Merrell goes barefooting at the Outdoor Retailer Show

Vibram Soles on the Merrell Barefoot

The Outdoor Retailer show recently held in Salt Lake City is a great show.  I love it.  This one is specifically set up for the winter sports but obviously the show is going to take whatever they can get so everyone comes and everyone has all of their products there.  Merrell obviously is a big name in the outdoors industry and showed as much at the show.  Before I go any further I just wanted to brag about my association for a second (it's so pathetic that it doesn't really count).  Merrell was founded in Utah,  that's right, Utah.  It was founded in Vernal, Utah by a man named Randy Merrell.  He initially made custom leather boots for the outdoorsman, i.e. cowboys and hunters.  Some other bigwigs joined up and they moved the company to Vermont and commercialized it.  Randy Merrell sold his part and went back to making custom boots in Vernal, Utah.  That's the short of it.  It happened about 30 years ago so not too many people remember.  My connection?  I'm from Roosevelt Utah which is 30 miles away and we share the same Wal Mart as Vernal (it's actually in Vernal).  Vernal is where my folk goes and shops... rival highschools, people work in the other city, you get the point.  So I feel I'm somewhat connected... barely.

Merrell Barefoot Shoe

Okay on to the OR show and Merrell.  Merrell launched its barefoot line which is no surprise at all.  Everyone is jumping on board with this.  Nike has the Free series (which was basically a pioneer to a certain extent although it has been around for a while), the Vibram Five Fingers is a sweeping sensation, and now Merrell has joined the game.  What is significant about this is the fact that they are using Vibram soles and competing in the same space as Vibram and the Five Fingers.  I found it amusing that the soles of the shoes that are going to be competing with the Five Fingers bare the same logo... go figure.  I talked to the folks at the Vibram booth, tried a pair on and asked if they saw it as a threat or what their thoughts were on it.  The answer was unanimous... "we're not worried at all, they're using our soles... we still make money".

Nike Free 3.0

Five Fingers

So there you have it, Vibram is not worried.  The Merrell Barefoot shoe is a little different anyway.  While claiming barefoot the toes are encapsulated which automatically differentiates the product.  The shoe is more of a minimalist shoe.  It's looking to move into a space that is in between  the Five Fingers and the Nike Free.  The part that separates Merrell Barefoot from Nike is the outdoor aspect of it all.  Outdoors people are generally accepting of "natural", "minimal", "connecting" types of words.  It's tough to tell a 250 lb linebacker that if he uses the shoes he'll strengthen his core and help grow his stabalizer muscles... he doesn't care.  He just wants to throw some weight around and kill some people on the football field.  So the Nike Free idea is sound... I like it, some runners like it but to reach the entire target market that they have... there are some difficulties.  Merrell on the other hand can do it.  They have the following already and the people probably were asking for the product.  Two different target markets and one would be much more accepting of it than the other.

Made to mimic the foot.

Merrell Barefoot is brand new.  It launches this month and will start seeing sales go through the roof due to the launch date.  I know because I'm considering getting a pair for spring running.  Merrell has even pushed the brand to its fullest extent by making them trail focused.  Like all Merrells you can use them wherever but they really shine on trails.  Again, trail runners are the type of people who care about strngthening their stabilizers, less impact on joints, minimalism.

It just makes sense... I applaud Merrell for seeing a market and going after it.  The beauty of it all is that there are less materials needed for it, less engineering (just let the body take over), and more money for marketing.  That's a perfect formula for success and big returns.  Merrell listened to what the market was calling for, good for them.  They deserve this success.  I'll be interested to see how they are doing as they go along.

Outdoor Retailer Show: Big Winners and parting thoughts

Best Booth:  The North Face.  Partly because they have the money to spend and partly because they have a great brand.  The entire booth reminded me of a base camp on Everest.  The domed tent feel was fun and bright and screamed technical.  TNF always does a good job of keeping a modern but rugged feel to it.  TNF has been producing quality products for so long that it doesn’t have to be gimmicky and can stick to what it is.  The same feel is on the website.  Clean and technical.  They just do what they do and they really make you see it.  The booth had a mini theater in it and showed films of accents and descents, and put you in the mood to be at the base camp with all the storied climbers.  The booth had a great feel to it and visually was the most striking.

