An annual outdoor pilgrimage (inside)

As I type, I’m sitting on the Berghaus stand at the OutDoor trade show in Friedrichshafen, in the south of Germany. The event takes place in July each year and sees all of the major outdoor brands gather under one very large roof to showcase their latest product developments. I tend to wear several hats while out here, but spend the majority of my time meeting journalists on the Berghaus stand and giving them an overview of the spring/summer 2010 collection.

It’s been a very busy few days and there has been plenty of interest in the new clothing, footwear and rucsacs. Highlights include a comprehensive collection of base layers, a great selection of low cut outdoor footwear and some really exciting new daysacs. And the colour palette across the range is fantastic – it’s really vibrant and perfect for summer.

One of the other big stories for Berghaus in 2010 revolves around some significant anniversaries. Next year will mark 25 years since Sir Chris Bonington reached the summit of Everest. It will also be 60 years since the first successful summit of an 8,000 metre mountain, when Maurice Herzog climbed Annapurna, and the 50th anniversary of Chris’ own first ascent of Annapurna II. And Chris will be 75, in a year during which he is heading back out the Annapurna region to lead a trek to commemorate all of the above.

Sir Chris features prominently in Berghaus’ communications plans for 2010 and even appears on some really nice ‘heritage’ t-shirts that the company has designed. His association with Berghaus goes back to the early 1980s and he is the living embodiment of the brand, still exploring unclimbed peaks and new areas over 50 years after he started to make a name for himself in the world of climbing.

During the show, I have also been talking to journalists about developments at the Outdoor Industries Association. Since her appointment as association director, Louise Ramsay has made a big and positive impact, and is delivering some dynamic plans that will really help the OIA achieve its long term objective to effectively represent and promote the UK outdoor sector. The latest step has just gone live, with the launch of the new OIA website. It already looks great and there’s much more that will be added to it in the near future, as it develops into an essential resource for outdoor brands, retailers and other businesses.

Finally, I took the chance to introduce a few of my contacts to the Adventure Generator for North East England. Interest in this great online activity break planning tool is building fast. Recently, former Olympic athletes Steve Cram and Allison Curbishley gave the Adventure Generator a spin and enjoyed a range of activities across the North East. And now, several of the outdoor magazines that I met at the show have expressed an interest in featuring it.

All good. Right, I’m leaving the show this afternoon and travelling back by boat, train and airplane. So, I need to go and catch a ferry.

The ‘Adventure Generator’ has landed

My feet haven’t touched the ground during the last few weeks. Following the Berghaus spring/summer 2010 sales conference and a great camping break with my family, it’s been all hands on deck at Press Ahead. In fact, the outdoor theme is continuing, and then some. We’ve been working flat out on the development of an online application to help people plan visits to North East England and try their hand at outdoor activities. That is now ready and live and we’re proud to announce the launch of the Adventure Generator.

I reckon that the timing for this couldn’t be better. Terms like ‘staycation’ and ‘glamping’ are becoming common parlance and domestic outdoor activity providers and venues are reporting huge demand for their products and services. Research published earlier this year by the Outdoor Industries Association (OIA) revealed that 49% of the British adult population is more likely to eschew a foreign holiday and go on a UK based outdoor break during 2009, due to the economic downturn.

As well as this current trend of holidaying in the UK, for several years now there has been a consistent growth in the public’s appetite multi-activity outdoor adventures. Whereas in the past, someone might describe themselves as a walker or a cyclist, people these days want to try a multitude of outdoor activities, and sometimes all in one weekend or short break. This has implications for brands like Berghaus who make outdoor products, as people want items that will work for a range of pursuits. Kit such as the hugely popular Paclite Jacket is an example of how to get multi-activity product right. And so, in a different way, is the Adventure Generator.

The Adventure Generator clearly caters for the ‘staycation’ audience, but it also includes such a wide range of activity options from all over the North East that it’s perfect for anyone who’s ready for a weekend of varied outdoor adventures. All you need to do is ‘spin the wheels’ and find out what adventures the region has in store for you. You can spin again if the options don’t appeal and then the website provides you with all the information you need to plan your trip and your activities. You can even challenge your friends and family through the website.

Here at Press Ahead, we’re really pleased with the Adventure Generator. Based on our original concept, the actual design and programming was completed by our colleagues at Different. They’ve done a fantastic job (in my humble opinion) and the final product looks great, is really easy to use and wonderfully showcases the huge variety of outdoor activities available in North East England. Now comes the job of spreading the word as far and as wide as possible – feel free to play a part in that!

