Meet Your New OIA Board Directors

September 16, 2024

As the outdoor industry’s member-led collective, OIA catalyzes meaningful change in every element of the industry. To set our businesses and industry up for future success, we rely on a clear strategy and value-based collaboration. The OIA board of directors helps shape our strategic plan. The individuals on the board, through their seats at the governance table, support the success of every member company across four critically aligned areas of market research, sustainability, government affairs, and inclusive participation. 

This summer, three new and two incumbent members were elected to the OIA Board of Directors by the OIA membership. We are proud to welcome back incumbent directors Sarah Matt and Janice Tennant, and to introduce you to the new directors: Jon Chong, Jason Parkin, and Jeff Tooze.

To the former and current board leaders, OIA members, and fellow outdoor enthusiasts, thank you for your participation in this year’s election and for treading the path with us! 

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to shape the future of our industry’s member-led collective and carry forward Patagonia’s legacy on the OIA Board. As a technologist, I look forward to leveraging technology and data to innovate member-focused solutions and chart a purpose-driven, sustainable, and successful path ahead.”

  • Jon Chong, Patagonia Chief Technology Officer

“For decades, the outdoor industry has been the tip of the sustainability spear; breaking trail and demonstrating climate leadership across all industries. I look forward to continuing this history of innovative work and finding new, powerful ways we can collectively leverage our $1+ trillion industry to maximize our positive impact for people and planet. And while our tent is already large, it can always include more, so I am eager to continue welcoming more individuals and groups into our community so that we can all thrive together towards a brighter future.”

  • Jason Parkin, Compose[d] Founder, President and CCO

“For 20 years, I’ve been on OIA’s Trade Advisory Council, and I have found it to be a highly effective group influencing changes on trade-related policy and legislation, while also protecting domestic manufacturing interests. OIA is a great organization and, I’m proud to play an even larger role in shaping OIA’s strategic initiatives.”

  • Jeff Tooze, Columbia Vice President of Global Customs & Trade

5 Ways Benchmarking Can Drive Growth and Profitability for Your Outdoor Brand

In today’s competitive outdoor industry, brands need to make data-driven decisions to stay ahead. Benchmarking is a powerful tool that allows you to measure your brand’s performance against your competitors and industry standards, uncovering opportunities for growth and profitability. Here’s how benchmarking can help your outdoor brand blaze new trails to success:

1. Optimize Financial Performance

Benchmarking provides a clear picture of your brand’s financial health by comparing key financial ratios and indicators. By analyzing metrics like revenue growth, profit margins, and inventory turnover, you can identify areas where your brand excels and where improvements are needed. For example, understanding how your profit margins compare to industry leaders can highlight pricing strategies or cost management practices that could be adopted or refined. Similarly, tracking inventory turnover rates against top performers helps ensure that your capital isn’t tied up in excess stock, boosting cash flow and profitability.

2. Streamline Business Operations

Your brand’s operational efficiency is critical to sustaining growth. Benchmarking allows you to assess core business operations, focusing on metrics such as SKU count, sales channel mix, marketing mix and ROI, sourcing mix, number of employees, and sales per employee. By comparing these metrics with industry averages or top performers, you can identify inefficiencies or areas for optimization. For instance, understanding the right balance in your sales channel mix or the effectiveness of your marketing spend can lead to better allocation of resources, improved customer reach, and ultimately, higher sales.

3. Implement Actionable Best Practices

Benchmarking goes beyond identifying gaps; it can often unlock actionable strategies for your brand’s specific needs. For outdoor brands, this could mean adopting best practices for revenue and gross margin optimization, asset management, or payroll control. These practices help you streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance profitability. For example, if your payroll expenses are higher than industry norms, benchmarking can guide you in implementing more efficient workforce management practices, or if your gross margin is below average, it might suggest pricing adjustments or cost-cutting measures that align with industry standards.

4. Gain Targeted Insights

Not all outdoor brands are alike. Segmenting by company size and product line allows you to pinpoint opportunities within your specific market segment, whether you’re a niche specialty brand like OIA member Gossamer Gear or a large, diversified outdoor company like The North Face. By comparing your performance to similar-sized companies or those with a similar product mix, you can identify the best strategies for your unique circumstances, ensuring that your growth efforts are both targeted and effective.

5. Catalyze Continuous Improvement

Benchmarking is not a one-time exercise but a continuous process that drives ongoing improvement. By regularly measuring your brand’s performance against industry benchmarks, you can stay ahead of trends, anticipate challenges, and adjust your strategies proactively. This ongoing evaluation ensures that your outdoor brand remains competitive, agile, and poised for long-term growth.

Ready to incorporate benchmarking into your business strategy? OIA makes it easy. Our new 2024 Outdoor Brand Benchmarking Report provides decision-makers access to exclusive industry benchmarks across all major business functions so that you can make informed decisions and lead your outdoor brand to success. Learn more and gain access to the data and insights today.

Welcome Damien Huang, CEO of Cotopaxi, to the OIA Board

February 6, 2024

As the outdoor industry’s member-led collective, OIA is a passionate group of business leaders, climate experts, policymakers, and outdoor enthusiasts committed to sustainable economic growth and climate positivity while protecting—and growing access to—the benefits of the outdoors for everyone. To set our businesses and industry up for future success, we rely on a clear strategy and value-based collaboration. Our board of directors helps shape OIA’s strategic plan.

