Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, the national organization serving specialty outdoor retail, welcomes three new members to their independent retailer network. The new Grassroots retail members include Alpenglow Sports (Tahoe City, Calif.), Home Town Sports (McCall, Idaho) and Maine Sport Outfitters (Camden and Rockport, Me.). The three move membership in the group to 64 specialty retailers.
“Even though these businesses are separated by thousands of miles, it’s amazing how much they have in common. Each one has been in business for more than 30 years, each one has built an incredibly devoted local following, and each one is truly a centerpiece of their local community,” said Rich Hill, president of Grassroots Outdoor Alliance.
To join the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, retail members go through a lengthy process of prequalification, application, financial review and board approval, said the group. Once a member, the list of services and benefits include improved buying programs; exclusive data that meshes national sales trends with real-time input from other specialty retailers; and increased personal access to vendor brands’ sales, marketing and design teams.
Grassroots members also have the opportunity to participate in two invitation-only buying shows — for which members are reimbursed for travel costs — as well as an additional two membership meetings a year. During all Grassroots events, member retailers benefit from shared business intelligence, best practices, and sell-through data and sales trend analysis.
“Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is at the tip of the specialty retail spear and understands the needs and challenges of shops like ours,” said Brendan Madigan, owner of Alpenglow Sports. “We’re excited to stand on the shoulders of industry giants who have been in the game much longer than us, and supplement their professionalism and expertise with an infusion of our skill set of youth, event expertise and progressive thinking.”
