The Importance of Emerging Brands, Yeti's 2030 Plan, and the Future of Watersports

Today on the show Eoin Comerford breaks down why new brand discovery is the lifeblood of specialty retail, drawing on examples like Hoka, CamelBak, Jetboil, and Gnara's GoFly zipper to illustrate how emerging brands drive innovation in the outdoor industry.

He answers a listener question from Kelly Strong, head buyer at Clearwater Outdoor in southeast Wisconsin, about how to manage open-to-buy allocation for new brands without spreading too thin.

Then he digs into Yeti's investor day presentation and their plan to add one billion in revenue by 2030, covering international expansion into EMEA, the bags and soft coolers platform, cookware moves into Le Creuset territory, and the wildcard of technical performance apparel.

Finally, Eoin sits down with Jimmy Blakeney, President of the Watersports Division at Solo Brands, to discuss the state of paddlesports, the OIA participation report showing 34 million Americans on the water, commoditization pressure from Amazon, Q2 growth of 59%, the Tommy Bahama partnership at Costco, and pricing discipline and MAP policy. They discuss the Solo Brands D2C thesis and what went wrong, combining Isle and Oru Kayak under one division, product innovation, and what a successful paddlesports company looks like in five years.

Show Notes

0:00 -- Intro and overview of the episode covering specialty retail, Yeti's growth plan, and guest Jimmy Blakeney.

0:27 -- Why new brand discovery is the lifeblood of specialty retail, with examples from Hoka, CamelBak, Jetboil, and Narrows GoFly zipper.

8:25 -- Listener question from Kelly Strong at Clearwater Outdoor about allocating open-to-buy to emerging brands without going too wide and thin.

10:53 -- Sponsored break: Crux Retail on building bold displays for outdoor brands, including their work with Yakima at REI.

11:49 -- Yeti's billion-dollar math: international expansion into EMEA, bags and soft coolers as the next billion-dollar platform, drinkware competition with Stanley and Owala, cookware moves toward Le Creuset territory, and the wildcard of technical performance apparel.

16:55 -- Sponsored break: ISPO relaunches in Amsterdam November 3-5 with brands like Rab, DB, Hestra, and Fabletics.

18:00 -- Jimmy Blakeney, President of Waterports at Solo Brands, joins to discuss Isle and Oru Kayak.