Gregory Mountain Products named the All Mountain Group as its “Sales Agency of the Year” for 2013. Awarded at the company’s North American sales meeting held this spring in Salt Lake City, Utah, the annual award recognizes top rep performance in several categories. Led by Al Diamond and Erik Mushial, with a strong complement of agency members strategically spread across the Northeast U.S., including Russ Clune, Tyler Merritt, Dave Rosenstein and Kevin Mahoney, the All Mountain Group posted top sales growth and ranked highly in all performance categories for the 2013 calendar year.
Additionally at the annual meeting, service awards were presented to Gregory sales reps surpassing important tenure milestones with the brand. Stéphane Morin of Les Agences Stéphane Morin, Inc. was honored for 20 years of service in Eastern Canada. Ron and Brenda Frongillo of Mountain 2 Sea Marketing in the Southeast were honored for 10 years, as was David Egan of Perpetual Motion Northwest.
Osprey Packs announced the addition of Motion Representation rep agency to its bike market sales team in the Midwest. Founded in 2012 by industry veteran Dennis Porter, Motion will coverage a territory that spans from Wisc. to Ia., Minn., the Dakotas, Neb. and Mo. With three reps on the ground, Porter, Nick Grigsby and Pat O’Neill, Motion represents numerous bike brands including Pivot Cycles, NiteRider, Louis Garneau, GU and Motorex. Porter can be contacted at 952-270-3656 or dporter104@comcast.net.
Portland Product Werks, which will launch the Woolrich Footwear collection in Fall 2014, appointed Sports Strategies NW as its sales representative in the Pacific Northwest. Sports Strategies NW is led by Ted Carlson, who has more than 30 years of experience selling to outdoor and footwear retailers within the region. Portland Product Werks announced in September 2013 its long-term, global licensing agreement with Woolrich to design, source and distribute premium footwear and slipper collections for men and women.
Mountainsmith announced the addition of long-time outdoor industry veteran Ray Ferrand as its new Mid-Atlantic sales rep. Based in New Hyde Park, N.Y, Ferrand started Ferrand Associates in 1986 and currently reps Sherpa Adventure Gear, ENO, Point6, TrekSta, Perfect Storm, Snow Peak and Tilley. He was awarded the 2001 OIA Leadership Award, and has twice served as president of the EORA.
Scott Eddins, lead territory sales and manager for Outdoor Sports Marketing, was named Sales Representative of the Year for the southeast region at the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance awards and recognition dinner in Loveland, Colo. This award was nominated and voted on by the retailers in the Grassroots organization, whose members described Eddins as the “hardest working rep in the business.”
Eventum, LLC has been hired to represent La Sportiva in the Southeastern U.S. Eventum was founded in 2013 by Chip Parker and is comprised of industry veterans Matt Ginley, Todd Combs and Karen Harper. Parker has more than 20 years of operational management, buying and sales experience within specialty retail, while Ginley adds 10 years of experience working as a sales rep in the Southeastern region. Combs served as a buyer in specialty retail, as well as a former shop owner in the region, and Harper’s experience includes time at both REI and High Country Outfitters.
Three new sales agencies have been added to the NEMO Equipment rep roster. In the Southeast (Va., W.V., Ky., N.C., S.C., Ga., Fla., Tenn., Ala., Miss.), NEMO will be represented by Kurt Smith, Phillip Hoffman and Chaz Warren from Top Gun Sales. Smith can be reached at nrgsales1@gmail.com or 304-237-4306. In Calif., Nev. and Ariz., NEMO will be represented by Bill Schmid and Jonas Goldsmith of Parallel 33 Sales. Goldsmith can be reached at goldsmith.jonas@gmail.com or 619-606-9131. And in Texas, Okla., La., and Ark., NEMO will be represented by Jason Ramsey of Southern Overland Sales. Ramsey can be reached at jramseya2d@yahoo.com or 469-261-8389.
Sport Hansa LLC, an importer and distributor of niche European outdoor brands and product lines, continues to grow its U.S. retail presence adding Mountain Source to cover the Central Mountain region and Momentum Outdoor Sales in the Pacific Northwest. Mountain Source, servicing retailers located in Colo., Utah, Idaho, Mo., Wyo., and N.M, will represent Sport Hansa brands Helle, Wetterlings, Kupilka and Pronto Café. Momentum Outdoor Sales, a firm headed by outdoor industry veteran Rob Scott, will cover Wash., Ore. and Idaho, representing Sport Hansa brands Helle Knives, Kupilka, Montane, Pronto Café, Terra Nova and Wetterlings.
Swedish footwear brand Icebug, which rebooted its U.S. operations in 2013, has selected Rock Gear Distribution as its Canadian distributor. Rock Gear focuses on premium accessories for active people and stocks hundreds of dealers across Canada with a mix of outdoor, running, cycling and other sporting goods.
Honey Stinger recently announced two new additions to the sales team. Jerard Whitehead will assume the role of grocery category manager and Shannon Lane has taken on a new role within Honey Stinger as a key account manager for sports and outdoor categories. Whitehead joins Honey Stinger from Market Connection Group, where he was the western regional sales manager for Amy & Brian’s Coconut Water in addition to six other grocery brands. Prior to that, he developed the grocery operations and marketing strategies for Whole Foods Rocky Mountain. Lane has been named Honey Stinger’s new key account manager for NCAA and professional team accounts, bicycle distribution chains, as well as sporting goods and health & fitness retailers.
Citing a rapid adoption of the newly minted brand, Ticla has signed two new sales agencies to manage key accounts. Jake Swan of the Calif.-based Cedros Group is charged with growing the brand at retailers in the Southwest. Cedros Group manages retailer accounts including Adventure 16 in Southern California. Cody Prudoehl, meanwhile, heads Otolith, LLC, a sales agency based in Grand Rapids, Mich., and will service retailers in that area. The agency has a proven track record of opening new doors for emerging brands at outdoor retailers, say Ticla sources.
Meanwhile, Prudoehl also was recently signed by Mountain Khaki to represent the Great Lakes region. Prudoehl will service Mountain Khaki retailers in Mich., Ohio, Ind. and Ky.