We’re honored to welcome Damien Huang, CEO of Cotopaxi, to the OIA Board. Through his seat at the governance table, Damien will support the success of every member company and help catalyze meaningful change across the industry. 

“I’m thrilled to be joining the board of Outdoor Industry Association. When I started my career in this business of enjoying and sustaining the outdoors, the industry was just beginning to coalesce into a massive force for positive change. Thanks to the work of so many before us, the outdoors have become a vital part of our everyday lives and a critical part of our collective physical and mental well-being. Our contribution to a healthy people and a healthy planet could not be more important. I look forward to working with my fellow board members, and all the brands, retailers, and professionals who form the beating heart of what the outdoor economy has become and will be in the future. Together, we can protect the spaces in which we all play, uplifting and inspiring a broad outdoor coalition while we prosper together as an industry.”

– Damien Huang, Cotopaxi CEO

This past summer, four new and three returning members were elected to the OIA Board of Directors by the membership. This diverse group of leaders represents the broad interests of OIA’s member companies and has a depth of industry knowledge, as well as fresh, progressive ideas. Read about the new and returning Board members here. 

Letter from New OIA President Kent Ebersole

Dear members and fellow catalysts,

I’m so pleased to be able to share the news of my appointment to the role of President for the Outdoor Industry Association with you. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity and close partnership with our Board, my dedicated staff and passionate committee members who have supported my onboarding journey over the past 7 months. Like many of you, it’s my passion for the outdoors and desire for value-based collaboration that I believe will set OIA up for success for this year and into the next decade.

I have one crystal clear priority that motivates me every day.  As OIA President, I will ensure that OIA continues to be the industry’s catalyst for meaningful change. We’re an incredibly broad reaching member-led collective that stands for positive progress in every element of the industry. But we have evolved since then to be much clearer about the value of our core pillars.

OIA’s industry-defining research is a force for change allowing you to better understand the markets and the consumers you care about. In 2023, we are launching 3 new research products & services, including new consumer reports, specialty sport reports, and consumer panels.

OIA’s tireless government affairs team is a force for collective action. There are now 16 State Offices of Recreation (OREC), and we look forward to welcoming 2 more states by the end of 2023. We won’t stop until we achieve the creation of 50 bipartisan state offices, working together to protect and sustain our water, air, land, and wildlife for current and future generations. Equally, in 2023 and until it passes, OIA is committed to seeing America’s Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA) through, the single biggest piece of federal legislation that will increase outdoor opportunities by funding infrastructure and economic opportunities for gateway communities and underserved populations across the nation.

OIA is a force for sustainable growth. Since 2019, over 100 members have joined the Climate Action Corps committed to the work of reducing industry-wide greenhouse gas emissions. In 2023 and beyond, we are focused on enlisting at least 80% of the outdoor industry to meet an aggressive but achievable goal of becoming a climate positive industry by 2030. In addition, we are launching a brand-new program and working group, the Clean Chemistry Coalition, to swiftly meet the needs of retailers, manufacturers, and distributors for implementing a thoughtful and phased approach to eliminating PFAS and other harmful chemicals from outdoor products.

OIA is a force for inclusion. Through the Outdoor Foundation’s Thrive Outside Initiative, we continue to make multi-year investments in 13 community programs and countless leaders who already know what they need to harness the benefits of spending time outdoors. In addition to our work of shaping equitable access through legislative means, and upholding OREC’s guidance of partnering with tribal members as co-managers of natural resources, OIA is evolving inclusion initiatives through internal culture and collaborations and creating a diverse pipeline of people who can see themselves as our industry’s next product designers, testers and sustainability champions. We know that we will always have work to ensure the outdoor industry represents and serves all backgrounds and voices. But as a catalyst, we are committed to iterating for the vital success of the outdoor industry.

Finally, I see OIA as a force for connection. We are doubling down on valuable products and services and introducing new programs and offerings. We are modernizing operations and changing how we deliver membership experiences so that the information and services you want and need are timely, highly relevant, and personalized to your business. We are doing this so that you, our members, can be catalysts in your own right—sustainability champions, product innovators, community builders, climate change agents, or business leaders.

Notwithstanding the current economic climate, I believe that one of the reasons we lost momentum is because we didn’t connect the dots on how our work supports your business and the communities you care about.  But this is what catalysts do—we “connect the dots, set things in motion, and learn continually”*. The nature of catalyst work is complex and much of it is invisibly and swiftly happening behind the scenes. We are pivoting to meet the needs of your business today but always with an eye on the future horizon.

While OIA has been charting this map for a minute, 30 minutes of years to be exact, we’re going to need your boots on the ground to help tread the path. To those of you who have been members for years and years, thank you for continuing to align your business commitments with our values. For those of you that have recently joined OIA, let me be the first to extend a very warm welcome. Your voice and support are just what this industry needs to make better and do better.

Together, we are a member-led collective and the industry’s catalyst for meaningful change.

Kent Ebersole
President
Outdoor Industry Association