The annual European Outdoor Summit brings together executives, experts and key players for two intensive days of seminars, workshops and discussions. In Cambridge, Suston’s editor-in-chief Gabriel Arthur meets an industry that is not just facing one crossroad, but several.

“Change is the new normal.” That could have been the overarching theme of the European Outdoor Summit (EOS) 2024, in the debating chamber of the esteemed Cambridge Union Society, one of the oldest debating societies in the world. With an intense two-day programme and nearly fifty (!) invited speakers, the organizers at European Outdoor Group wanted to “Explore the topics that matter most in the individual and collective effort to forge a successful long-term future for the outdoor industry.”

As a listener, the amount of information, opinions and analysis was often interesting, and sometimes overwhelming. How to evaluate, navigate and prioritize? For myself, I needed a long day of walking in the picturesque Lake District with an old friend afterwards, before the impressions began to clarify in my mind. Because it’s clear that the outdoor industry is facing more challenges – and opportunities – than ever before.

If, like me, you’ve been following the international outdoor community for nearly twenty years, it’s easy to see that many operators had it easier in the past. Not many years ago, the typical outdoor company looked like this: Founded by an adventurous and gadget-loving outdoorsman (usually a white man). Staff were outdoor enthusiasts with an interest in gadgets (also mostly white men). Target group was outdoor enthusiasts interested in gadgets (you guessed it, mainly white men).

A homogeneous and fairly predictable world, with neither great risks nor great opportunities.

This was followed by several fundamental changes among customers, which outdoor companies followed. Such as products targeted toward women and more female employees. Or the focus on sustainability issues like PFAS and microfibers. Challengers appeared from within the fashion industry, which wanted to target the outdoor lifestyle segment. The rise of e-commerce and the ensuing brick-and-mortar crisis.

Five years ago, these were issues that industry CEOs were grappling with. Today, I imagine many look back on them as “the good old days.”

 

Over the course of the summit in Cambridge – and with the perspectives gained from a nice, easy hike up Pavey Arc – it seems increasingly clear: The outdoor industry today is quite lost. There are several strategically important – and difficult – choices to be made. Both within individual companies and the industry as a whole. No one really knows the answers, except that the very worst option is not to choose at all.

The following are four key choices the industry faces.

1 The EU’s “tsunami of legislation” – going with the flow or influencing?

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve listened to presentations by Pascale Moreau and her colleagues from Ohana Public Affairs in Brussels. They are experts on everything from the “Right to repair directive” to the “EU Digital Product Passport.” In recent years, Ohana has been a regular on the stages of outdoor and textile industry events around Europe. Also, at EOS in Cambridge, on two occasions. One of the main questions asked from the stage is: Should the outdoor industry unite around different messages and positions, now as legislation is still being chiseled out?

When I talk to participants afterwards, the general opinion is either “yes, we really should,” or “no, we still haven’t really understood what all this is about.”

It reinforces my impression from other meetings: The complexities of all this legislation have been delegated to the sustainability teams. They struggle to understand the details and their far-reaching implications. And even more so, they are struggling to get their management teams to understand.

Choices: Work proactively and as an industry to take a collective approach to both understanding and advocacy. Raise the issues from the sustainability teams to owners and management. Or, wait until the laws are enacted and try to adapt then.

2 Working together as an industry, as pioneers, or not at all?

A well-attended presentation focused on the new plans for the OutDoor trade fair in Munich. For many older CEOs, the mention of “Friedrichshafen,” the city where the big European summer fair was held before it was moved to Munich in 2019, brings a nostalgic glow. In hindsight, the timing was unfortunate. It only had time to be a tentative fair before the pandemic struck. It was then resurrected in a scaled-down form – and has not yet fully recovered.

Now, the EOG and Messe München have done thorough research and developed a new concept, which was premiered in Cambridge. Will the new concept take off? It depends not only on the design of the exhibition halls and the number of visiting purchasing managers.

Above all, it depends on the willingness to contribute collectively and come together as an industry – or not.

One change I think has affected that willingness is that more brands are now owned by venture capitalists and investment companies, and there are fewer owner-managed companies.

Do owner-managed outdoor brands prefer to create their own, more cutting-edge collaborations in sustainability, rather than involving the masses at the risk of lowering the pace and ambitions?

Choices: The outdoor industry no longer consists of a homogeneous group of companies, born out of a common culture where “everyone knows everyone.” The spectrum is broader. Are there common denominators that can unite this disparate group? Or should each choose its own path?

3 Who are brands targeting – and why?

One of the most interesting points came at the end of Day 2. Yasmin Dufournet is Director of Consumer Insight at Salomon in Annecy, and Council Member of OUTO – Opening Up The Outdoors, the British organization that has been at the forefront of ethnically diverse outdoor recreation.

Yasmin Dufournet presented a new interview survey on “Experiences of People of Color” (Read more in Suston’s upcoming winter issue). After analyzing the interview responses, OUTO has identified a number of barriers that people feel prevent them from getting out into nature. These range from the practical, such as how to actually get there, to stereotypes in outdoor brands’ marketing.

A clear pattern during the pandemic years was that new demographic groups were getting out into nature. As you know, one consequence was a surge in sales of outdoor products.

Then the pandemic was replaced by the recession, and many people fell back into old habits (and stopped buying outdoor gear). Or? Could it also be that outdoor businesses simply didn’t capture the new visitors to nature, because they were the ones stuck in old patterns?

Summit participants also discussed mental health issues among young people, screen time, sitting at home and obesity. Can and should outdoor businesses contribute here? In theory, of course, the answer is yes. But why isn’t much happening in practice?

Choices: Focus on inclusion, diversity and health can provide both greater purpose and impact for the outdoor industry. At the same time, this is uncharted territory. Will outdoor companies choose to keep their DNA, with a legacy of adventurousness, a focus on performance in nature and a strong interest in gadgets? Can the two paths be reconciled?

4 Durability or fast outdoor for Gen Z?

A well-attended workshop was organized by Marie Måwe, one of Gore’s Sustainability Directors, and Judith Waller, a researcher at Mid Sweden University. Together they are running a research project on shell jackets and durability – a topic about which there are surprisingly few facts. What are the reasons why shell jackets need to be repaired or eventually discarded? By analyzing hundreds of collected jackets, the research project hopes to see patterns and solutions.

The focus on durability and quality is another cultural legacy of the outdoor industry. Being able to use the same jacket for 10 years or more is taken for granted (although not many do). But in parallel, “fashion on demand” is growing, with new trends emerging several times a year and algorithms accelerating demand. And an ever-connected generation of young people who see this as business as usual – not change.

One solution discussed at several seminars during EOS in Cambridge is secondhand. Here, more expensive quality garments can have a longer life, and there is a trend among young people to choose fewer and more expensive products, instead of a lot of cheap ones from Shein. But at the same time, it may not be quality they choose – but expensive brands that confer high status. And which brand happens to be the hottest can change quickly.

It is no coincidence that a brand like BWM does not sell low-cost cars. And it is no coincidence that the classic German quality brands are now being widely challenged by Chinese upstarts.

Crossroads: How big is the target group that actually demands products with strong durability and quality? And how big is the target group that gets by with ordinary, practical rain jackets and a pair of boots and just likes to look trendy? Should outdoor companies expand and reach out to the latter – or some other players?

 

Photos: Gabriel Arthur