insulation outerwear issue 1607 | february 15, 2016 …mologist and principal author of kaufman...
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INSULATION OUTERWEAR ISSUE 1607 | FEBRUARY 15, 2016
The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Active Lifestyle Market
Editorial DirectorDavid Clucas
Senior Business EditorThomas J. Ryan
Associate Editor | Sports & Fitness EditorJahla Seppanen
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Contributing EditorCharlie Lunan
Creative DirectorTeresa Hartford
Art DirectorChris Loving-Campos
Media SalesBuz Keenan
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FEBRUARY 15, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 3
The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Active Lifestyle Market
insulation outerwearISSUE 1607 | FEBRUARY 15, 2016
9Skechers Doubles Down on Meb
10Movers & Shakers
24Industry Calendar
ONE ON ONE
12James FisherVP of Product, Ibex, on how wool hasoutgrown its winter-only reputation
Photo courtesy Voormi
MARKET REPORT
5SportsOneSource Opens 2016 SGB 40 Under 40 Award Nominations
By The Numbers
7Bug Off!Zika Scare Expected to Boost Insect-Repellent Gear Sales
8Arc’teryx President Departs for Hunter Boots
MADE IN THE U.S.A.
14Duckworth’s U.S. Journey—Two Former Duofold Execs and a Montana Sheep Rancher Keep American-Made Wool Stateside
ACTIVE LIFESTYLEINSULATION OUTERWEAR
18Goldilocks Insulation That is Just Right
Cover photo courtesy Nau
4 SGBWeekly.com | FEBRUARY 15, 2016
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 5
SportsOneSource has opened the nominating process for the Ninth Annual SGB 40 Under 40 Awards.
Nominations are open to anyone born after January 1, 1976 that is working in the sporting goods, fitness, outdoor, snow sports or bicycle industry. Nominations close March 11, 2016.
Finalists will be honored in the Spring Issue of SGB magazine and toasted at a weekend event in June 2016...stay tuned for details!
To nominate log on to SGB40Under40.com.“The 40 Under 40 honoree list has become a
who's who of industry managers, entrepreneurs and innovators that will lead this industry for the next 20 years," said James Hartford, CEO of SportsOneSource. "The honorees over the years have developed a common kinship and are part of something very special. It amazes me each year the level of talent and energy reflected in the list of nominees. We expect that this year will bring more of the same."
Each year, SGB honors 40 industry leaders under the age of 40. The honorees are nomi-nated every spring by their customers, clients, vendors, peers, staff, co-workers and bosses. Hundreds of nominations are pared down by a panel of industry executives, past SGB 40 Under 40 honorees and SportsOneSource editors and analysts.
For more information or advertising oppor-tunities call 303.997.7302.
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BY THE NUMBERS
6Saturday-morning winter running events to be sponsored by New Balance in Boston this season in exchange for the Massachusetts' Department of Conservation and Recreation to keep the Charles River paths in Boston clear of snow for runners.
100The number of CycleBar indoor cy-cling studios the brand expects to open to riders in more than 50 new U.S. markets by December 31, 2016. It currently has eight studios open.
$150The price per box (quarterly) for Adidas’ new women’s-only sub-scription box service to be filled with three to five premium items – a mix of footwear, apparel and acces-sories appropriate for the season.
$478,000Awarded in 25 grants by the Na-tional Parks Foundation, the offi-cial charity of America’s national parks, to national parks across the country for the purpose of giving kids and adults more opportunity to participate in recreation and exercise programs.
$1 millionBeing offered by Adidas Football to the pro prospect who break’s football’s professionally recog-nized 40-yard dash record (4.24 seconds) at the upcoming NFL Combine. The catch: players must where the brand’s new 2016 Adizero 5-Star 40 cleats.
$16 millionThe purchase price of aluminum drinking bottle brand Sigg Swit-zerland AG, which was sold to Chi-nese firm, Zhejiang Haers Vacuum Containers Co. Ltd., on February 3. U.S. private-equity firm Riverside was the seller.
SPORTSONESOURCE OPENS 2016 SGB
40 UNDER 40 AWARD NOMINATIONS
2016
MARKET REPORT
6 SGBWeekly.com | FEBRUARY 15, 2016
Click Here To Nominate
SGB40Under40.com
Close Date March 11, 2016
Nominations Are Now Openfor the 9th Annual
SGB 40 UNDER 40 Awards
2016
The SGB 40 UNDER 40 Awards recognize key leaders under the age of 40 who work within the Sporting Goods, Outdoor and Active Lifestyle industries. Our nominees influence change, drive progress and inspire the commu-nity around them. Participate in the process. Recommend Some-one Today!
SportsOneSource.com
Presented By
This year’s class will be featured in the Spring Issue of SGB magazine and honored at the SGB 40Under40 awards event this summer. Stay Tuned For Details!
