p4,6 outdoor news 11/17/08 9:26 AM Page 4
BUSINESS - Outdoor News
SGB
Sports and Outdoor www.sgb-sports.com
inov-8 announces new
Kendal Mountain Festival thanks sponsors
race event
With this year’s Kendal Mountain Festival imminent the Kendal’s legendary specialist programmes for bike,
organisers are thanking sponsors from the outdoor snowsports and white water enthusiasts are supported by
Outdoor running innovators inov-8 have announced industry for their support as without their help this event Buff, Bike Magic, Kona, Ski & Snowboard Magazine,
their first Run-Orienteer-Cycle event, iROC, which will simply wouldn’t happen. Natives and Canoe & Kayak UK Magazine.
take place on April 18th and 19th 2009. Main sponsors Berghaus have, as ever, been very active in In addition to outdoor companies the Festival also
iROC will be an innovative and exciting adventure support of the event with several sponsored athletes thanks its major external funders including the North West
racing weekend in the Durham Dales featuring five featuring prominently in the line-up, plus creating Development Agency, Cumbria Tourism, Brewery Arts
different races that will include mountain biking, running competitions and donating prizes. Granger’s are officially Centre, North West Vision & Media, Cumbria Vision, the
and orienteering. Points will be awarded for places and launching their Fabric4Life initiative at the Festival, a joint Lake District National Park Authority and South Lakeland
there promises to be a 'huge' prize pot for the overall campaign with Oxfam where old waterproofs are restored District Council.
winners across all five races. and resold through Oxfam stores. Granger’s also presents Dates are 20-23 November with news as it happens at
Uniquely each of the races will have a mass start and the Environment Film Prize. www.mountainfilm.co.uk. Tickets can be bought online or
will pass back through the event village at least once Asolo sponsors the Mountaineering Film Prize, and through Kendal’s Brewery Arts box office on 01539 725133.
before finishing. This will ensure that iROC offers the best Festival media sponsor Climber Magazine is supporting
adventure race spectating ever seen in the UK. both the Climbing Film Prize and Reinhold Messner’s
There will be a simple charging structure that will lecture. The People’s Choice film award is sponsored by
include race entry, camping, parking and access to the Patagonia, who are also bringing their ambassador Zoe
Saturday night entertainment, which will include two Hart to the Festival as a speaker.
night races, live music and a late bar. Ultimate Outdoors is the Festival’s retail partner, plus
You can race as an individual or as a team of three. If Kendal’s Town Hall venue is supported by The Outdoors
you enter as a team your highest scoring team member Show and The SkyMasters Challenge with Berghaus.
will count towards your teams points in each race. Alastair Lee’s latest film On Sight is presented by Marmot,
The event will be held in the Durham Dales. while the climax of Trail Magazine’s Homemade Film
Full details of iROC is on www.iroc-race.com. There is Awards in association with the Festival takes place on the
an early bird discount before the 1st December 2008. Saturday.
Haglöfs appoints Bradley TNF launches
Haglöfs has appointed Neil Bradley as UK Country Manager. After various sales and
marketing posts, Neil joined Karrimor in 1997 as National Accounts Manager. In
Birmingham store
additional to selling in, this entailed helping create sell through via clinics, in store/on
the hill training, joint promotions etc, something which he considers as crucial to the The North Face has opened its fifth retail store to in the
future growth of Haglöfs: “We want to work in partnership with our customers to EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region in 2008,
make sure their sell through is good. We will build long term sustainable partnerships in Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre.
and will be putting a lot of time and effort into this process.” Located in the historic heart of the city, the revamped
New accounts in selective geographical areas will be targeted, but Neil stresses that Bullring Shopping Centre is a dramatic addition to
this will be done in a carefully considered way, and not at the expense of those retailers Birmingham’s architectural renaissance, and a celebration
already doing a good job: “There are certain regions that don’t have any retailers of contemporary design.“The Bullring store finally gives
carrying Haglöfs, so we’d like to add a few accounts in such areas.” The North Face the opportunity to showcase the entire
product portfolio to people in the Birmingham area,” says
New OIA research highlights growing appetite for
Patrik Frisk, VP/General Manager of The North Face
EMEA.“The Bullring has proven itself as one of the top
performing destination malls in the UK with a perfect
‘bite-sized’ adventures
location in downtown Birmingham”.
The new store is located on the middle level of the
A major research project has been published that highlights Meanwhile, family camping trips are becoming more Bullring, close to the popular Selfridges department store.
the changing habits of the UK’s outdoor consumers. The popular, a trend partly driven by the economic downturn. The Birmingham store brings the total number of The
report, Shaping the Future, was commissioned by the The research behind Shaping the Future asked several North Face retail stores in the region, both partnership
Outdoor Industries Association (OIA), and tested the views questions about the environment and environmentally and owned, to 37. Retail continues to be an important
of over 10,000 individuals across the UK. The results friendly outdoor products. 67% of those surveyed stated strategic initiative for the brand, and more store launches
demonstrate more people than ever are going outdoors, but that they always try to buy environmentally friendly are planned within year end.
that they are increasingly choosing to participate in products, although 78% believe them to usually be more
multiple activities during one day. expensive. Three quarters of respondents would like to see
The Shaping the Future research asked questions on a outdoor companies offer a greater number of
range of topics relating to the outdoor sector. The results environmentally friendly products and 51% claim that they
highlight some important trends in the UK. Although are willing to pay more for these.
walking remains by far the most popular outdoor activity Shaping the Future identifies regional variations in
(91% participate regularly), large numbers of consumers participation levels and attitudes. The full report and data
are also regularly road cycling (29%), mountain biking will be provided free of charge to OIA members and key
(22%), mountaineering (15%), off road running (13%), facts and figures will be posted on
skiing/snowboarding (14%) and climbing (13%). www.outdoorindustriesassociation.co.uk.
4 NOVEMBER 2008
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48