IO_Winter21

13 Inside Outdoor | WINTER 2021 As months have passed, how- ever, and companies have adjusted from survival mode, the appetite for wholesale transformations may be wanning among retailers, brands and manufacturers, suggest sepa- rate surveys by NuOrder and the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI). That’s not to suggest improvements aren’t needed throughout supply chains. Indeed, respondents to the NuOrder survey cited numerous existing pain points, all at about equal rates. Rather, the findings seem to imply that we may not see the type of reframing of priorities and business models that early reactions to the pandemic suggested we might. Consider the DTC movement, which was expected to gain hyper- space momentum as retail dollars shifted to digital channels at rates that were faster than anyone expected as recently as January of 2020. Ac- cording to the recent survey of both large and small wholesale brands by ecommerce platform provider Nu- Order, only 13 percent of respondents currently are prioritizing a move away from wholesale channels and toward DTC distribution. That compares to the 46 percent of respondents who said their priority was to increase their number of retail accounts and an ad- ditional 41 percent who said growth efforts were focused on selling more into their existing base of retailers. Likewise, when asked to rate overall satisfaction in their relationships with retail partners, more than 80 per- cent of vendors and manufacturers claimed to be “satisfied” or “very sat- isfied” with the status quo. When asked to cite the biggest shifts that have occurred so far in wholesale channels due to the pan- demic, a plurality of respondents said that even “more collaboration be- tween brand and retailer” was the big- gest change. The only perceived shift cited as much or more by respon- dents was the shift from pre-book to immediate/in-season purchasing. In other words, NuOrder’s findings sug- gest brands are feeling rather positive about their traditional retail relation- ships and optimistic about going even deeper with retail partners to innovate and solve problems. At the same time, as much as 70 percent of sporting good brands and retailers surveyed by WFSGI back in July were looking at some type of reframing of their sourcing priorities. About a third of those respondents cited intentions to move toward a more regional-centric approach. By September, one in five sporting goods brands and retailers said shifting to local sources was a priority. But those intentions shifted dramatically by No- vember, when more than 80 percent of sporting goods vendors and retailers said a reframing of the supply chain was no longer on the front burner. Please indicate current statu & Inclusion Training... Number ofWashings What’s your biggest pain point with wholesale distribution? Source: Toray Labs Source: NuOrder 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 How do y u want to refram your sourcing priorities aft r the pandemic? Source: WFSGI 0 2 4 6 Karuishi Leading stretch fleece Weight (mg) Cumbersome Ordering Process Written Errors Lack of Support from Retail Partnerships Lack of Alignment on Ordering Process Lack of Logistical Process Supply Chain Not Streamlined Lack of Data Lack of Access to Live Inventory Lack of Standardization Other 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% No change 100 % 90 % 80 % 70 % 60 % 50 % 40 % 30 % 20 % 10 % 0 % Local for local Sourcing Regional centric sourcing Global market centric sourcing April May April July August September October November Already have DI training... Developing DI training... Currently or soon to be... Do not have plans for DI 0% 10% 20% 30% Source: Multimedia Plus What are the areas where the biggest shifts in wholesale have occurred? Years of experience in industry of respondents Merging & consolidation In retailers Consolidation of supply chain & distribution New selling models (subscription- based) More collaboration between brand & retailer Shifts from pre-book to immediate/ in-season buying Changes in partnerships pricing or terms agreements Other 0-5 years 30% 16% 35% 45% 36% 34% 9% 6-10 years 30% 17% 32% 49% 51% 31% 6% 11+ years 47% 14% 29% 39% 46% 32% 11% Source: NuOrder