Consumers Still Gear Up, Camp Out In Recession
Going camping over Labor Day weekend? If you're trying out a new tent or fishing rod, you're part of a retail trend. While people have cut back their spending in many areas during the recession, outdoor gear sales are going strong.
Wilderness Exchange Unlimited is an outdoor gear store in Denver, and its owner, Don Bushey, knows the market well. Plus, he's not just a businessman — he's also an avid climber.
"Climbing's a very good metaphor for running a business. It's taking calculated risks," Bushey says.
Not-So-Risky Business
Last year he took a big risk by moving the store to a larger space.
"On the outside, if you look at it, it's kind of insane. We decided to increase our expenses to almost twice what they were in our old space, during the heart of the recession. We moved in ... [the] middle to the end of '09. But it was the right decision at the right time. We're up in sales as a business," he says.
And that's pretty much the story for outdoor gear overall. The industry says its sales dipped only 2 percent last year and are up more than 8 percent this year, topping overall retail sales.
People who bike, hike and kayak are often from higher income brackets. But the president of the Outdoor Industry Association, Frank Hugelmeyer, says the recession also seems to have more people wanting to get away from it all.
"People go back to outdoor activities, they go to close-to-home recreation, they go to affordable family vacations, and that's our industry," he says.
Hugelmeyer says changing attitudes are also helping sales. People look at outdoor recreation as more of a lifestyle these days. That means instead of just sticking to rock climbing or kayaking, people are trying a lot of different sports.
"Once introduced to the active outdoor lifestyle, you will try anywhere from four to six activities as a participant. And you'll [home in] on three to four and do those fairly regularly," he says.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
All those activities can add up to a garage full of gear. Finding the people buying this stuff is easy, at least in Colorado. Just drop by any campground.
Ann Taylor and her friends were recently exploring the Mount Evans Wilderness outside Denver. It was their fifth camping trip of the summer. And they've come well-supplied: tent, hiking boots, camp kitchen. Taylor says she shops sales and discount websites as much as possible to stock up for camping and backpacking. But she admits not all her purchases are purely practical.
"I mean, there's always like, 'Ooh, that's so much lighter and smaller! And that just looks cool.' So sometimes — I mean, we definitely have more than one tent. So, you know, sometimes if something cool comes up," they buy it, Taylor says.
Even accounting for a few impulse purchases, Taylor's friend Joe Kuechenmeister says loading up on equipment pays off in the long term.
"Once you get that down, it's not very expensive to come out here; obviously you just have a little food and, you know, a little gas to drive out. So it actually is a lot cheaper than if we would like stay in the city and go out to ... dinner, or a bar, or anything," he says.
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STEVE INSKEEP, host:
This Labor Day weekend will mean camping trips for many people. And if you're among them and you're trying out a new tent or fishing rod, you're not alone. While people have cut back on their spending in many areas, the sales of outdoor gear are going strong, saves on the hotel bill. Colorado Public Radio's Megan Verlee has the story.
MEGAN VERLEE: Mike Fatica is in the market for a new sleeping bag.
Mr. MIKE FATICA: This is synthetic?
Unidentified Man: Oh, yeah, all the orange tag ones are synthetic and the down is the green tags.
Mr. FATICA: Oh, that helps.
VERLEE: All around are big displays of bright-colored sleeping bags, climbing shoes, and backpacks.�This is Wilderness Exchange Unlimited, an outdoor gear store in Denver.
Mr. DON BUSHEY (Owner, Wilderness Exchange Unlimited): Climbing's a very good metaphor for running a business.�It's taking calculated risks.
VERLEE: That's Don Bushey. He's Wilderness Exchange's owner, and an avid climber.�Last year he took a big risk by moving the store to a larger space.
Mr. BUSHEY: On the outside, if you look at it, it's kind of insane. We decided to increase our expenses to almost twice what they were in our old space, during the heart of the recession, we moved in the middle to end of '09. But it was the right decision at the right time. We're up in sales as a business.
VERLEE: And that is pretty much the story for outdoor gear in general. The industry says its sales dipped only two percent last year, and are up more than eight percent this year. That's a bigger increase than retail sales overall. People who bike, hike, and kayak are often from higher income brackets.
But Frank Hugelmeyer says the recession also seems to have more people wanting to get away from it all. He's the president of the Outdoor Industry Association.
Mr. FRANK HUGELMEYER (President, Outdoor Industry Association): People go back to outdoor activities, they go to close to home recreation, they go to affordable family vacations, and that's our industry.
VERLEE: Hugelmeyer says changing attitudes are also helping sales.�People look at outdoor recreation as more of a lifestyle these days.�That means instead of just sticking to rock climbing or kayaking, people are trying a lot of different sports.
Mr. HUGELMEYER: Once introduced to the active outdoor lifestyle, you will try anywhere from four to six activities as a participant. And you'll hone in on three to four and do those fairly regularly.
VERLEE: All those activities can add up to a garage full of gear.�Finding the people buying this stuff is easy, at least here in Colorado, just drop by any campground.
Have you had to buy any gear recently?
Ms. ANN TAYLOR: Not had to, but have.
(Soundbite of laughter)
We've bought a lot of gear.
VERLEE: Ann Taylor and her friends are exploring the Mount Evans Wilderness outside of Denver.�This is their fifth camping trip of the summer, and they've come well-supplied - tent, hiking boots, camp kitchen.�Taylor says she shops sales and discount websites as much as possible to stock up for camping and backpacking. But she admits, not all her purchases are purely practical.
Ms. TAYLOR: Yeah, I mean, there's always like, Oh, that's so much lighter and smaller. And that just looks cool. So sometimes, I mean, we definitely have more than one tent.�So, you know, sometimes if something cool comes up.
VERLEE: Even accounting for a few impulse buys, Taylor's friend Joe Kuechenmeister says loading up on equipment pays off in the long term.
Mr. JOE KUECHENMEISTER: Once you get that down, it's not very expensive to come out here, obviously you just have a little food and, you know, a little gas to drive out. So it actually is a lot cheaper than if we would say like stay in the city and like go out to like dinner or to a bar or anything.
Do you guys want to like maybe take a little bit of a hike?
Ms. TAYLOR: Yeah, should we get water or are we not going to go that extreme?
Mr. KUECHENMEISTER: No, we're got to get geared up.
Unidentified Man: Yeah, we'll get geared up.
VERLEE: These guys are far from alone in gearing up to hit the trails. I've got to confess, when my interview's done, I got the pack on, the dog with me, and I'm going to hit the trails, too.�And yeah, it is a pretty new pack.
For NPR News, I'm Megan Verlee in the Mount Evans Wilderness of Colorado.
(Soundbite of music)
INSKEEP: This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