SGB40Under40.com
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 7
Retailers may see a bump in sales of insect repel-lant apparel and gear, as scares of the Zika vi-rus ramp up with spring/summer travel and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.
“We’ve been seeing a trend, driven by con-sumer awareness of insect-borne diseases, of buyers getting smarter and taking precautions,” said ExOffocio General Manager, Brian Thomp-son. “Zika is heightening that awareness, and we are hearing from our retailers and seeing from our own business a significant uptick for insect-protection products.”
Apparel Buyer at Whole Earth Provisions Co. in Texas, Molly McKee, agreed that their core consumer is already familiar with insect-repel-lant lines, but popularity has upticked within the past two years.
This trend could reach new heights as the wet El Nino winter in the South threatens to increase mosquito populations, and as the Zika virus continues to spread (Time reported the White House submitted a formal request to congress on February 8 for 1.8 billion for relief efforts.)
“Zika is not a new virus, said Eric Eaton, ento-mologist and principal author of Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, “but its spread and apparent link to birth defects are causes for concern.”
Brands have already jumped to respond. “With the increased demand for Ben’s Tick & Insect Repellent due to the Zika virus, we are fo-cused on supporting longtime partners that car-ry the product,” said Chris Gubera, President of Adventure Medical Kits. In addition to keeping their retailers in stock, the company has pledged to keep them up to date on important news.
Zika is bound to get its most attention this sum-mer as thousands of tourists head to the 2016 Sum-mer Olympics in Brazil, one of the countries deal-ing with a strong increase in cases. On February 9, the U.S. Olympic Committee strongly denied re-ports that it had told athletes to consider avoiding the Games if Zika was a concern to them.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) isn’t placing any travel restrictions to South American countries, but advises travelers use
protection and take precautions. The CDC rec-ommends travelers wear permethrin-treated clothing -- a contact pesticide that kills mosqui-toes and other insects, but has no harmful side effects to wearers.
Brands like ExOfficio, Craghoppers, Outdoor Research, and Sea to Summit have been using permethrin treatments in their travel apparel lines for some time. McKee with Whole Earth said, “it’s a trending process right now.” Crag-hopper’s NosiLife insect shield was a big factor in National Geographic naming the brand as its official apparel provider, while ExOfficio’s long-standing insect-repellant line BugsAway (using Insect Sheild) is a household name in specialty.
Insect Shield (also used by Outdoor Research, Sea to Summit, Buff Headwear, and Toad & Co) has a patented technology that repels mosquitoes, ticks, ants, flies, chiggers, and midges (another family of small flies). It’s EPA regulated, meaning treated apparel goes through rigorous safety test-ing before it can be sent to the retailer for sale — being safe for pets, children, and infants.
BUG OFF!ZIKA SCARE EXPECTED TO BOOST INSECT-REPELLENT GEAR SALES
By Jahla Seppanen
Due to the Zika virus, there has been an increased demand for Ben’s Tick & Insect Repellent.
(Con’t Pg. 8)
8 SGBWeekly.com | FEBRUARY 15, 2016
But if you’re a brand that’s not already creating insect-shielding apparel, the ramp up time is signif-icant, Thomspon told SGB. So don’t expect a slew of brands breaking into the space in time for a quick response to Zika. The timetable for adding more orders for already active brands is also slow due to EPA and labeling regulations, so a sharp uptick in demand has the potential to cause backorders.
For some retailers like the Savvy Traveler in Edmonds, WA, apparel has yet to hold its own against repellant sprays like DEET, Ben’s, and BugBand. “Especially over the last two years, we see more sales in insect sprays and arm bands,” said Owner Petra Rousu. In regard to whether Zika prompted a rush of sales, Rousu said, “Our consumers are educated, and therefore not easily scared to buy lots of new products.”
In any case, Zika has been a megaphone in raising broader awareness to the importance of insect-repellant travel apparel, and outdoor wear in general. “It’s an important issue that sur-rounds very real threats,” Thompson concluded. “Whether you buy ExOfficio is not the point. It’s about building awareness for the consumer, and not about being an ambulance chaser.”
KEY FACTS
• Zika virus is caused by a virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes.
• People with Zika virus usually have a mild fever, skin rash (exanthema) and conjunctivitis. These symptoms normally last for two-to-seven days.
• There is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available.
• The best form of prevention is protection against mosquito bites.
• The virus is known to circulate in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
ARC’TERYX PRESIDENT DEPARTS FOR HUNTER BOOTS
In a bit of a saga that played out during the past three weeks, we now know that former Arc’teryx President Vincent Wauters left his post for a new job at Hunter Boots.
On February 9, the iconic rubber boots spe-cialty brand introduced Wauters as its new CEO, effective March 1.
