINABILITY
GEAR TO GO
SKI MO
VAN LIFE
BREAD+BUTTER
THE SEASON’S HOTTEST SKIS
FABRIC DECODER
NORDIC APPAREL
COUNTER CULTURE
THE VIEW
HOW I GOT HERE
#REPLIFE
FROM THE ROAD
BACKSTORY
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - OUTDOOR RETAILER - WINTER 2017
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - Cover2
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 1
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 2
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 3
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - CONTENTS
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 5
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 6
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 7
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 8
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 9
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 10
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 11
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - THE PULSE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 13
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - HEADLINES
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 15
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - MERCHANDISING
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 17
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - MARKETING
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 19
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - BIG PICTURE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 21
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 22
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 23
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - CASE STUDY
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 25
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 26
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 27
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - IDEAS
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - WYLDER WOMEN
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - RICH HILL
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 31
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - SUSTAINABILITY
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 33
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - GEAR TO GO
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 35
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 36
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 37
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 38
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 39
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 40
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 41
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 42
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 43
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - VAN LIFE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 45
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 46
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 47
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 48
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 49
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 50
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 51
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - SKI MO
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 53
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 54
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 55
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - BREAD+BUTTER
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 57
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - THE SEASON’S HOTTEST SKIS
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 59
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - FABRIC DECODER
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 61
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - NORDIC APPAREL
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 63
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - COUNTER CULTURE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 65
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - THE VIEW
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 67
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 68
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 69
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 70
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 71
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - HOW I GOT HERE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 73
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - #REPLIFE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 75
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 76
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 77
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - FROM THE ROAD
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - 79
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - BACKSTORY
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - Cover3
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2017 - Cover4
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