sportstyle

16 • sportstyle • March 2021 sportstylemag.com W e spoke to specialty retailers about the year that was and the year ahead. During a year defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor retailers saw high demand and scarce product across categories like paddlesports and cycling. As the weather has changed across the country, the product demand (and scarcity seen in the summer) has been replaced in some spots with the same issues in snowshoes and ski. But that's not to say that's nothing's changed. In fact, retailers who spoke to Outdoor Insight said that 2020's once-in-a-lifetime challenges and disruptions have led to changes in their business models for the year, if not longer. Here, independent retailers share what they're expecting for 2021. 1. Reconsidering Inventory (and Relationships) The supply chain challenges from shortages to shipping delays that characterized 2020 have led many shops to rethink the way they plan their merchandise flows — and with whom they want to do business. "From a buying perspective, it's more compli- cated," said Mike Donohue, co-owner of Outdoor Gear Exchange in Burlington, VT. "With the vaccine out and about, there's a light at the end of the tunnel, but in all honesty, I don't think a ton is going to change before June — although it may be May or it may be September," he said. Donohue said Outdoor Gear Exchange, like many outdoor shops, saw a combination of super- strong demand and scarce availability in 2020 for hardgoods including paddlesports equipment, bikes, ski equipment, headlamps, ice climbing gear, traction, and bikes. (Donohue noted that even basic bike repair products, like brake pads, were in short supply.) "In a normal year, you can try and buy around it," Donohue said about brand and item shortages. "This year, everyone is sold out." To counter the problem going forward, he said, Outdoor Gear Exchange would "choose some win- ners and buy deeper. What we've learned it's harder to chase inventory and have it [actually] come in." Mike Cosentino, owner of the seven-store Big Peach Running Co. run specialty chain headquar- tered in Atlanta, GA, said his team is looking at placing bigger orders earlier. "For us, [looking ahead] has at least as much to do with procurement as planning. We'd rather take less shipments over the next six months, which reduces the unpredictability," he said. Cosentino said the chain has been floating that plan to key vendor partners, and would be asking for dating and terms to be tweaked to facilitate larger, front- loaded orders. While the plan will require more warehousing and carrying more inventory, he said, the advantages to both Big Peach and its partners could be more fewer fill-ins and lowered chances for shipping delays — to say nothing of lower shipping costs. (Big Peach takes shipping logistics seriously: The retailer hosted a UPS president at its annual meeting last November to discuss the current delivery congestion and long-term outlook.) Frank Gibbons, a buyer at Sam's Outdoor Outfitters in Brattleboro, VT, said his shop is making the same calculation. "We'll book everything for first delivery a little heavy," he said. And while Gibbons and Donohue said the Independent Retailers on What They Learned in 2020 and How They Are Planning for 2021. SHOPTALK BY JENNIFER ERNST BEAUDRY RETAIL

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