The move helped shine some light on the abrupt announcement, January 19, that Wauters was leaving Arc’teryx and its parent firm Amer Sports after 19 years with the company, four as the president of the high-end, Canadian out-door apparel and gear brand.
Amer seemed to be caught of guard and quickly named Amer CEO Heikki Takala as the lead for Arc’teryx and the firm’s larger apparel division, which also includes Salomon, Atomic and Wilson. The public company may have felt that it needed to get word out to investors right away. A week later, on January 26, it clarified its announcement, saying that it was promoting Arc'teryx Global Commercial Sales Director Jon Hoerauf to the position of president and general manager of Arc’teryx. He will report directly to Takala, who will continue to assume Wauter’s duties overseeing Amer Sports overall apparel business.
Growing apparel and foot-wear sales across its brand portfolio, which includes Sa-lomon, Wilson and Atomic, is a key pillar of Amer Sports' strategic growth plan, of-ficials said. In currency-neutral terms, sales of out-door apparel and footwear
accounted for 34.3 and 27.1 percent respectively of Amer Sports sales growth in the third quarter of 2015.
Hoerauf spent the last four years driving “high double-digit growth” with existing com-mercial partners, officials said. Prior to joining Arc’teryx in 2012, he spent 13 years at The North Face, in various leadership roles including sales, marketing and product.
The final question remained where Wauters would end up, and we got the answer February 9.
At Hunter, Wauters will “drive the brand for-ward” during its next stage of development, of-ficials said. He replaces James Seuss, who left the brand in November 2015.
“I am honored to join such an iconic brand,” Wauters said. “The combination of heritage, per-formance and fashion is what makes Hunter so unique. What has been accomplished in the last few years is remarkable and I look forward to building on this, realizing Hunter’s global poten-tial and setting the path towards an ambitious and inspiring brand future.”
Former Arc'teryx President and soon-to-be Hunter Boots CEO Vincent Wauters.
New Arc'teryx President and General Manager Jon HoeraufPhoto courtesy Arc'teryx
By David Clucas
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 9
SKECHERS DOUBLES DOWN ON MEB
Skechers extended its contract with Meb Keflezighi through 2023, when the elite marathoner will reach the ripe running age of 40.
Keflezighi’s feats and inspiring run as America’s best male runner has played a pivotal role in legitimizing Skechers’ foray into selling running shoes. He will continue to be featured in marketing campaigns as well as collaborate on footwear introductions.
Keflezighi was signed in 2011 just as Skechers, known for its casual shoes for adults and light-up shoes for kids for much of its history, was launching its Performance division. Keflezighi was 36, an age when elite runners start pondering retirement and was recently dropped by Nike as a shoe endorser. The company soon launched the first GOrun shoe with Keflezighi – widely known in running circles by a single moniker “Meb” - as its official brand ambassador in performance and consultant.
Since signing with Skechers, Keflezighi set a personal record (PR) at the 2011 New York Marathon, PR’d at the 2012 Olympic Trials in Houston and took fourth place at the 2012 Olympic Games. He then went on to set his current PR (2:08:37) and win the 2014 Boston Marathon at the age of 38. He became the first American man to win the Boston Marathon since 1983 with the victory especially poignant coming a year after the Boston Marathon bombings. This past November, he finished seventh overall and was the first American at the New York City marathon.
Over his career, he stands as the only athlete in history to win the New York Marathon (2009), the Boston Marathon (2014) and an Olympic Med-al (2004)
In 2016, Keflezighi again competed in the Olympic Trials in Los Angeles this past weekend for another spot on the U.S. team.
“Being 40 years old and training for the Olympic Trials is a huge achieve-ment and Skechers Performance has helped make this possible,” said Ke-flezighi. They know what it means to be a partner and working with the brand to help create the best running shoes possible has been a rewarding experience. It’s not something many athletes have the opportunity to do.”
For Skechers, the extension is unusual because it’s a rare occasion where a company will more than likely be sponsoring an athlete past his retire-ment. Some reports compared it to Nike’s recent move to sign a lifetime deal with LeBron James. Nike also obviously has a secretive long-term contract with Michael Jordan.
Skechers already has turned to sports legends such as Joe Montana, Mariano Rivera, Sugar Ray Leonard, Pete Rose and Joe Namath to sup-port its casual Relaxed Fit collection but it will be interesting to see how Keflezighi is used on the performance side.
Skechers said the long-term extension reflects Keflezighi’s stature in the running community.
“Meb’s motivation is contagious,” stated Rick Higgins, SVP, merchandis-ing and marketing, Skechers Performance. “Anyone that has the pleasure of meeting him knows what I mean. He is a phenomenal role model, an essential ambassador to the sport, and a champion on and off the course. We are excited to continue working with Meb, as he has truly become a part of the Skechers family.”