 

2^nd place: Columbia.  They did a really good job of opening it up this year.  There were two areas, one warm side and one cool side.  The warm side was to really introduce the Omni-Heat branding and they did a wonderful job.  The booth had a Columbia montage lighting above the warm side in red’s and oranges… really cool.  I talked to the lighting and audio coordinator and he said that Columbia didn’t want to mess around and wanted to make this feel great.  The warm side had a runway where models put on two shows a day and beers flowed freely.  The booth was a close second to TNF.  Columbia in general is a brand that wants to offer something for everyone while still making it quality.  Put it just below The North Face and above Eddie Bauer for outdoor quality appearance (I’m not saying performance).  The cool side continued to show images of families and the products to be used.  The lesser impressive of the two sides but still quite impressive all together.  Side note, Columbia owns Sorel which had the models last year, this year, Sorel right next to Columbia was scaled down quite a bit, small booth, less images but still a nice clean booth.  Mountain Hardware which is owned by Columbia was surrounding Columbia along with its other brand Montrail. 

3^rd place (and most fun):  Keen.  I’ve talked about them before but it had such a good feel to it, so I’m throwing props their way again.  Nice job folks.  The lounge, the trailer, the cabin.  Cool. 

Worth Mentioning: 

Ex-Oficio.  I see them around, I’ve looked at their products and honestly, I can’t put them in a category.  Adventurous Traveler is what they preach but it’s not technical nor is it cheap enough to just wear… oh well, I guess there is a niche for them somewhere.  Croakies:  Good for them, they’re still at it.  One big push for them is fishing.  They have a new sunglass leash that is designed for the fisherman that won’t get caught.  Under Armour  has moved heavily into that arena too.  Teva: at it again, trying to be cool.  The booth was a bit smaller and closed up and didn’t have the raucus party feel to it but the DJ was there spinning (I even got a CD from it).  I thought it was OK, I would have liked to have seen something better from them after last year.   

There seems to be shoe companies all over the place 5/10 is one of those… adventurous sports is what they claim.  We’ll see how they do.  Easton, the company divested its team sports side of things to Bell-Ridell and is now focusing on mountain products and hunting (mostly bow hunting).  The offerings are pretty limited, tents, snow shoes, and trekking poles.  The products are very high quality and the branding is getting there.  While speaking to people at the booth they feel that there is a ton of potential and getting it there will be the key.  The technology is really sound and the products have a “quality” feel to them.  It’ll be fun to see where this historic brand goes. 

Outdoor Retailer Show: Categories and Brand Impressions

Categories-  Some very distinct categories really stood out to me while I explored all the booths.  There were some interesting categories.   

The Earth category obviously but additional categories include:

Sleek and Technical Brands: Adidas Outdoors, Arc’Teryx, Baffin, Suunto, Wenger, Sierra Design, Helly Hansen, Columbia, The North Face,

Real surprises: Keen.  They had a great booth that was really representative to their brand.  It was a lounge, laid back and built for a “hybrid life”.  The booth reminded me of a cabin or lodge somewhere.  There was a trailer that was parked that had the products.  The rest of the booth was dedicated to the branding and really building the idea that Keen means lifestyle.  I enjoyed it.

Mountain Khakis:  The brand was true to its Wyoming roots.  It’s a cross of rough mountain men/ Carhartt and REI.  I appreciated the cowboy hats and the feel the booth gave me.  Funny thing, Arbor Wear which I see as the direct competitor was there too.  They had a two man saw that if you wanted to test your lumberjack skills.  A small booth, it still had a good feel to it.  Much like the MK booth.

