Outdoor Retailer show also packs political punch

SALT LAKE CITY – More than 700 manufacturers of gear and apparel set up camp here last weekend for the Outdoor Retailer trade show, a signature event for a $33 billion-and-growing industry that’s been taking a lot of orders lately from the U.S. military.

It’s an industry also quietly turning more political, employing lobbying firms at Congress and making a pact with Utah’s new governor, Jon Huntsman, for more funding for parks and protection for public lands, the basis for what officials call the new recreation economy.

The manufacturers showcased their goods and took orders from retailers from around the world. The exhibitors ranged from industry giants like The North Face to tiny upstarts.

Sales of such gear are being driven by baby boomers and an even larger demographic group following them, the “millennials,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, president of the 1,100-member Outdoor Industry Association.

While boomers are becoming less ambitious, trading weeklong adventures for “something they can do before dinner,” the millennials (born 1978-2003) are stepping up with their own demand for gear and clothing, Hugelmeyer said.

The younger set is “more into action sports,” such as snowboarding and skateboarding, he said.

The industry also is benefiting from military spending. In Iraq, U.S. solders wear CamelBak water packs on their backs, Gore-Tex jackets and other specialized and lightweight gear.

The Army is trying to reduce the load on soldiers’ backs to make them more nimble, said Kimberly Riether Coupounas, chief executive of GoLite, a maker of lightweight gear and clothing.

In all, sales of specialized gear and clothing climbed 8 percent last year, outpacing overall U.S. retail gains. To show its impact, the Outdoor Industry Association will publish a study in March showing its reach extends far beyond U.S. retail sales, helping support tourism and local economies.

Travelers spend more than $5 billion a year in Utah alone, according to tourism officials, who were given a 10-fold increase in funding to promote the state’s redrock canyons and other gems.

Industry executives say their consumers want more places to play, and they’ve stood up to Utah politicians who traditionally loathed wilderness or any land protection as a symbol of federal control.

Led by Peter Metcalf, president of the Salt Lake-based Black Diamond Equipment Ltd., the Outdoor Industry Association threatened to pull summer and winter trade shows that together pump $32 million into the state’s economy. They got a pledge of cooperation from Huntsman, a Republican, and the money to expand the Salt Palace convention center for a show that gets larger every year.