ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 11, 2024) — This week at the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance Connect buying show, outdoor specialty retailers and brand leaders will find a new resource launched in 2024 that sheds light on the Outdoor Industry and specialty outdoor retail — a B2B publication titled Grassroots Stories.
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, the national organization dedicated to the health and growth of specialty outdoor retail, has always counted education as a key component of its mission. The organization is publishing Grassroots Stories with the goal of calling attention to issues facing the industry, as well as celebrating the people who make the industry so special.
The issue available this week at Connect in Kansas City is the second edition of Grassroots Stories. The first issue was published in the Spring leading up to the Connect show in Reno, Nev., in May. The Connect Show takes place twice a year to support brand line showings for independent specialty retailers in line with key order deadlines.
“Our work at Grassroots Outdoor Alliance supports our retail members in running their businesses as effectively as possible. That’s always meant sharing up-to-date information among our members and providing different kinds of educational resources,” said Gabe Maier, President of Grassroots Outdoor Alliance. “Grassroots Stories is a direct outgrowth of that. It’s helping us do exactly what we should be doing — looking at current trends, successes and problems, sparking a forum for discussion, and serving as a platform for ideas and innovation.”
Among other topics, the current issue of Grassroots Stories covers:
- The current outlook amongst speciality retailers through the lens of data.
- What the future of the industry looks like through its up-and-comers.
- How the most effective reps aren’t just sales people, they’re integral partners in the business of effective retail.
- What it looks like to build an outdoor retail hub as a pillar of community over 40 years.
- How retailers and brands are navigating the ongoing transition around PFAS legislation.
The publication is led by the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance staff in concert with Artmesia Media and editorial director Doug Schnitzspahn. Schnitzspahn brings 25-plus years of experience in the Outdoor Industry and outdoor media, including working as the longtime editor of the Outdoor Retailer Show Daily and Outdoor Retailer Magazine, 15 years as the editor in chief of Elevation Outdoors, and work as a freelancer for publications ranging from Outside Magazine to National Geographic, Men’s Journal and Travel + Leisure. A range of longtime outdoor industry freelance writers are contributing stories to the independent publication.
“This industry is a special place for everyone who works in it, and it deserves a forum that takes an in-depth look not just at the issues facing it, though that’s important, but also at how it’s such a vibrant, innovative and just plain different place relative to many other industries,” Schnitzspahn said. “Grassroots Stories is an effort to provide that perspective.”
About Grassroots Outdoor Alliance
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is a retailer-owned network of 95 independently owned outdoor retailers and 66 vendor partners, working together for the health and growth of specialty outdoor retail. Through data collection and analysis, direct member support, specialty events and deep vendor partnerships, Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is creating both a vision and roadmap for the long-term success of independent specialty retail. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is recognized as a catalyst for the success of its retailers and vendor partners; an advocate for specialty independent retail; a promoter of education and community within the specialty channel; and a key influencer of the national outdoor industry. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance also operates Connect, a twice-annual legacy show experience that spans four days, offering an efficient and structured format for retailers to conduct pre-season line showings and business conversations.
