Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2018 - 24

THE PULSE

force from maternity leave, and has found
success in recruiting and retaining more
women since moving to eight-hour shifts.
CEO Act!On is open to all companies,
though outdoor brand participation is minimal thus far if it exists at all. But Martins feels
there should be nothing stopping brands
from making their own pledges. The outdoor
industry has already been successful with
such efforts: Protect Our Winters, for example, can garner hundreds of CEO signatures
for letters and commitments surrounding
climate initiatives. After President Donald
Trump backed out of the Paris Agreement,
more than 2,700 business leaders and elected
officials signed a pledge agreeing to uphold
the terms of the agreement on their own. The
"We Are Still In" pledge website holds signatories accountable by sharing stories of ways
they've reduced their footprints since signing. And in April, The North Face announced
a commitment to equal representation in
advertising, called the Move Mountains
Campaign, and will partner with Girl Scouts
of the USA to create new adventure badges.
"We have a long ways to go, but there have
been some wins," says Yoon Kim, founder of
Blogs for Brands. Big ones, too, he argues. He
praises REI and the Canadian retailer MEC
for making its customers part of the diversity
conversation without first asking for their
permission to join in. MEC's initiatives to increase diversity and representation were unpopular at first, he said, but eventually its customer base got used to the changes and profits
increased as more people felt welcomed.
Kenji Haroutunian, a consultant and former Outdoor Retailer show director, made
the same observation. He noticed a similar
transformation at Adventure 16 when he
worked there in the 1990s. A16 had tradition-

24 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ Summer 2018

IMAGE MATTERS
Outdoor brands,
publications,
and websites
must work to
source diverse
photography.

ally been the dirtbaggiest shop around. But
then the management told employees to literally clean up their act-as in, maybe wear a
button-up instead of coming to work fresh off
the trail, and focus more on customer service.
While it irked the core, sales ultimately increased and the shop's base widened.
That connection with customers is invaluable, Haroutunian says, and it's why gear
manufacturers are increasingly putting up
their own retail shops and starting events.
prAna's Boulder flagship offers free yoga
every day of the week; Fjällräven created its
Classic series to be new backpackers' first
outdoor mentor; Cotopaxi created Questival
to encourage folks to seize adventures within
their own backyard. The list goes on.
"REI used to put stores in faraway ware-

house districts, way off the beaten path,"
Haroutunian says. "They'd pack them high
with mid-grade merchandise, and weren't
service-oriented. They've since completely
changed their real estate strategy and approach to diversity and inclusion. They have
been the one company I can name that has really pushed the envelope on that."

FIND A PARTNER
Diversity-focused outdoor groups are flourishing, and they're about way more than just
getting more people from a specific population outside. Take Outdoor Afro, for example.
It's often lauded as an organization that works
to get black hikers out on the trail. But it's also
a business that has hired talented employees
and prepped them for outdoor industry careers, introducing high-performing candidates into the applicant pool.
"We absolutely have to keep up the pressure. I don't want to seem like, we've done
this great work, and that's enough," says Rue
Mapp, CEO and founder of Outdoor Afro.
"At the end of the day, we need to remember
that a lot of what has happened is born out of
relationships, and people being committed
to those relationships."
Smaller, independent retail shops face
far more challenges and can't be expected
to lead the charge with the same financial
power as a company like REI, Haroutunian
says. You know-you're juggling keeping
the shop open with hiring new staff, attending trade shows, managing inventory, helping customers, and trying to get out on the
trail yourself, too. Every day is a marathon.
There are, however, many subtle yet effective ways specialty retailers can not just join in
but lead the conversation, say Jainee Dial and
Lindsey Elliott, founders of online retailer
Wylder Goods, which focuses on women.
Wylder Goods has attracted a diverse customer base of women who want to know where
their stuff comes from, who want to support
brands that mean something, and who want
to trust that the companies they support are
being socially responsible.
Dial and Elliott have curated a web journal filled with the voices of women who have
wildly different experiences with the out-

Carlo Nasisse

OUTDOOR PUBLICATIONS SUCH AS THIS ONE ANALYZE
THE SITUATION AND RECEIVE A FLOOD OF FEEDBACK
THAT OFTEN FALLS INTO TWO CAMPS: THE FIRST BEING
THAT WE'RE NOT MAKING ENOUGH PROGRESS, AND
THE SECOND BEING THAT WE'RE NOT TALKING ENOUGH
ABOUT THE PROGRESS THAT'S ALREADY BEEN MADE.

Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2018

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