F O R T H E O U T D O O R S OIA 2009 ANNUAL REPORT

2009 was a watershed year for the outdoor industry. After years of robust sales growth, brands, retailers and sales reps learned in a matter of months how to not only survive, but grow profits on less inventory and fewer sales. The recession and a new president and Congress sparked a sea change in how society views America’s great outdoors. From the White House to doctor’s offices and within state and local economic development organizations, awareness grew of the positive role outdoor recreation can play in fighting rising health care costs, creating sustainable employment, reconnecting Americans with their natural landscapes and forging a new era of corporate social responsibility.

By year’s end, our industry faced opportunities every bit as large as the challenges of a year earlier. Today, Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) is poised to shape a federal conservation strategy for the 21st century, help members quickly identify and respond to market trends and launch the Eco Index that could set sustainability standards far beyond our industry.

As always, the success of these initiatives will hinge on the leadership and participation of our members. We hope that this annual report not only informs you about the work of OIA, but also inspires you to renew or increase your involvement in the work of the outdoor industry in the years ahead.

2009: A Pivotal Year

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OUTDOOR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION started off 2009 like many of our members, readjusting strategy to adapt to the rapid changes triggered by the worst recession in decades. Our board of directors and staff took a hard look at the mission, revenues and expenses of OIA. It was a difficult, but ultimately rewarding exercise. In the end, OIA did what all successful organizations do. We refocused on our core mission, which is providing our members with critical market research, business information and government relations.

Our first priority was to affirm our dedication to the long-term success of specialty retail with an expanded selection of educational webinars and business intelligence aimed at helping retailers improve operational performance and profitability. A challenging economic environment meant reallocating resources to support those key missions and required tough decisions about some OIA projects.

By the time Outdoor Retailer Winter Market arrived in the third week of January, we were ready. We partnered with a leading consultant to help retailers identify and address their strengths and weaknesses. A month later, OIA launched a six-part webinar series to help retailers hone their financial and operational skills. In total, OIA and our partners provided more than 30 webinars and trained more than 1,500 industry executives in 2009. By the third quarter, when the economy showed signs of recovery, many retailers were reporting that they had learned how to earn more money on less inventory and fewer sales.

Like the overwhelming majority of our members, OIA emerged from 2009 stronger, leaner, and more effective. We launched the Piper Jaffray Outdoor Industry Survey, which has helped executives compare their own perceptions and expectations with their peers up and down the supply chain. We introduced the monthly OIA CEO Brief with exclusive reporting on industry trends. The Outdoor Foundation produced special reports on fishing and boating, camping, paddle sports and youth participation. It also laid the groundwork for Outdoor Nation, a game changer in the quest to grow youth participation in outdoor recreation and the conservation movement.

TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS

2009 will go down as a pivotal year for our recreation and public lands efforts. After a decade of building relationships and telling the industry’s story on Capitol Hill, our work paid big dividends. Ken Salazar, a two-time recipient of the OIA Friend of the Outdoor Industry Award, was appointed Secretary of the Interior, where he has had an immediate and significant impact on federal land management policy. Secretary Salazar’s devotion to conservation and his familiarity with the societal and economic benefits of outdoor recreation prompted President Obama to launch America’s Great Outdoors Initiative in April 2010. The initiative instructs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality to solicit input from across America to shape a conservation strategy for the 21st century. America’s Great Outdoors Initiative presents the industry with an unprecedented opportunity to shape national conservation and recreation policy. OIA is working closely with the administration to ensure the voice of recreation and conservation is heard at the listening sessions that will take place across the country in the summer of 2010.

As important as it is to pause and recognize the accomplishments in 2009, OIA board of directors and staff remain vigilant. OIA remains focused on providing the vital market research, programming and other services that help retailers, brands and reps navigate through “the new normal.”

A key piece of this business intelligence will be OIA VantagePoint™. We spent a great deal of time in 2009 preparing for the launch of OIA VantagePoint, the official research resource of the outdoor industry. OIA VantagePoint is a powerful online retail point-of-sale reporting system designed by and for OIA members.

As always, the OIA board of directors and staff thank you for your support. It is truly an honor and privilege to serve such a forward thinking industry. In 2010 and beyond, we look forward to building on the lessons learned last year so we can spread the joy and benefits of outdoor recreation to a growing number of future enthusiasts.

