The Daily - June 10,2022 - 10

Pulse
S N O W S H O W 2 0 1 9
THE
H E A D L I N E S / P O R T R A I T S
A Force
for Good
At the OIA Industry Breakfast, retail futurist
Doug Stephens shared insights on retail risk
management and how the industry can
protect both profi ts and planet.
By Helen Olsson
THE OIA INDUSTRY BREAKFAST
kicked off a buzzing Outdoor
Retailer Summer 2022 yesterday,
with keynote speaker Doug
Stephens, aka the Retail Prophet,
delivering a talk he crafted specifically
for the Show crowd. Before
Stephens took the stage, Marisa
Nicholson, Emerald senior vice
president and Outdoor Retailer
show director, welcomed attendees
to the Show. " Everything you'll
see here this week was inspired
by people and created by people, "
Nicholson said. " So, it's essential
we use this time to embrace each
other and the intangibles that
come with being face-to-face. "
The big announcement of the
morning-the introduction of Outdoor
Adventure X, a brand-new
consumer outdoor festival taking
place June 2023 at Utah's Snowbasin
resort-was delivered by
Lindsay Hubley, managing partner
at Lodestone Events. Emerald's
Xcelerator division collaborated
with Lodestone to create the
experiential event, which will be
10
staged just prior to next summer's
Show in Salt Lake City. " We've
all seen a surge of new adventurers
and people of all ages excited
about getting outdoors, " Hubley
said. " This event will be fostered in
education and advocacy. It'll also
introduce the basics of responsible
recreation. "
Next, Lise Aangeenbrug, executive
director of Outdoor Industry
Association (OIA), welcomed
show-goers and covered OIA's efforts,
from policy work to research
to addressing issues like inclusion
and climate change. But fi rst,
Aangeenbrug went off -script to
acknowledge the state of our world
right now. " We've all been through
a lot between the pandemic, a
global war, a series of shootings, "
she said. " I just wanted to take a
moment to refl ect on the fact that
we are family and really express to
each other a gratitude, a kindness
and a grace that I think we all
need at this moment. "
Stephens took to the stage for
the breakfast's main event. Using
/ OUTDOOR RETAILER SUMMER 2022
a series of ships as metaphors, he
talked about retail's new era of risk
and the breakage of global supply
chains. Naturally, he started with
Ever Given, the huge container
ship that blocked the Suez Canal in
March. " The root cause of problems
in retail, " he said, " is a myopic
focus of business on the lowest
possible landed cost of product. "
Stephens suggested the path to
rebuilding is to share risk along the
supply chain from raw materials
and production to transportation
and distribution. He suggested
creating a digital ecosystem where
stakeholders pool data for everybody's
mutual benefi t.
Stephens pointed to success
stories in retail like Zara, which
used prototypes in stores to lower
the risk of producing products that
don't sell and end up in the landfi ll.
And on the manufacturing side, he
highlighted denim maker Saitex,
Doug
Stephens
which overhauled its production
to reduce wastewater, recycle heat
and steam, air dry denim, and
even turn effl uent into bricks to
build housing for workers.
He also touched on the importance
of brands truly embracing
their mission statements around
sustainability and social justice.
Rather than a small link in a
website's footer, brands should
follow Patagonia's lead. Its website
is a prime example of honesty and
transparency with consumers.
" They're not trying to hawk a product, "
he said. " They're talking about
the damage their own products do
and the eff orts they're making to
reverse the damage. "
Stephens said the goal is not
simply to do less harm. " Our
businesses need to become a force
for good. A positive force in the
world-for our children, for the
world, and for humanity. "
LAUREN DANILEK
The Daily - June 10,2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Daily - June 10,2022