Keflezighi is also the VP of Running at Competitor Group Inc., which owns the "Rock ’n’ Roll" series of marathons and half-marathons. In that position, Keflezighi works with event managers for races, developing
training content and appearing and competing at events. Finally, along with another retired Olympic runner, Bob Kennedy, Keflezighi is a part owner of San Diego area running store chain Movin Shoes.
On the women’s side, Skechers sponsors Kara Goucher, who also com-peted this past weekend for a spot on the U.S. women’s team. The trials were held in Los Angeles on February 13, the day before Skechers began its sponsorship of the Los Angeles Marathon. Skechers announced last Au-gust that it would replace Asics as the race’s title sponsor. Skechers has also been a major sponsor of the Houston Marathon since 2014.
Meb Keflezighi, Elite Marathoner
By Thomas J. Ryan
10 SGBWeekly.com | FEBRUARY 15, 2016
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Cabela’s Inc. promoted Scott K. Williams to Presi-dent and said he would take on additional responsi-bility for U.S. retail operations and all operations in Canada.
Famous Footwear parent Caleres Inc. announced that Senior VP, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer Daniel Karpel is planning to leave the company.
Jones & Vining, a full-service footwear component company, hired Charlie Liberge as Executive VP.
Keen hired Christy Saito as VP Global Product Merchandising - Outdoor and Lifestyle, and Rob Langstaff will serve as VP, International. Saito had been at Crocs and Langstaff worked for Brooks.
Kylie Jenner, the reality television personality and beauty entrepreneur, signed a seven-figure contract to become an ambassador for Puma.
Lumo Bodytech, creators of Lumo Run smart run-ning shorts, hired Mark Mastalir as VP Marketing and Partnerships. He formerly worked for Hoka One One.
MuscleTech, a U.S. sports nutrition supplement brand, signed Denver Broncos all-pro Tight End and two-time Super Bowl player Vernon Davis to repre-sent its family of products.
Nike Inc. appointed Adam Sussman to become its first Chief Digital Officer as part of an acceleration of its digital strategy.
Niner Bikes appointed Mike Gann as President and said Founder Chris Sugai would focus on brand and product direction as well as dedicating more time to advocacy and growing of the sport.
Long time sporting goods industry veteran, Rey Corpuz, launched a new personnel recruitment and executive search firm, Rise Talent Acquisition.
The Finish Line appointed Melissa Greenwell as Executive VP and COO, effective February 28. Greenwell currently serves as the company's Executive VP and Chief HR Officer, a position she has held since June 2013.
Women's Tennis Association's Kristina Mladenovic and Alizé Cornet joined the athlete roster at USANA Health Sciences.
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12 SGBWeekly.com | FEBRUARY 15, 2016
ONE ON ONE
James FisherVP of Product, Ibex, on how wool hasoutgrown its winter-only reputation
By Jahla Seppanen
Wool remains a top performer in outdoor apparel.Not only does the natural fiber a deliver top-notch technical
performance in temperature regulation, odor control, SPF protection and traceability, its knitted texture reigns supreme in today’s fashion circles ex-uding hot homemade and homegrown trends.
For those reasons, the space also has become a crowded field, with prac-tically every outdoor apparel brand bringing some kind of wool or wool-mix product to their lineups.
That leaves the brands doing nothing but wool — such as Vermont-based Ibex Outdoor Clothing — scrambling to innovate to stay ahead of the crowds. We sat down with Ibex Vice President of Product James Fisher, former senior business unit director at Burton Snowboards and industry whiz at apparel and product development, to get the breakdown of what, why, and how the brand is helping reinvent classic merino.
From bringing back cable knits to discovering wool weaves that feel light as cotton, there’s plenty of room to grow the category.
What fabrication is Ibex looking at with its wool weaves? I like to refer to us as a Wool Lab, and the results of our non-stop exploration and testing paid off big for Fall 2016. We have several purpose-driven fabrics for spe-cific performance and aesthetic. Taos Plaid is one of our franchise wovens. It's a super strong 180 grams, and we offer it in fresh plaids every season.
Our new Woolies 3 is an expedition-weight, double-face fabric with 100-percent merino next to skin and a poly/Spandex exterior face (a.k.a. best of both worlds). And we also utilize lightweight year-round styles in our Weightless Wool (W2) program. W2 gives you the burst strength of a synthetic with our superlight nylon core, but then we fully wrap it with lightweight merino so you have 100-percent merino next to skin in an ultralight, multi-use function.
Do any weaves or fabrications diminish the power of wool? Not really. We can customize weights, weaves, prints, you name it. The power of wool is strong — straight up.