Frank Hugelmeyer, President and CEO fhugelmeyer@outdoorindustry.org 303.327.3501

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A decade of work by the OIA Government

Affairs team and the OIA board of directors

bore fruit in 2009 when Congress granted

permanent status to the National Landscape

Conservation System and approved a

17 percent increase in total funding for

America’s public lands. This included higher

funding for the long neglected stateside

Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)

critical to building close-to-home parks

in thousands of communities across the

country. Congress also created the FLAME

Fund, which sets aside resources to fight

forest fires so federal officials don’t have

to divert money appropriated for parks,

campgrounds and trails.

Trade

The OIA trade policy program continued its expansion in 2009, with the formation of an outdoor industry Trade Advisory Council. The group held its first meeting in Washington, D.C. in February, where it was briefed on the regulatory outlook from senior congressional staff before meeting with members of Congress to present the OIA trade agenda. This included winning support for the U.S. OUTDOOR ACT and the Affordable Footwear Act. These two bills would eliminate tariffs on technical outdoor footwear and performance outerwear not made in the United States.

These bills gained a strong roster of sponsors but did not pass as Congress delayed addressing trade policy as members focused on passing health care legislation. At year’s end, Congress failed to renew the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, causing tariffs to rise Jan. 1, 2010 on more than a dozen footwear and other outdoor products. The resulting impact on outdoor manufacturers means that renewing the MTB or passing the Affordable Footwear Act is a major priority for the OIA trade program in 2010.

At the same time, OIA continues to support the industry’s work in pioneering standards for fair labor and sustainable supply chains, which builds the industry’s reputation as a sustainability thought-leader with policy makers. When the president and Congress do turn their attention to trade reform, we will work diligently to ensure that the industry’s voice is heard.

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

Public Lands

Big wins on recreation funding and public lands were a bright spot for the outdoor industry in 2009. Longtime supporters of recreation rose to positions of leadership in the new administration and Congress. Most notable was Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, a two-time winner of the OIA Friend of the Outdoor Industry Award, who moved quickly to refocus the priorities of the Department of Interior. By mid-February, Congress had appropriated nearly $3 billion under the economic stimulus package to the Department of Interior, which dedicated long-needed funds to trail and campground maintenance, projects in our national parks and natural resources restoration projects. In April, President Obama signed a bill into law granting permanent recognition to the Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System, which encompasses 26 million acres of some of the most iconic and visited desert landscapes in the American West. By year’s end, Congress had approved a 17 percent increase in total funding for America’s public lands, which included increased funding for the Land & Water Conservation Fund by $100 million and created the FLAME Fund to ensure that money appropriated for outdoor recreation infrastructure is not siphoned off to fight forest fires.

Clearly the federal deficit will increase competition for federal resources going forward, but thanks to a decade of work on Capitol Hill, it is clear that the highest leaders in the land are giving more weight to the sustainable jobs and wealth created by outdoor recreation on public land. In July, a group led by U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) cited OIA research in a report calling for full funding of the LWCF. President Obama has pledged his support for the same and embraced Secretary Salazar’s call for a 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps that could put thousands of young Americans to work on public lands. There is also broad support for dedicating revenues from any off-shore renewable energy leases to conservation as proposed in pending energy and climate change legislation. OIA is prepared to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the new administration with a new addition to the government affairs staff focused on helping the administration advance a new conservation agenda. Craig Mackey joined the team at the end of 2009 and will direct advocacy efforts on behalf of outdoor recreation and the OIA Political Action Committee. Mackey brings 30 years of experience and contacts in government to the already seasoned OIA Government Affairs team.

photos © Zweig Photo

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With the worst recession in decades in full

swing, OIA wasted no time ramping up its

business intelligence activities in 2009. Amidst

plunging sales, swollen retail inventories,

rampant discounting and tightening credit,

OIA moved quickly to provide members with

timely and actionable information to help them

navigate through rapidly changing business

conditions. The tough economy forced OIA,

like its members, to do this at little to no

additional cost by shifting resources from

less urgent areas, partnering with other

organizations and leveraging technology to

deliver the information in less costly, but more

timely and accessible formats.

We published four more editions of the

quarterly Piper Jaffray Outdoor Industry

Survey, which measures CEO sentiment

within the outdoor industry. The surveys help

executives measure their perceptions of sales,

inventory, credit and other conditions against

their peers up and down the supply chain.

OIA also published a 2009 edition of the OIA

Retail Financial and Operations Benchmarking

Report, which breaks out a wide range of key

performance indicators by volume of sales,

number of employees, number of locations and

other criteria.