Still not sure what they want out of their brands:  Kuhl.  I want to like it more, I should, it’s a local Utah thing but honestly, I can’t get into the brand.  The name throws me off, it should be a cooler or something.  They really tout their pants but when I look at them they look like stuff that Michael Jackson would wear.  The threads of the seams are bright white or visible, the rivets are big and shiny… they just don’t look like a low profile pant that you wear for functionality and not to be seen.  Also not sure about what they are pitching with the whole “Rebel’s yell” thing.  I was just confused with it.  Other brands that confused me.

Hot Chilly’s: First of all, I hadn’t heard of it, second of, all the booth was a beach shack/ bar that had very attractive models walking out and posing all day long.  Poor girls, I bet they were pooped.  I couldn’t stop thinking about Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett’s branded restaurants.  I guess they had winter clothing…  the model was wearing it.  The biggest problem was just the consistency, beach brand or outdoor brand, you just can’t tell.

True to who they are:  Patagonia, Wenger, Vasque, Hi Tec, Merrell, The North Face, Mountain Hardware, Outdoor Research.  All of them pretty much took their websites and translated them to booths with more of a mountain feel to them.  Especially Hi-Tec, they are in the middle of a rebrand and looking to really expand a stogy brand.  They brought in the creative group Frank out of Portland, OR to revamp the brand.  Still they stuck to who they are.  I remember my first pair of Hi-Tec boots in 6^th grade.  I think I could still find them online if I really wanted to. 

Vasque looked the same as last year which isn’t a bad thing.  Patagonia is a tough one to crack.  They are everything but nothing… The outside of the booth looked goodish, they had a metal shack that represented the original place Patagonia started which was a cool touch.  They just didn’t overwhelm me with the brand and really make me want to buy anything with it.  But… truth be told, that’s the branding.  It’s not flashy, it’s about old school getting things done in the outdoors.  They aren’t bright and glitzy, instead they are a smooth brand known for quality and a true icon in the outdoors.  If you see someone wearing Patagonia that person gets it, knows about the outdoors and the industry.  That’s what the booth screamed to me.

Outdoor Research which I’ve mentioned before was who I said they were (Thanks Dennis Green).  Not flashy at all, just has good stuff.  Mont Bell a Canadian brand, exactly the same thing.  BTW, they are probably head on competitors.  Yesterday I say two of my friends at the dog park.  One had a Mont Bell 800 fill mid layer and the other had an 800 fill OR mid layer. Go figure.

Ski Companies are their own thing. K2, Rossignal, Dynastar, Bluehouse, Viice, Voekl etc... I'm going to have to blog about them later.  They attract skiers whereas Merrell attracts all people.  I'll leave it at that.  And because of that they are distinct in how they can brand and what they can do.  Impressive but underwhelming, and surprisingly pretty empty... again, target markets.

Outdoor Retailer Show: Overall Impression

Overall Impression – for the most part I think it was a huge success.  I enjoyed the brands that I saw and the products for the most part were good and creative.  The one thing that was resonating was the “Green” overtones to everything.  I saw so many “renewable”, “recycled”, “Earth conscious”, “green” tags in booths that I really wanted to burn a couple barrels of oil just to off set it all.  Don’t get me wrong, I think we need to take care of the place but I’m completely burnt out on this marketing ploy.  It is exhausting to have to read it all the time.  Prana, Purr and others are just examples of this, even the Merino folks at Icebreaker and Ibex were touting their “renewable” resource.  Thanks but be more creative.  There were so many different kinds of brands starting with the legacy brands like Woolrich while moving to creative products like avalanche air bags (ABS).  I loved the one off companies that were selling frisbees, dog leashes, and other stuff that really didn't matter.  One big hit was the Slack Line booth, music and muchachos doing flips always attracts people.  The big brands were there and in full effect.  I'll write about them individually.  I even got to hang with Glenn Plake... well, he was walking around and had everyone gawking at the 2 ft Mohawk he was sporting.  Honestly, I shouldn't feel like I'm bugging him if he's gonna wear it he's gonna get attention.  But all in all great show and it introduced me to some new great brands.