Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2020 - 16

ing down to the meat and potatoes of what they
carry," says Christian Mason, Oboz Footwear's
VP of sales. "We made the choices for them to
help us both remain solvent."
Brands with creative, retailer-friendly
sales strategies in place pre-COVID-19 are
well-positioned. For example, two years ago,
Smartwool developed a system to shorten
the lead time from 120 days to 21 days on core
products so it can better assure in-stock availability. "We're not sitting on inventory, and
it gives retailers more flexibility in restocking, says Todd Givnish, Smartwool sales and
marketing manager.
Even before COVID-19, the brand was being
asked to take more inventory risk so retailers
could be more nimble. "If we don't have what
the retailer wants when they want it, another
brand can come in and take over that peg," says
Givnish. So Smartwool implemented Merino
Mondays, forgiving freight on orders placed on
Mondays, a program it has continued through
COVID-19. "When retailers order every week
or month, it drives their profitability, and it
keeps Smartwool on the pegs," says Givnish.
"The program's success has been insane."

NEW NORMALS
With travel restrictions still in place and the
threat of another wave of COVID-19 on the
horizon, store visits and in-person line presentations are extremely limited; Microsoft
teams and Zoom line showings are now de
rigueur. Brands are stepping up, training, and
equipping their reps-the lifeline between
brands and shops-with the skills and tools to
support accounts. Oboz reps have digital catalogs, dual camera systems, and lightboxes for
Zoom showings in order to keep things interactive "because it's the relationship that's most
important," says Mason.
Some brands say that this new normal could
end up being a more efficient way for retailers to buy, especially as shops increasingly ask
reps to present a personalized draft buy instead of the retailer choosing from a full line.
"I'm taking my reps' word for it on how the
product looks and feels," says Emily White,
co-owner of Roads Rivers and Trails, a
5,000-square-foot shop in Milford, Ohio. "I'm
putting my trust in my reps to help their lines

16 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ Summer 2020

THE NEW STYLE
Retailers had to
pare down their
offerings for
reopening; nimble
manufacturers
responded.

"I'M PUTTING MY TRUST IN MY REPS TO HELP THEIR
LINES BE SUCCESSFUL IN MY STORE. I'M LETTING MY REPS
TAKE THE LEAD ON MY BUY." -EMILYWHITE, ROADS RIVERS AND TRAILS
be successful in my store. I'm letting my reps
take the lead on my buy."
Allen has been employing this strategy with
eight of his top brands for the past several years,
and he says that sales of those brands are way
up. "Instead of logging into a Zoom call and the
rep trying to tell us what a fabric feels like, we're
asking brands to show up to our meetings with
a suggested assortment for us," says Allen. "As a
Wyoming mountain town shop, I don't need to
see 60% of most lines. Brands understand what
we should be ordering."
The North Face was well positioned for a
touch-free buy. The company has had digital
catalogs for three years. It introduced 3D cads
for the S21 season, and it shot hi-res imagery
early-a task made easier by the scaled-back
line. But for the first time ever, The North Face
is selling its lines with no physical samples in
the field, according to Pat Duca, The North
Face sales director.
Duca's reps are crafting personalized buys
for their retailers, which The North Face has
been working on for several years. They've segmented the line, creating curated assortments

and clear direction for retailers in all channels.
"We highlight key styles and give a suggested flow for a collection," says Duca. We
have supporting styles retailers can plug into
suggested assortments. Our sales teams are
practiced in selling the assortment and selling
within a segmentation; retailers are used to
hearing that language from us."
Retailers and brands concur that the buy for
S21 should be scaled back to core product-
a combination of tried-and-true styles and
colors with a dash of newness to keep customers interested. Plenty of S20 product is getting
bumped to S21-retailers and brands both still
have S20 product in their warehouses, and reintroducing it rather than dumping it at heavy
discounts is far preferable for both.
However, there is no formula for how much
will sell. Normally, when planning for the next
season, retailers rely on a percentage calculation
based on the previous season's buy. Now most
brands and retailers are using 2019 sales and
what was intended for 2020 to make an educated guess. "It's important not to get hung up on
percentages and look at dollars as a guideline,"

Andrew Kornylak

THE PULSE

Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2020

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