Finally, through expanded communications,

including the new OIA CEO Brief monthly

newsletter, OIA gathered and disseminated

more information on upcoming business trends

and critical challenges facing our industry.

To make sure this information reached as

many people in the industry as possible, we

expanded our reach from 4,000 to more than

15,000 key industry stakeholders. All told, we

pushed more information to more people in a

more timely manner.

Sales Intelligence

As product innovation and the Internet continue to accelerate change in consumer behavior, OIA responded in 2009 by laying the groundwork for a major innovation in retail point-of-sale (POS) reporting. In October, after an eight-month audit of retailers and manufacturers, OIA selected The SportsOneSource Group to develop and manage OIA VantagePoint™. This powerful online retail POS system will generate weekly, rather than monthly, data from a much wider assortment of distribution channels and geographic regions. OIA VantagePoint will enable retailers and manufacturers to identify and respond to market trends much more quickly and efficiently than ever before.

Participation Trends

The Outdoor Foundation continued its seminal research of how Americans recreate outdoors with special reports on fishing and boating, camping, paddlesports and youth participation. These came in addition to its comprehensive annual participation report, which is based on a survey of 40,000 Americans ages six and older. The research, which shines a spotlight on declining rates of youth participation in outdoor activities, has established The Outdoor Foundation as the go-to source for policy makers and media as the nation explores solutions to the obesity epidemic and spiraling health care costs. This research has also buttressed the industry’s status as an important pillar of the economy.

INTELLIGENCE

EXECUTIVE MARKET

SUMMARYU.S. OUTDOOR INDUSTRY

RETAIL SALES TOPLINE REPORT Y E A R E N D R E V I E W 2 0 0 9

outdoorindustry.org • published March 2010 • © 2010 Outdoor Industry Association

ParticiPation outdoor recreation

RepoRt 2009

produced by Profit Planning Group | published August 2008 • © 2008 Outdoor Industry Association • www.outdoorindustry.org

2008

ManufacturerEmployee CompensationReport (2007 DATA)

$595

produced by Profit Planning Group | published August 2008 • © 2008 Outdoor Industry Association • www.outdoorindustry.org

2008

ManufacturerFinancial PerformanceReport (2007 DATA)

$495

RETAILER FINANCIAL & OPERATIONS

BENCHMARKING REPORT

2009

outdoorindustry.org • published July 2009 • © 2009 Outdoor Industry Association

$495

EXECUTIVE MARKET

SUMMARYU.S. OUTDOOR INDUSTRY

RETAIL SALES TOPLINE REPORT Y E A R E N D R E V I E W 2 0 0 9

outdoorindustry.org • published March 2009 • © 2009 Outdoor Industry Association

Photos © Backwoods

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2009 was a break-out year for online training

at OIA. By partnering with some of the top

consultants, trainers and vendors in the

industry, OIA was able to provide more than

30 webinars and train more than 1,500 people

in the outdoor industry on everything from

financial management to sales and marketing.

This has helped fortify our position as the

leading edge think tank for the outdoor

industry and affirmed our commitment to the

long-term success of specialty retailers.

Early in the year, we partnered with the Gluskin-Townley Group to produce the “Survive or Thrive” assessment tool, which invited specialty outdoor retailers to report their own financial and operational practices and metrics in exchange for free, customized reports suggesting where they could improve their operations. This was accompanied by seminars at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in January to help retailers measure the health of their business and respond to market turbulence. We followed-up in the spring with a six-part Outdoor University webinar series from The Mann Group aimed specifically at helping outdoor retailers hone their inventory and financial management skills in response to tightening credit and declining sales. Other webinars touched on such topics as summer hiring, public relations, online sales training tools, improving profits, holiday promotions and harnessing e-mail and e-commerce to drive traffic and converting shoppers into buyers.

More than two dozen webinars are now archived at outdoorindustry.org/webinars, enabling members free, 24/7 access to everything from market overviews to tips on how to maximize their OIA benefits.

OIA continues to offer face-to-face training at OIA events such as Rendezvous® and the Outdoor Retailer shows, where our partners, staff and members deliver presentations on evolving B2B data standards, the OIA Eco Index and the trade and regulatory environment.

OIA continues to refine its online training strategy to spread best practices and engender a sense of community among industry peers. In 2010, some of the most respected OIA members, including top outdoor specialty retailers and marketers, will deliver monthly Outdoor University webinars on a wide range of topics.

