California Apparel News

During its Jan. 29–31 run at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Outdoor Retailer’s Outdoor + Snow Show saw attendees from the outdoor and snow-sports industries who were searching for the latest products in apparel for these closely related segments. This was the first edition of the Emerald Expositions–produced show to be produced following the announcement of a merger between Outdoor Retailer with its Winter Market and Snow Show events. Show producers reported more than 25,500 total attendees.

For SEED Peoples Market President and Chief Executive Officer Shaheen Sadeghi, whose business won the Outdoor Retailer Innovation Award in the retail category, the new show model made sense, as sellers in the industry search for methods to remain relevant.

“I’m looking for simplification. I am looking for curation,” he said. “At every show, people are a lot more focused. Most retailers are shrinking their footprint by becoming more curated and selective.”

As a snow-and-outdoor industry veteran, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, LLC Director of Retail AdministrationNicole Corsaro was pleased with the array of goods that the single show presented.

“It was great. It is impressive to see how many vendors attend and are there and how much product assortment there is and the visibility of what you get to see—new, fresh and different is always nice,” she said. “It’s good because it’s not all snow specific, it’s much more diverse. You get to see everything from Pendleton to the 686 snowboard brand.”

For buyers such as Corsaro, performance is priority, yet she was intrigued by how her segment of the industry compares to other outdoor categories. As one of the top snow-sports destinations in the United States, Mammoth must remain ahead of trends in the category.

“Each year, the Southern California surf brands all follow the same color palette; snow tends to trend a little bit behind in the fashion world,” she explained. “It’s interesting to see who is innovative, what’s new, what they come out with, and what can we introduce that is fun and different.”

The show also provided an opportunity to gauge the trends that were being set by luxury brands in the category. “It’s always interesting to see what the higher brands are doing, as they are usually the most fashion forward,” she said. “When you take the Bogner and Toni Sailers, it was great to see that alongside what is trending in that mid-range, SoCal surf-brand world.”