The Weekly - May 5, 2020 - 10
FEATURE
Vermont Glove President
Sam Hooper models the latest
style (left). The 100-year-old,
family-owned factory responds to a new need (right).
HEAR THIS
You can listen to
Drew Simmons'
podcast discussion
with Hooper by
clicking HERE .
The Big Pivot
T
he phone on the shop
floor rings. And rings.
And rings.
In the outdoorsy
shire of Randolph, Vermont, a
town known for both blue-collar
grit and a badass backcountry
trail network, the owners of Vermont Glove are so busy that they
can barely find time to answer
the phone.
In the last two months, this
family-owned company has made
a massive pivot from making
rugged leather handwear in its
century-old factory to taking a
leading position on the front edge
of outdoor manufacturers making
personal protective equipment
(PPE)-in this case, tightly woven
cotton masks-for frontline health
care workers.
Yet new questions arose with
every step Vermont Glove took
10 THE WEEKLY / OUTDOOR RETAILER SUMMER 2020
toward a production switchover:
How do you go from making premium $100 products to a basic
$8 commodity without going out
of business? How do you satisfy
massive demand with a tiny team
of professional sewers? How do
you harness the energy of a region
that clearly wants to help? And
how long will this whole thing
even last?
While these riddles and more
have kept the Vermont Glove
team constantly busy over the
last several weeks, the biggest
challenge of all has been standing
up to a deluge of orders. By the
end of April, the Vermont Glove
team had successfully completed
and delivered more than 17,000
masks. But as of late April, the
demand for backorders has also
topped 35,000. "It really hits
home for me," says Sam Hooper,
CO U R T E SY V E R M O N T G LOV E
Vermont Glove was one of the first outdoor manufacturers to embrace the challenge
of COVID-19, upending its traditional business model to fill immediate need. But big
questions remain when it comes to how to keep it going. By Drew Simmons
http://www.palemorningmedia.com/outdoor-states/2020/season2samhooper
The Weekly - May 5, 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Weekly - May 5, 2020
Contents
The Weekly - May 5, 2020 - Cover1
The Weekly - May 5, 2020 - Cover2
The Weekly - May 5, 2020 - Contents
The Weekly - May 5, 2020 - 4
The Weekly - May 5, 2020 - 5
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The Weekly - May 5, 2020 - 10
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The Weekly - May 5, 2020 - 20
The Weekly - May 5, 2020 - 21
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The Weekly - May 5, 2020 - 23
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/2023Winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/2023summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/thedailyguidess23
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/dailySM2022_Day3
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/dailysm2022_Day2
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/dailySM2022_Day1
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2022_Day3
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2022_Day2
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2022_Day1
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2021_day3
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2021_day2
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2021_day1
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/outdoor-retailer-august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/outdoor-retailer-july-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/postshow2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2020_day3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2020_day2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2020_day1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/preshow2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2020winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/postshow_summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/day3_summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/day2_summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/day1_summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/preshow_summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2019summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/postshow2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2019_day3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2019_day2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2019_day1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/preshow2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2019winter
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