EDUCATION

Working Groups

Among the biggest OIA accomplishments in 2009 was facilitating negotiations between major paddlesports companies and Nielsen Business Media to keep the industry at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. OIA provided administrative support for an independent Paddlesports Advisory Council formed by the largest retailers and manufacturers, who worked with Nielsen to push back show dates to August and secure better floor space, logistics and rate discounts for boat exhibitors. In total, Nielsen stepped forward with incentives and cash grants valued at more than $200,000 with the expressed goal to grow paddlesports participation at Outdoor Retailer.

Other important community building initiatives included votes by the OIA board of directors to create a Trade Advisory Council in January and a Sustainability Advisory Council in July. The Sustainability Advisory Council is developing an integrated supply chain sustainability and fair labor strategy for the outdoor industry. The OIA Government Affairs staff has dedicated substantial time to launching a beta version of the Eco Index in 2010 that will provide brands and retailers with the industry’s first environmental assessment tool. This tool will allow companies within the outdoor industry to meet their environmental goals but will also impact the larger apparel and footwear industry as non-outdoor companies and government regulators look to OIA and our member companies for thought-leadership and progressive sustainability tools. 2009 also saw the re-launching of the Social Responsibility Working Group that is building a new toolkit for Fair Labor to accompany the Eco Index.

In its role as the industry’s leading think

tank, OIA continued as an ad hoc nexus for

grassroots industry initiatives and networking

events. In 2009, we hosted several new

working groups and advisory councils to

address industry needs and the evolving

regulatory landscape. Work done by some of

these groups represents the cutting edge in

our industry and fortifies the reputation of OIA

as an expert source for informing public policy

on a widening range of topics from public

land management to sustainable business

practices. OIA Capitol Summit provides

executives an opportunity to make their voices

heard with lawmakers each April, while the

OIA Rendezvous provides industry leaders an

informative and fun networking event.

PA G E 1 1

COMMUNITY

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Outdoor Industry Association continues to

maintain and build partnerships to offer members

substantial savings on shipping, travel, office

supplies, tradeshow, credit card processing, job

postings and education. As a result, OIA members

save, on average, $8,000 each year.

10% discount in 2011 on Outdoor Retailer Winter Market and Summer Market booth space

10% off advance services on standard & custom furnishings, all carpet grades & padding and graphics

C A R E E R C E N T E R

Complimentary and discounted job postings

OUTDOOR UNIVERSITY® Complimentary webinars on retail management

RENDEZVOUS® The annual leadership conference

Credit card rates as low as 1.95%, debit and check card rates as low as 1.70%

Up to 46% off FedEx Express shipments and up to 24% off FedEx Ground packages

70% discount on all qualifying less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments

®

Up to 15% off daily, weekend, weekly and monthly rates

Up to 88% discounts on office products, paper, printing, furniture and technology

COST SAVINGS PROVIDED BY OIA

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Last year was one of intense preparation at The Outdoor Foundation, where executive director Chris Fanning spent countless hours conceiving and planning the details of Outdoor Nation, an unprecedented effort to reconnect America’s youth to the outdoors. Fanning has recruited an impressive coalition of non-governmental organizations, outdoor companies and federal agencies to support Outdoor Nation, which will draw 500 youth leaders from all 50 states to New York City in June 2010 for a two-day festival and summit in Central Park. The Access Fund, the Student Conservation Association and the YMCA are among the organizations recruiting delegates to the summit, which will be presented by The North Face. The coalition, which had attracted a dozen outdoor brands by year end, will use social networking media, events, community grants, internships, mentoring and gear donations to spur a self-sustaining, youth-led movement.

The initiative has already enhanced the outdoor industry’s relationship with the administration, Congress and federal land management agencies, which view it as an ideal vehicle for President Obama’s like-minded America’s Great Outdoor Initiative.

Throughout this groundbreaking work, The Outdoor Foundation continued to turn out cutting-edge research on participation that is a must read for outdoor manufacturers and retailers. In addition to its authoritative annual Outdoor Recreation Participation Report, the foundation produced special reports on fishing and boating, camping, paddlesports and youth. This research is increasingly being cited by the national media in their coverage of “the children and nature movement,” or what Richard Louv called “nature deficit disorder” in his best-selling book “Last Child in the Woods.”