CLICK TO PLAY
James Fisher
Photo courtesy Ibex
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 13
Where does Ibex source its wool? We are a global company and have partners all over the World, but the majority of our merino comes from our friends in New Zealand. I would add that we do source wool in the U.S., and we do manufacture in the U.S., however the majority of our goods built here in the U.S. are made of imported fabrics.
Are there other materials Ibex blends with its wool? We use a nylon core in our Weightless Wool fabric. The nylon core offers the burst strength of a synthetic, but we fully wrap it in 18-micron merino wool, which offers the full wool next to skin experience with a tremendous core strength at 145 grams. We also offer a merino/spandex combination in a pointe knit for our Ride (cycling) collection.
Should companies be blending wool with other materials? How does it impact production and final product? This is a subject that obviously hits close to home for us at Ibex. I am all in favor of blends that are conceived, designed and executed with specific purpose or application in mind. I am completely against blending with synthetics (and certain faux “naturals”) in order to drive down cost.
What’s the next big challenge for wool? Making it chemical free, dying, knitting more complicated designs…? Yes. Yes. and Yes! It’s a really interesting time for wool. It feels like we’ve finally broken through the “why wool in summer” fundamental hurdles, so now we’re on par with everyone else.
WHY NEW ZEALAND WOOL?
1. New Zealand has a population of more than 40 million sheep (and only 4.2 million people).
2. The wool is Zque Certified for environmental, social, and economic sustainability, plus the sheep welfare is traceable.
3. Zque was launched by The New Zealand Merino Company to spread awareness of textile choices as a reflection of a brand’s beliefs and image.
4. Smartwool and other international apparel brands like John Smedley and Nikke are Zque partners.
KNOW YOUR WOOL TERMS
1. The “micron” rating Fisher refers to is key to understanding wools comfort, or non-itch factor.
2. The smaller the micron gauge, the finer the wool fiber.
3. For wool products, the micron level is expressed as an average of all the yarns’ fineness, and generally speaking, the lower the micron level, the less itch (although a few less fine yarns as part of a low-micron measure-ment can make it itch).
4. Fibers are selected for certain performance levels long before they are knit into the fabric.
5. An outer layer stands at 24.5 (as a comparison, human hair is 60.0), and brands like Ibex spin some of their yarns down to between 17.5 and 18.5 for next-to-skin baselayers (the lighter is for summer).
14 SGBWeekly.com | FEBRUARY 15, 2016
MADE IN THE USA
Duckworth’s U.S. Journey
By David Clucas
Two Former Duofold Execs and a Montana Sheep Rancher Keep American-Made Wool Stateside
John Helle, Duckworth Rancher and Co-founderPhoto courtesy Dan Armstrong
Photo courtesy Duckworth
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 15
Going back to his days at baselayer brands Duofold and I/O Bio, Robert Bernthal always thought the wool supply chain was “clumsy and volatile.” The natural fiber from sheep was sourced from around the world, washed and processed in one country, spun and knit in another, before being made into a final product, almost always, in China. From start to finish, the wool likely racked up 20,000 frequent-flyer miles, he said.
Montana BornFlash forward to 2013 and Bernthal (who goes by “Bernie”) was living in Bozeman, MT. There he met local rancher John Helle, who had a herd of 10,000 Rambouillet sheep and was equally disillusioned with the industry. Most of his wool was going to brokers and being sold around the world, ending up who knows where.
The two men went skiing, “and three chairlift rides later, we formed Duckworth,” Bernthal said. The idea was to use Helle’s sheep for a new Made in the USA wool performance apparel brand — one where the company would know where every fiber came from and could track it throughout the entire process. They added the expertise of Graham Stewart, who Bernthal had worked with at Duofold, to build out their vision.
Montana is the perfect home. While the state has seen its ranched sheep population decline from 6 million to 200,000 over the past century, it still boasts the last remaining wool lab in the country at the University of Montana, where Bernthal and Helle set out to study the U.S. wool.
They found it could be as soft and fine as New Zealand and Australian wool, but also had unique properties such as more crimp that gave it greater loft and stretch thanks to the state’s plentiful sun and both hot and cold temperatures. That varies from year-to-year, Bernthal said, “so it’s like a fine wine.”
Duckworth set up shop in Bozeman and now employs eight people, plus 10 at the ranch.
U.S. ProductionThe next step was finding and setting up a production process that could keep the wool within the United States, which wasn’t easy, Bernthal said, but now the wool travels a couple thousand miles instead of tens of thousands. After being sheered at Helle’s ranch in Montana, Duckworth’s wool is sent to the Carolinas where its degreased, combed and blended (if there’s another fiber being added). It then stays in the Southeast or travels to the Northeast, where it is spun and knit, before returning to North Carolina to be dried, finished, cut and sewn.
Duckworth employees sorting wool fleecePhoto courtesy Dan Armstrong
“We’re not just about being U.S. made, we’re about making the best product in the world [from start to finish].”
