COVID-19  November 4, 2020

Virus, fires, demand surge combine to make 2020 a rollercoaster for outdoor industry

BOULDER — The year 2020 has been an adventure for the outdoor industry in the Boulder Valley.

With its global COVID-19 pandemic, economic slowdown and historically destructive wildfires, 2020 has seen both layoffs for some organizations and record sales figures for others. 

The result has been a tumultuous eight-month stretch that’s highlighted the need for adaptability and nimbleness, industry leaders said Tuesday during BizWest’s Outdoor Industry CEO Roundtable. 

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Avid4Adventure CEO Paul Dreyer said his firm, which puts on summer camps for kids, is likely to bank only about 30% of its projected 2020 revenue.

“With the vast majority of our revenue [for the entire year] realized in just two or three months during the summer, we were blasted,” he said. 

Thankfully, A4A has been able to pivot and adjust programming, otherwise revenue would be at zero, Dreyer said. 

The outbreak didn’t just impact bottom-line sales figures; it also complicated firms’ logistics and supply chains as travel and free flows of goods were disrupted, Alpine Bank’s Gary Gomulinski said.

“When manufacturing slowed down in China, there was a shortage” of imported component parts many local brands use to build their products, he said.

In some cases, the pandemic has disproportionately impacted certain revenue streams. For example, Eldorado Climbing Walls’ business building walls at college recreation centers has flattened while sales of in-home apparatus are “through the roof,” Eldorado CEO Kevin Volz said. 

A handful of roundtable participants said that while Q2 was brutal for sales, Q3 was stronger than previous years due to pent-up demand from cooped-up buyers eager to flee their home offices for the mountains. 

“I feel very positive now compared to Q2,” Echos Communications vice president Matt Bennett. “There’s a lot more certainty, a lot more conversations about what’s next.”

In June, “the market popped,” BearVault co-owner Tracy Twist said. “People realized they were tired of staying at home and wanted to get outside.”

Outdoor Industry Association Lise Aangeenbrug, who predicts that the overall industry will see sales drop by about 30% for the full fiscal year, agreed with Twist.

“More people are getting outside than ever,” she said, which has created a new consumer group that the industry is trying to understand. “We want to learn more about who they are, what they’re doing, and how to encourage them to keep going outside,” she said.

Brands that appeal to the newcomer market segment, rather than those targeting experts with expensive, niche products, are especially poised for success, Revel Gear founder Brian Plavnicky said.

While this group of newbies could be a valuable market for the industry, there are concerns that these hordes of outdoors novices may wreak havoc on Colorado’s trails, mountains and rivers.

This potential, according to Trent Bush Design + Create founder Trent Bush, has caused some in the industry to remark, “We already have one pandemic; we don’t need another pandemic of people in the backcountry who don’t know what they’re doing.”

Tenkara USA founder Daniel Galhardo said firms ought to consider developing more marketing materials that educate consumers on environmental conservation best practices.  

Crowding and erosion on trails are exacerbated by the loss of usable acreage due to wildfires.

 “We’re running out places to play, so we push into new places,” Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office executive director Nathan Fey said. 

The wildfires, which climate change is making more common and more intense each passing year, could ultimately impact the way people camp forever, Light Trek Gear founder Seth Haber said. For example, in the future, campers might not be able to make campfires, even during periods when the risk of wildfires appears remote.

© 2020 BizWest Media LLC

BOULDER — The year 2020 has been an adventure for the outdoor industry in the Boulder Valley.

With its global COVID-19 pandemic, economic slowdown and historically destructive wildfires, 2020 has seen both layoffs for some organizations and record sales figures for others. 

The result has been a tumultuous eight-month stretch that’s highlighted the need for adaptability and nimbleness, industry leaders said Tuesday during BizWest’s Outdoor Industry CEO Roundtable. 

Avid4Adventure CEO Paul Dreyer said his firm, which puts on summer camps for kids, is likely to bank only about 30% of its projected 2020 revenue.

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Lucas High
A Maryland native, Lucas has worked at news agencies from Wyoming to South Carolina before putting roots down in Colorado.
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