In the article published in Day Two of the OR Daily about Singtex’s new S.Cafe fabric, we incorrectly referred to Mike Costa as Singtex North America’s brand manager, when in fact his correct title is Singtex global sales director. Vincent Wu is Singtex brand manager.

We apologize for the error and any confusion it may have caused.

Please visit our coverage of Singtex here.

What’s your favorite smart phone app?

Joe Digirolamo
Thermore
Olympia, Washington

I actually don’t use a lot of apps. I keep it simple. It’s more for organization for me. I use it for weather, email and contacts. Right now, I’m checking FedEx tracking on a package we shipped for a customer on Friday. For me, the phone is still a tool I use mostly for work. I’m sure there’s plenty more great things this phone can do that I haven’t discovered yet.

Continue reading Word on the Floor – Day Four

Stove in a Can
The name says it all. Yep, everything you need to make a fire is in the can: cooking ring, waterproof matches, a lid that doubles as a cooking surface, and four fuel cells, each of which burns for about one hour. The twist, say partners Eric Child (left) and Adam Cox, is that the fuel is a safe, non-explosive, and waterproof blend of recycled hardwood chips and wax. “This is simple enough that anyone can use it,” Child said. The flame is hot enough to boil water in four or five minutes. Suggested retail is $19.95. Booth #BR531.

Continue reading Showstoppers – Day Four

Marmot Variant
This warm but active full-zip jacket features Thermal R Eco Insulation in the front and Polartec power stretch panels at side torso, sleeves and back. Other features include hand loops, lightweight stretch binding at the cuffs and bottom hem, and a performance fit. Booth #34037

Stackpole Books – The Barefoot Sisters / Walking Home
After hiking the AT from Maine to Georgia, Lucy and Susan Letcher decided that the best way to get home would be to turn around and hike it again. So they did—barefoot—but this time, they encountered hardships and joys they didn’t expect at all. Booth #16049 Continue reading PRODUCT PICKS – Day Four

Faith Anderson, a senior design student at Philadelphia University, won the fourth Project OR design competition for her fashionable and functional take on a women’s jacket that could go from ski slope to swanky restaurant.

But runner-up Christina Johnson, from the University of California, Davis, had reason to smile as well.

The judges were enamored with her design even if it didn’t quite fit the contest requirements. “I want to buy your design,” Prana’s Pam Theodosakis, the chief judge, told Johnson.

See all of the designs, including Anderson’s winning jacket, at the Project OR Booth #36180 today and cast your vote for the People’s Choice award.

When Scarpa North America chief executive officer Kim Miller realized full import duties on footwear were likely to be reinstated on Jan. 1, he scrambled to import as many trail running shoes as possible via airfreight instead of less expensive shipping containers in order to get them into the U.S. before the deadline.

“We went from a very thoughtful process of planning to an emergency room kind of attitude when we realized this was happening. We had to start juggling things, changing our plan. Not only is that disruptive, it costs more,” Miller said.
Congress did not pass the miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) before the end of 2009—the expiration date for legislation first passed in 2006—effectively bumping import duties on many light hiking and trail running shoes by 40 percent.

“We have to absorb that,” Miller said. Scarpa will eat the cost to import its spring 2010 line and perhaps for fall 2010 as Miller doesn’t want to unfairly pass the price increases onto retailers, and ultimately, the end consumer.

Scarpa entered the trail running category only two years ago, but it was the fastest-growing category for the Italian footwear brand, which specializes in high-end ski and mountaineering boots. Continue reading Duties on Footwear Skyrocket As Congress Delays Tariff Bill

That low hissing you’ve been hearing in the air at Winter Market is the collective sigh of relief from exhibitors and retailers.

Many exhibitors said the mood was upbeat and business steady.

“A year ago, the atmosphere was one of fear. It was palpable. It affected everyone,” said Jim Van Dine, who founded Anhu footwear brand in 2007.

That sense has disappeared.

“It’s not that the recovery has been robust,” Van Dine added. “But we realized the sky didn’t fall. We’ve returned to growth. Not an explosive growth, but in general there is quiet confidence.”

One of those who had been most afraid during last year’s Winter Market was Van Dine himself. The footwear veteran was afraid his new brand might not survive the recession.

“I was scared last year,” he said. “I’m not scared this year.”

Although some exhibitors said traffic seemed to be down, the statistics showed otherwise.

Kenji Haroutunian, the Outdoor Retailer show director, said attendance was up by about 9 percent through the first two days of the four-day floor show.

“We had already hit last year’s number by 11 o’clock yesterday morning [the second day],” he said. “We’re tracking well above last year in every category: stores, buyers and overall attendance.”

Still, Haroutunian expects it will take some time before the show revisits the peak attendance it had in 2007 and 2008. He expects exhibitors and buyers to continue being selective with the numbers they send to the show.

At Carhartt, the workwear brand that continues branching into outdoor products, Outdoor Retailer is becoming increasingly important.

“I see a lot of us pulling out of MAGIC and coming here instead,” said Bryce Clayton, a sales representative for key accounts, referring to the Las Vegas fashion show. He said MAGIC is becoming too big and too expensive for many brands.

It’s the same at some footwear companies, for whom Outdoor Retailer is replacing more traditional footwear-only trade shows.

Ecco’s Dan Legor, a senior brand manager, said Outdoor Retailer is attracting more traditional “brown shoe” retailers.
“People are coming specifically to see us to see the line,” Legor said. He pointed to MBT and Skechers across the aisle, as brands that along with Ecco are considering alternatives to the WSA shoe show in Las Vegas.

“People are counting their pennies; they can’t attend every trade show. It has to be meaningful and it has to have some real payoff,” Legor said.

At Dansko, a solid Winter Market has followed record fall sales, marketing manager Ebeth Pitman said. Continue reading Exhibitors Pleased with Business Done at Show, Turnout

There used to be three very distinct categories of winter shells on the show floor—hardshells, softshells and insulators. That dynamic has changed fast and continues to evolve, however, as more manufacturers combine the three into versatile apparel and suppliers adapt to create fabrics that combine the protection of all three.

The trend started off in 2006, when Cloudveil introduced the Hoback, a jacket that combined top-of-the-line Gore Pro Shell with 60-gram Primaloft Sport insulation.

“We wanted to find our place with Gore,” said Donna Veraguth, Cloudveil senior product manager. “Everyone and their mother has a Gore-Tex shell. So we decided to create a versatile, insulated Gore piece.”

Cloudveil ran with the idea, creating pieces like an insulated version of its Koven Plus jacket, which used temperature modulating Schoeller c_change fabric.

Now the brand has combined c_change and Schoeller softshell with Primaloft Eco to create an insulated softshell called the Stettner. It also redesigned the Cloudveil using Primaloft Eco and Gore Performance Shell to bring down the price point. See the jackets as Booth #16039. Continue reading Three in One Insulated Jackets Continue to Evolve to Offer More Versatility