Grassroots Outdoor Alliance has admitted Next Adventure of Portland, Ore, as its newest retail member and Nite Ize as its newest vendor partner. Based in Asheville, NC, Grassroots provides buying and other services to 45 independent outdoor retailers with nearly 100 doors.
Next Adventure is Portland’s alternative outdoor store that was started in June of 1997 by Deek Heykamp and Bryan Knudsen. It was started as a used gear and closeout store.
Servicing kayakers, climbers, snowboarders, hikers, campers, skiers, cyclists, mountaineers, and anyone “who loves the outdoors,” Next Adventure occupies three physical addresses: the Grand Store, its original 16,000-square-foot location that houses all their outdoor categories; the Paddle Sports Center, a 13,000-square-foot building filled with kayaks, canoes, SUPs and other paddling products; and a 20,000-square-foot warehouse with a yard for storage.
“Deek and Bryan have are two of the smartest, hardest working retailers I have the pleasure of working with,” said Stuart McCornack, co-owner of Yukon Trading Company and sales representative to Next Adventure. “They have remained true to the roots of their original business model while expanding into new categories with some of the premier brands in the outdoor industry.”
Next Adventure will be attending the Grassroots Early Show being held from June 10 – 13, 2013 in Ogden, Utah.
Grassroots also announced that Nite Ize has joined our organization. CEO and Founder Rick Case started Nite Ize as an undergraduate at the University of Colorado in 1989.
“I was on a fishing trip using the brand new mini flashlight my family gave me as a gift,” he recalled. “I was fishing at night with it, holding it in my mouth. Sure enough, I opened my mouth, and the flashlight fell out. I was staring down into the water, watching my still lit flashlight on the bottom when an idea hit me. That idea became the first product I ever made, the Headband Mini Flashlight Holder.”
Case was running the company from his mountain cabin when he received his first order for 42,000 Headbands. More than 20 years later, Nite Ize continues to expand with a large manufacturing facility and corporate offices based out of beautiful Boulder, Colo.
Today, Nite Ize sells a wide variety of accessories, tools, and devices.
“Nite Ize is a solid business that has enjoyed steady growth within our membership over the last 5 years,”said Grassroots President Roanne Miller. “We are pleased to partner with them and to utilize Paul’s years of outdoor experience to build a long term, mutually beneficial partnership.”
