Climb Up Goes to Outdoor Retailer

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City. It was a crazy few days of thanking our sponsors and meeting new people throughout this gigantic event.

For those of you unfamiliar with Outdoor Retailer, it’s the premier event for the outdoor retailing industry. Clothing, equipment and gear manufacturers meet with customers to sell them products as well as display the latest and greatest products. It reminded me of a crazy circus; constant meetings between buyers an sellers.

“OR” is one of the best sales opportunities for manufacturers, so killing time with someone asking for a sponsorship is not considered a priority; I must admit that I didn’t know what to expect. Generally, all of our past and current sponsors were very cool and responsive; however when speaking with a few others I definitely received my share of blank stares.

Among the coolest sponsors I met were:

1. Darn Tough Vermont – Cool People Looking to Help; Plus Tasty IceCream
2. Rock and Ice Magazine – Super Nice; Very Helpful During Our Frozen T-Shirt Contest*
3. Mountain Khakis – Very Supportive; Willing to Chat Even When Swamped with Customers
4. Ahnu Footwear – Gracious and simply looking to help people

*In the near future I’ll get into the details of my experiences at the Outdoor Retailer Market, including our Frozen T-Shirt Contest.