Outdoor Insight

28 • Outdoor Insight • August 2017 outdoorinsightmag.com I n 1938, Gert Boyle's parents fled Nazi Germany and landed in Portland, OR. They purchased a small hat firm and named it Columbia Hat Company, after the river that inspired their new home. Over the years, it grew into a global sportswear company for hiking, hunting, fishing and climbing. Gert still comes into the office and is herself an archive of valuable informa- tion. Between her living history and that of the firm, there are a lot of stories to share with customers. Millennials dig history. "They are looking for that heritage piece and something that really performs," explains Bryan Wyatt, general merchandising manager for Columbia. The key is versatility and wearability. "It's less about buying for a specific end use and more about how much wear they can get from it," according to Wyatt. The Columbia team dug into the archives, as it often does, for an original camouflage pattern employed in its new Delta Marsh jacket. The camo pattern lives on the Waterfowler 1983 rain jacket. For a modernized twist, Portland- based artist and Instagrammer, Sam Larson, instituted a flying duck pattern based on an archival look. Blending past with current design cues, "we want to be true to who we are and show that you don't have to change your face to gain that new customer," says Wyatt. Pendleton Womenswear designer and Millennial Jia-Meng So notes that for folks growing up during her parents' time, life was about "more is more." Today, Millennials have fewer, but better, things. Pendleton wool blan- kets are often kept as family heirlooms. Men's shirts, which originated in 1924 for ranchers, hunters and lumberjacks, are still a top seller. Nostalgia can be fun for younger consumers when "what's old is new and cool again," adds Erin Schmitt, Pendleton menswear designer, who is also a Millennial. At Danner, it was Hollywood that recently made the brand's late 1970's Mountain Light Cascade boot a hot commodity. Reese Witherspoon wore the waterproof hiker with bright red laces in the film "Wild." The boots made their way into Vogue and on to the heels of celebrities. "Performance heritage is a design philosophy we've embraced at Danner," notes senior designer Ryan Foust. "It appeals to Millennials because it blends proven quality and a timeless aesthetic with contemporary features." While the brand's Mountain 600 has a classic look, it is also one of the firm's light- est boots to date. For Fall 2017, the Explorer 650 celebrates heritage with a 1932 emboss on the tongue signifying the year Charles Danner founded the brand. In another take on the hiker, Merrell is channeling back to 2001 and the inception of the Chameleon for its latest evolution, the Chameleon 7. The newest reboot features "revo- lutionary construction techniques inspired by mountain running and a super-refined design that pays homage to its predecessors," according to Erika Derylo, Merrell's performance product marketing specialist. Value Versus Values "Millennials want to feel that they are unique individuals and do that by wearing heritage brands that are not popular in the mainstream," says Luke Otten, marketing communications manager for Wigwam. Thanks to the Internet, it's become easy to discover "new" heritage brands — even ones that have been around for decades. And for Millennials, the fun is in the discovery phase. Knowing this, "it's easier now for a brand to market to consumers by learning browsing habits and re-targeting ads online or in our social media feeds," he explains. Reaching Millennials requires "a softer approach that is less 'in your face,'" he says. Brand messaging with heritage often revolves around brand authenticity. "Millennial consumers want to feel that a brand's values align with their own," says Otten, meaning sustainability, eco- friendliness and local production. At Wigwam, product is made in the USA and knit in Wisconsin. "Experience is the currency," says Tyler LaMotte, VP–brand marketing for Keen. "I was looking at this survey where 100 percent of Millennials say that they are going to travel somewhere in the next year. Just under 80 percent of those said they wanted to adventure travel. They can go engage and learn and be a part of something else that's outdoor or cultural or communal," the exec notes. To celebrate Keen's 15-year anniversary in 2018, the brand is updating its Newport sandal with new colorways, tie-dye and even hemp varieties. Having sold 30 million pair to date, "it's the best adventure shoe in existence," claims LaMotte. Being strapped with so much technology, simplicity holds a lot of value. "Nostalgia by nature changes with generations," The North Face brand manager Kevin Hogan explains. "Millennials are gravitating toward a time when they were free. They came in when the sun set and crave that freedom." Consumers are getting outdoors, albeit, in totally new ways. "That time is often shorter and more connected, creating more excitement and incentive for others to explore," he says. But Hogan doesn't see connectivity as a completely bad thing, noting that it could be "an agent for positive change in generating interest in the outdoors." For Fall 2017, the brand will unveil a collection dubbed Cali Roots, in a nod to its 1966 founding (and the time that the Grateful Dead played at the opening of The North Face's first store). A Back-to-Berkeley sneaker will also pay homage to years past. Fjallraven's Greenland Collection (based on a Greenland expedition by founder Ake Nordin) cel- ebrates 50 years in 2018. The original Greenland jacket was made of tent material. The most recent version has an updated fit "to ensure the more urban outdoor consumer finds the value in both the function, history and the fit of the collection," says Fjallraven North America president Nathan Dopp. Finding a balance can be difficult for Millennials. These consumers generally work longer hours than their predecessors. Things are expensive. With that mounting fear of not accomplishing enough, this group looks for brands "that facili- tate a feeling of positive momentum" which can be by "doing good, moving forward or are 'we not I,'" adds Dopp. "This is a generation that is forced to dig in and work harder than ever for their time outside. The brands that make that journey more positive, even when you aren't on the trail, are the ones that stay in the closet for the next generation of consumers." O HeritageHype AUTHENTICITY TRENDS Established Outdoor Brands Latch on to History as a Selling Point for Millennials. By Suzanne Blecher

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