– Robert Bernthal
Photo courtesy Duckworth
16 SGBWeekly.com | FEBRUARY 15, 2016
“It’s a much more compact process, but still relies on a lot of different contractors,” Bernthal said. “We prefer to use all the specialists.”
In the middle of that process, Duckworth notably came up with a chemical-free process to descale and clean the wool, which is part of what makes fine wool less itchy. Typically, chlorine is used, which isn’t very environmental friendly as it releases toxins and produces a lot of wastewater. “We do it mechanically,” Bernthal said, “so there are no chemicals.”
The Products Duckworth offers specialty retailers and consumers an array of wool baselayers, midlayers, accessories and lifestyle apparel, but knew it had to distinguish itself in an increasingly crowded performance wool category.
“We’re not just about being U.S. made, we’re about making the best product in the world,” Bernthal said.
Some of the more unique highlights include a waffle-knit wool layer, such as in its Polaris Hoody, $120; and its blending of the wool with another natural U.S.-sourced material, tree pulp, or cellulose, to create a “cooler wool” that better wicks moisture, such as in its Vapor Hoody, $95. This year, it also debuts its WoolCloud insulation - secondary wool fibers (that are too harsh for next-to-skin applications) - that can be encapsulated like down for an effective insulation fill and found in its WoolCloud Full-Zip Hoody Jacket, $275.
Duckworth currently sells its product to about 80 specialty retailers, mostly in the United States, but also in Europe and Japan, and does direct-to-consumer online.
Made in the USA HurdlesManufacturing in the United States hasn’t come without its challenges, and there’s much that needs to change for more outdoor brands to join the trend, Bernthal said.
“Where the U.S. labor force really needs to catch up is with its skills in technical sewing,” he said. There are skilled workers here, Bernthal noted, just not enough of them and it’s next to impossible to compete against the cheap labor in Asia. The knowledge base in the U.S. Southeast is aging, he added.
To grow Made in the USA, the industry will need to invest in educating and promoting younger generations to pick up end-stage processing skills.“Come on guys, let’s back it up,” Bernthal said. “In the U.S. it tends to be every man for himself, except for the American Wool Council. Even at Outdoor Retailer, you have to pay $1,500 to be in the Made in the USA Showcase. We need to support it, not be charged for it.”
Despite the challenges, Bernthal said the product is selling well, especially in outdoor-urban areas where consumers are placing greater importance on where their apparel comes from. “It’s the most satisfying project I’ve worked on in 30 years in the industry,” he said.
Duckworth Team from left to right: Duckworth Rancher John Helle, Duckworth President Robert "Bernie" Bernthal, Duckworth Fabric Specialist Graham Stewart, Duckworth Designer Outi Pulkkinen, and Evan Helle (son of John). Photo courtesy Dan Armstrong
Duckworth Polaris HoodyPhotos courtesy Duckworth
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Goldilocks Insulation That is Just RightToday’s performance insulation outerwear goes well beyond just the puffy — addressing both erratic weather patterns and a wider spectrum of consumer cold-weather activities.
By David Clucas
ACTIVE LIFESTYLEINSULATION OUTERWEAR
18 SGBWeekly.com | FEBRUARY 15, 2016
*SSI Data, powered by SportsOneSource, provides weekly point-of-sale data and analysis to retailers and manufacturers in the active lifestyle market. To schedule a personal demo or learn more, call 303.997.7302 or Solutions@ SportsOneSource.com.
While an unusually warm start to winter on the East Coast
and throughout the Midwest damp-ened insulation outerwear sales through the important Holiday 2015 season, sales of insulated jackets are actually up 17 percent in units and up more than 9 percent in dollars for the past 52 weeks, through Janu-ary 30, 2016, for all specialty, chain and Internet channels, according to SSI Data*.
Partly driving those strong annual figures is last season’s very cold win-ter, which stretched well into early spring, offsetting some of this win-ter’s warmer temps. Plus, strength has come from an expansion of the category, with more insulation
solutions for the growing active life-style space. For example, while re-tailers saw sales of skiing and snow-boarding jackets down 17 percent and 19 percent, respectively, in dol-lars, during the past 52 weeks, sales of insulated outdoor jackets (includ-ing the growing endurance space) were up nearly 15 percent and sales for the fashion/casual insulated jacket space jumped 44 percent. In-sulated fishing jackets, while a very small part of the category, also saw healthy gains as another example of brands expanding their reach.
It all matches well with what brands and retailers are telling us as we take a look at what’s trending in insulation outerwear.
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 19
*SSI Data, powered by SportsOneSource, provides weekly point-of-sale data and analysis to retailers and manufacturers in the active lifestyle market. To schedule a personal demo or learn more, call 303.997.7302 or Solutions@ SportsOneSource.com.