Heading for the hills...and the valleys, and the forests, and the water...

The UK outdoor industry has always been fairly resilient during an economic downturn. It’s not recession proof of course, but certain factors work in its favour. When people have to tighten their belts, they tend to eschew holidays abroad and instead spend leisure time closer to home (an Outdoor Industries Association survey from as recently as January established that 49% of the UK public is now more likely to consider an outdoor break in this country, rather than head overseas). The great outdoors offers a handy venue that is generally low cost, while camping and caravanning are also budget alternatives to hotels. Similarly, consumers tend to cut back on luxury fashion products but will continue to invest in practical, durable kit such as that designed for the outdoors.

In the current economic climate, there is even more happening that indicates that 2009 will turn out to be a strong year for the outdoor industry. For a start, from January to March the country experienced something close to a proper winter, which had an immediate positive impact on sales of products like waterproof jackets, insulation layers, and hats and gloves. Meanwhile, the Pound was at its weakest against the Dollar and Euro, so many people chose to stay in the UK to enjoy their winter outdoor adventures, keeping money in the country’s economy.

As we head towards the summer, the situation continues to favour the outdoor industry. In recent weeks, we have enjoyed bursts of warm, dry weather which has focused eyes on outdoor horizons. Campsites are enjoying a boom time and the Camping and Caravanning Club has reported a huge increase in advance bookings for sites across the country (27% up on the same time last year). As well as sunshine, there have also been cloudbursts, so the need to be properly equipped with waterproof kit has remained at the forefront of minds.

And now the Met Office has announced that we can expect a hot, dry summer. This is going to do no harm at all to business for campsites, outdoor activity providers and manufacturers of tents, warm weather performance outdoor products, and especially footwear. At the same time, the general interest in and appetite for outdoor activities has been on a steady upward curve for several years. This trend is not about to change and is actually being accelerated by numerous central and regional government initiatives designed to get people into the outdoors.

So, it makes absolute sense for different parts of the UK to promote the outdoors as a key part of their tourism offer. This week, North East England started its own campaign to do just that. The Outdoor and Active initiative has kicked off by encouraging the region’s public to move around the North East to try out the many outdoor activities that are available really close to home. Press Ahead arranged a day of fun for the bosses of three outdoor tourism businesses from different parts of the region. They tried out each other’s specialist activities and visited various locations, all in one busy day.

Amy Craggs from Beamish Wild Ropes Activity Centre, Simon White from Tees Active watersports and Andrew Straw from Saddle Skedaddle cycling tours were our three adventurers. They really got stuck into the task and I think they enjoyed their day – the photos certainly seem to indicate that they had a good time.

We’re looking forward to getting the North East into the outdoors over the next few months, but we have also been tasked with bringing visitors from elsewhere to the region. We have some phenomenal outdoor locations up here and they are generally really accessible. However, many of these are relatively unknown, so there’s a great opportunity to show off this wonderful part of the world to a huge audience that is absolutely ready to head for the outdoors and open to suggestions. We’ve got some exciting, and I think innovative, ideas up our technical wicking fabric sleeves, so expect to see and hear much more about Outdoor and Active in North East England soon.

Of course, the North East is not the only region or nation that is promoting its outdoor assets this year, which is even more good news for the outdoor industry in general. Taking all of the above into consideration, it is no wonder that brands like Berghaus remain relatively bullish about prospects for 2009. Although there is no complacency among firms and there are previously successful retailers and brands in the sector that are really struggling (or worse), this particular business landscape is in generally better health than many others at the moment.

In short, heading for the hills (and the rest) has never been more popular. As Richard Cotter, Berghaus brand president, stated recently:
“Over the next few years, outdoor participation will increase massively, not in its original sense, but in the widest context. More than ever, people want to find a route of escape from everyday life and outdoor activities offer that. They choose to do something active, but not just one activity. These days, the opportunity to try out a wide range of ‘adventure sports’ is massive and this is one of the fastest growing sectors in the whole leisure industry.

“Huge numbers of people are heading outdoors every weekend looking for their definition of adventure – camping, hiking, scrambling, biking, climbing and much more. Crucially, many of these people have never previously been aligned to the outdoor industry and only now do companies like Berghaus really have the chance to communicate with them."

Amen to that. Right, I’m off to find a map, a compass and plan an adventure or two of my own.