Observations From The Outdoor Retailer Show Floor

In the past, we’ve always walked Outdoor Retailer to soak in the industry that our brands live and breathe - as a technology partner, we felt it was best to not get in the way. This year, however, it was different.

More and more, we are being invited in by brands to just hang out in their booth and talk wholesale. These brands are dedicating valuable time at OR to talk technology with us and get a few tips on how to adapt or modernize their wholesale channel.

Without a doubt, both existing clients and new opportunities are more curious, excited, and want to talk shop about how to best support their retailers.

This is consistent with the results of much of the surveying and interviewing we’ve been doing with brands and retailers. Both of these groups are looking to innovate their wholesale approach aggressively in 2019. They are recognizing the growth opportunity in getting it right and they want to orchestrate it.

This newfound openness and desire to connect has led us to a discovery of shared interests with a lot of the brands on the show floor. Although we make software and the industry we serve makes physical products, we have the same passions. Here are two that are jumping out at me.

• We are passionate about innovating our product

• We are fueled by our own outdoor experiences 

To all the brands and retailers that made time to talk with us: Thank you.  And thank you Outdoor Retailer for putting on a great show. 

#weareOUTDOOR