While an unusually warm start to winter on the East Coast
and throughout the Midwest damp-ened insulation outerwear sales through the important Holiday 2015 season, sales of insulated jackets are actually up 17 percent in units and up more than 9 percent in dollars for the past 52 weeks, through Janu-ary 30, 2016, for all specialty, chain and Internet channels, according to SSI Data*.
Partly driving those strong annual figures is last season’s very cold win-ter, which stretched well into early spring, offsetting some of this win-ter’s warmer temps. Plus, strength has come from an expansion of the category, with more insulation solu-
tions for the growing active lifestyle space. For example, while retailers saw sales of skiing and snowboard-ing jackets down 17 percent and 19 percent, respectively, in dollars, during the past 52 weeks, sales of insulated outdoor jackets (including the growing endurance space) were up nearly 15 percent and sales for the fashion/casual insulated jacket space jumped 44 percent. Insulated fishing jackets, while a very small part of the category, also saw healthy gains as another example of brands expanding their reach.
It all matches well with what brands and retailers are telling us as we take a look at what’s trending in insulation outerwear.
A RUSH OF INSULATION INNOVATIONS
add more weather-resistant protection and breathabil-ity to insulation pieces.
The North Face’s “double-weave” chambers caught our eyes, too, in which in-sulation baffles are pre-wo-ven in as part of the fabric, instead of the need for post stitching. Pertex introduced its new CS10 technology, where the construction ad-vances are within the ex-terior yarns themselves — shaped like diamonds to lock together and provide better abrasion resistance and water-beading — and Columbia expanded its waterproof/breathable OutDry Extreme to new insulation pieces.
New synthetic fills also are aplenty, driven by a surge in natural down prices a few years ago. The innovations at-tempt to better mimic down’s softness and loft for more lightweight and compressible insulation, while delivering better moisture management. Bergans of Norway is a big name leading these efforts. Spun wool insu-lations are also rising as a natural alternative to down. They’re not as light and compressible, but ex-cel in odor control and temperature regulation. And NuDown contin-ues to bank on air as the
best insulator — pump in more for increased loft and warmth; let it out for when it gets too warm.
The coming year will bring the rise of recycled down as brands from Pa-tagonia to Ternua look to play off sustainability stories in insulation. The former also debuted a new synthetic fill in partner-ship with PrimaLoft for its popular Nano Puff collec-tion, now with 55 percent recycled content. And an-other environmental story to keep an eye on will be if PFC-free treated insula-tions (for water resistance) catch on as part of the wider DWR debate.
For years, active lifestyle brands leaned on the
puffy, down-filled jacket as their insulation outerwear go-to. The innovation was mostly in the lightweight exterior of the jackets, and they sold like hot cakes. But the general and mass markets quickly picked up on the trend, and from Uniqlo to Kohl’s, the puffy was soon widely available and affordable, cutting into specialty margins.
This forced the industry to innovate at a faster pace to stay ahead of the curve and set themselves apart. That includes new exterior constructions, such as those debuted by Gore-Tex, to
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ACTIVE INSULATION FOR AN ACTIVE CONSUMER
The wave of new in-sulations reflects an
evolving active lifestyle consumer. No longer are they beholden to a few tra-ditional winter-time activi-ties like skiing. They are out running, biking and head-ing to the CrossFit gym for a varied and diverse list of workouts.
Today’s active consumer not only demands insula-tion, but heat management in their winter apparel for
when they pump up the heart rate.
“We continue to see in-terest growing in ski prod-uct that works as well go-ing uphill as it does going down,” said Jordan Wand, VP of product and market-ing at Outdoor Research.
For these products, coined “active insulation” pieces, there are two big trends:
• Air permeability — sacrificing some wind
protection for more air exchange to deliver bet-ter breathability and moisture management for sweat-inducing win-ter workouts while main-taining insulation and weather protection in the cold. Polartec has been a big proponent here with both its NeoShell water-proof shells and Alpha insulation. • Stretch — adding light-weight, yet durable flexi-
bility to fabric that allows for unencumbered and natural strides for more physical pursuits. Moun-tain Hardwear, for exam-ple, debuted its Stretch-Down product, which added stretch, even to the welded seams, for 100 percent flexibility in the garment. More stretch also allows for slimmer pieces with less bulk and material, meeting cur-rent fashion trends.
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 21Mountain Hardwear Stretch Down RS JacketPhoto courtesy Mountain Hardwear
OUTDOORSY URBAN DESIGNS
Futuristic, shiny and bright exterior looks
are fading on the insulation outerwear fashion scene. For 2016 and beyond, more-muted earth tones and softer looks, even with exterior natural fibers, are making more appearances.
“The perfect combina-tion of technical fabrics
that don’t look overly techy paired with a stylish silhouette and massive at-tention to detail continues to resonate with outdoor consumers,” Jordan Wand, VP product and marketing at Outdoor Research said.