OUTDOOR FOUNDATION

Like our member businesses, 2009 was a challenging year to manage the OIA financial position. Overall, even though OIA membership decreased by 7 percent, we were pleased that new membership development increased 4 percent over 2008 levels. By early 2010, those losses were already eliminated and membership levels were back to pre-2009 levels. To weather the economic storm, we tightened our belt early in 2009, maximized member value with every expenditure and closely managed individual revenue streams. By year end, we realized increased revenues of 2.8 percent and decreased expenses of 1.5 percent over 2008 levels. This strategy provided positive bottom line results and allowed for new investments while maintaining a strong cash position. We remain dedicated to strong fiscal management to provide increasing return on investment to all our members.

* Includes sponsorships and royalties for utilization of OIA names and marks and endorsements of other corporate products, services and events, including member cost saving benefit alliances programs.

2009 Revenuestotal: $3,863,658

2009 Expenses total: $3,534,899

Membership by Number of Members total: 1007

Membership by Dues Revenue total: $798,500MEMBERSHIP BYDUES REVENUE

FINANCIALS 2009

Associate Members22%

ManufacturersDistributors

and Suppliers57%

Retailers andSales Reps

21%

Associate Members14%

ManufacturersDistributors

and Suppliers71%

Retailers andSales Reps

15%

InvestmentIncome

1%

Outdoor FoundationContributions and Grants

7%

Sponsorshipsand Royalties*

67%

RegistrationFees4%

MembershipDues21%

Member Communications

and Programs25%

MemberBenefits

65%

Education andResearch

23%

Outdoor FoundationCharitable Grants andParticipation Outreach

14%

Administrationand Fundraising

21%

GovernmentAffairs17%

OIA 2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Executive

Frank Hugelmeyer, President & CEO

Lori Herrera, Executive Vice President/COO

Karen McNamee, Executive Assistant

Government Affairs

Amy Roberts, Vice President, Government Affairs

Craig Mackey, Director of Government Affairs

Alexander Boian, Director of Trade Policy

Beth Jensen, Corporate Responsibility Manager

David Weinstein, OIA Wyss Foundation Fellow

Research & Education

LaRae Marsik, Vice President, Business Intelligence

Loraine Gruber, Member Services Manager

Marketing & Communications

Donna Martino, Marketing Manager

Membership

Jim Merrion, Director, Membership & Sales

Ingrid Malmberg, Membership Representative

Finance & Operations

Cindy Haddox, Controller

Adele Sparkman, Staff Accountant

Bryan Mahler, Director of Database Development

The Outdoor Foundation

Christine Fanning, Executive Director

Syieda Penn, Director of Programs and Outreach

OIA STAFF

Chair Dan TemplinVF Outdoor Inc., CFO

Vice Chair Will ManzerEMS, CEO

Vice Chair Peter MetcalfBlack Diamond Equipment, Co-Founder, CEO/President and Chairman

Treasurer Sam SolomonThe Coleman Company, President and CEO

Secretary Gordon SeaburyHorny Toad, CEO

Strategic Planning and Finance Chair

Brian UnmachtREI, Executive Vice President

Foundation Chair Jay SteereThe Timberland Company, VP Global Product Management/Outdoor Performance

Member & External Relations Chair

Jennifer MullBACKWOODS, Inc., CEO

Sutton Bacon Nantahala Outdoors, President & CEO

Tom Barney Osprey, CEO

Darren Bush Rutabaga Paddlesports, Owner

Norman Cavallaro North Cove Outfitters, President/Treasurer

Fred Clark Thule, CEO

Bob Holding Waypoint Outdoor, Co-Founder

Joe Hyer The Alpine Experience, Supreme Commander

David Kulow All Terrain (Rosemont Ventures, Inc.), Owner

David Loechner Nielsen Business Media, Senior Vice President

Ed McAlister River Sports Outfitters, Owner

Sue Rechner Confluence Watersports, President, CEO and Director

Pam Schwarzbach The Ascentials, Principal

Casey Sheahan Patagonia, CEO

Steve Shuster W. L. Gore, Gore Enterprise Communications

Bill Sweasy Red Wing Shoe Company, Chairman & CEO

Beaver Theodosakis Prana, Founder & CEO

Kim Walker outdoor DIVAS, Founder & President

Zohar Ziv Deckers Outdoor Corporation, COO

Photos © Kennan Harvey except where noted.

®Outdoor Industry Association, Outdoor University, Rendezvous and the Outdoor Industry Association logo are registered trademarks of Outdoor Industry Association.

®The Outdoor Foundation is a trademark of The Outdoor Foundation. 15

Outdoor Industry Association4909 Pearl East Circle, Suite 200Boulder CO 80301303.444.3353www.outdoorindustry.org