“Fabrics need to be able to be more transitional and stylish, while colors
need to be relevant for longer periods of time,” added Jennifer Zollars, sportswear product line manager at Mountain Hardwear.
Brands like Voormi are going a step further, com-ing up with innovative ways to protect products like wool — on the exteri-
or of its garments — from the elements.
“Everyone is warm and dry now, so design aes-thetic and style is more important than ever to stay relevant and continue to grab the consumer’s at-tention,” said Steve Ad-ams, outerwear PLM for Mountain Hardwear.
Photo courtesy Mountain Hardwear22 SGBWeekly.com | FEBRUARY 15, 2016
REACHING MORE WOMEN
Much of the shift in insulation outer-
wear could be attributed to women more than any other cause. Their in-creased participation in the outdoor winter scene has largely altered and expanded the range of
activities consumers now pursue in this season.
“Women are more used to expressing themselves through apparel and you can see this on the slopes and in the streets in terms of more variety of silhou-ettes,” said Philip Tavell,
category managing direc-tor for Helly Hansen.
But it’s not just about looks. From an industry-wide perspective, we are encouraged to see more women leaders, designers and athletes playing major roles for brands. They’re
not only bringing a fresh perspective, but new in-novations that are specifi-cally tailored for a more active female consumer. In turn, that’s empowering more women to get out and enjoy the outdoors on cold and snowy days.
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 23Photo courtesy Nau
TRADE ASSOCIATIONS BUYING GROUPS
Athletic Dealers of America1395 Highland AvenueMelbourne, FL 32935t 321.254.0091athleticdealersofamerica.com
National Shooting Sports FoundationFlintlock Ridge Office Center11 Mile Hill RoadNewtown, CT 06470t 203.426.1320 nssf.org
National Sporting Goods Association1601 Feehanville Drive I Suite 300Mount Prospect, IL 60056t 847.296.6742nsga.org
Nation’s Best Sports4216 Hahn Blvd.Ft. Worth, TX 76117t 817.788.0034nbs.com
Outdoor Industry Association4909 Pearl East Circle I Suite 300Boulder, CO 80301t 303.444.3353outdoorindustry.org
Sports & Fitness Industry Association8505 Fenton Street I Suite 211Silver Spring, MD 20910t 301.495.6321sfia.org
Snow Sports Industries America8377-B Greensboro DriveMcLean, VA 22102t 703.556.9020snowsports.org
Snowsports Merchandising Corp.235 Cadwell DriveSpringfield, MA 01104t 413.739.7331Snowsportsmerchandising.com
Sports, Inc.333 2nd Avenue NorthLewistown, MT 59457t 406.538.3496sportsinc.com
Sports Specialists Ltd.590 Fishers Station Drive I Suite 110Victor, NY 14564t 585.742.1010sportsspecialistsltd.com
Tennis Industry Association1 Corpus Christi Place I Suite 117Hilton Head Island, SC 29928t 843.686.3036tennisindustry.org
Worldwide 8211 South 194thKent, WA 98032t 253.872.8746wdi-wdi.com
INDUSTRY CALENDAR
FEBRUARY 1-2 SIA On-Snow Demo Denver, CO1-2 SIA Nordic Demo Denver, CO2-4 FFANY New York, NY2-4 Worldwide Spring Show Reno, NV8-10 EORA SE February Show Greenville, SC15-18 Magic Show Las Vegas, NV16-17 MWSRA New Model Demo Afton Alps-Hastings, MN 17-20 Sports Inc. Outdoor Show Phoenix, AZ18-22 NBS Semi-Annual Market Fort Worth, TX
MARCH8-9 SFIA National Health Through Fitness Day Washington, D.C.17-19 Imprinted Sportswear Show (ISS) Atlantic City, NJ21-24 IHRSA Orlando, FL
APRIL1-2 SFIA Litigation & Risk Management Summit New Orleans, LA12 SFIA/NFHS/NCAA Rules Conference Indianapolis, IN19-21 Imprinted Sportswear Show (ISS) Nashville, TN
MAY22-25 NSGA Management Conference and Team Hilton Head Island, SC
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JUNE 23-25 Sports Inc. Athletic Show Minneapolis, MN24-26 SGB 40 Under 40 Awards Huntington Beach, CA
JULY13-17 IDEA World Fitness Con-vention Los Angeles, CA
AUGUST11-13 Sports Inc. Outdoor Show Minneapolis, MN
25-28 NBS Fall Market Fort Worth, TX
OCTOBER28-30 ADA Fall Buying Show
Phoenix, AZ
NOVEMBER17-19 Athletic Business Conference & Expo Orlando, FL
Photo courtesy ExOfficio BugsAway Apparel
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