Channel Mastery - Ep. 195: Leta Kalfas on The Outdoor Industry Retail Space

MTNSTUFF

industry growth, retail stakeholders, vendor relationships, differentiation in a crowded market

featuring

Leta Kalfas is the CEO and Founder of MTNSTUFF. Growing up in Ohio, Leta dreamt of a life surrounded by mountains, trees, and trails of Colorado. She loved the terrain, the hiking, the skiing, the beauty. As a history major from the University of Michigan with a passion for entrepreneurship, Leta found herself in Southern California, in a brief life detour, working in the electrical distribution industry. With a little luck, a few glasses of wine, and an invitation to join the rep agency of her brother-in-law, Tom Gordon, she packed her bags and moved to Boulder, CO, in 1994. At that time, Tom and she were pioneering a few small, unknown brands: Osprey Packs, Chaco Footwear, and Atlas Snowshoes, which dominate the outdoor industry today. Over the years, Mtn Stuff has grown quite a bit, and with Tom’s retirement, Leta found herself at the helm of an agency with a dynamic and experienced sales team.

The life she found as a rep in the outdoor industry is beyond any profession she could have imagined. What struck her immediately when she started were the people. The people with whom she works with, her team, retailers, and vendors have all been nothing short of wonderful. It seems as though she picked this industry because it’s what she loves and loves to do: play in the outdoors.

Leta loves to find the activities that can be done with her team, retailers, and vendors because it brings them all together to experience nature and the outdoors in its proper place and away from computers, registers, boxes, and polybags.

show highlights

Leta Kalfas, the CEO and Founder of MTNSTUFF joins the show to chat about the growth of the outdoor industry, retail stakeholders, vendor relationships, differentiation in a crowded market, and the evolution of relevancy between retailers and a vendor. Kristin and Leta also dive into trade shows, buying patterns, developing relationships in the industry, pandemic pivots, lengthening the buy-sell cycles, and more!

The largest takeaway from the show relates to where retailers are currently at. Returning to the early pandemic days, outdoor recreators multiplied as the outdoors became a safe haven. Retailers, larger brands, and .coms saw large surges in the space. While 2020 and 2021 saw immense growth, then came supply chain issues that have resulted in canceled orders, extensions in cancel dates, and more. Leta is hearing that supply chain issues will last into at least 2024, and orders are

The Channel Mastery podcast is presented by Verde Brand Communications, a consumer-centric brand strategy and communication agency serving the outdoor recreation industries. We are also grateful for the sponsorship and partnership of Life Time, Inc., owner of the Sea Otter Classic and producer of the Sea Otter Classic Summit outdoor recreation executive gathering, taking place April 18-20, 2023, in Monterey, Calif. Learn more at Seaotterclassicsummit.com.

Kristin:
Welcome back everyone to Channel Mastery. We have a very special episode today. I get to introduce you to a great longtime friend of mine and colleague, Leta Kalfas, who is the CEO and owner of Mountain Stuff. Welcome to the show. It is so great to see you and to have you here on the show today.
Leta Kalfas:
Oh, it's so great to be with you, Kristen. Thank you for asking me.
Kristin:
Oh, of course. So we're here to talk about, I think, a lot of evolution around the important pivot point that a sales representative offers between retail stakeholders and brands/vendors and you and your team have been part, I think, of a very, very innovative solution. So before we get into that, let's talk a little bit about you, Leta, and your background and how you came to found Mountain Stuff and how Mountain Stuff is different, because that does tee us up nicely for the conversation we're going to have today.
Leta Kalfas:
Great. So Mountain Stuff actually started just a little bit before me with my brother-in-law Tom Gordon and he had me join him in 1994. Back then, in the nineties, the outdoor industry was still pretty small. They had kind of broken away from the ski show. They got their own outdoor show, was in Reno. It's the time where I feel like the outdoor industry really started to grow up and really started to get legit. And I was part of that growth in an agency in the Rocky Mountains. And one of the things that I think Tom instilled, and to this day I carry, is really about the personal touch and care with the retailer, with our customer. And yet we also have this connection and this relationship with the vendor that we need to mind as well. And we have to find a way to pair those together.
But in the nineties it was very, very basic, it was, you do your selling, you do your clinicing, you go to the stores, you're on the road, you're seeing people. And the cycle starts twice a year. It just goes over and around again. And the only thing really that Tom and I had that was secret sauce was just the care that we had for our retailers. And we really, I mean, they really became dear friends. I would stay with them on the road. And I think a lot of folks in the outdoor industry, in my position as reps, I think they do have the benefit of developing those kinds of relationships with retailers. It's not something so unique to Mountain Stuff.
But over the years, as we have had brands like Osprey for the past 28/29 years, Outdoor Research, Western Mountaineering, I mean some core outdoor brands, we've grown. And then Tom retired in 2013 and I had a vision to really continue this and grow the business beyond where Tom and I had it. So in 2013 I brought on a business partner, Rich Weight, and we really had the vision to grow this company, this rep agency like a family. Rich is like my sixth brother. He's always been family to me.
Kristin:
Everyone needs six brothers.
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah. Everyone. Yeah, that's five.
Kristin:
I have three. So, that's great.
Leta Kalfas:
Clearly, five's not enough.
Kristin:
That's awesome.
Leta Kalfas:
Anyway, we had the shared vision of wanting to grow and do it in a way that we would have fun, that we would care for each other. When Rich and I got together, it was almost like we were holding hands and said, okay, are we getting married? Are we going do this? And it was really just very intentional and really cool.
So from that point, we just really took care in bringing the right people on who fit into our culture of family. And that's where I think Mountain Stuff has evolved to our secret sauce being. We see our retailers as family. We see our vendors as family. And now we've grown to be seven people and we're tight knit. We look after each other. We take care of each other. We feel supported. It's just been a great ride.
Kristin:
And I love all of that. And it is incredibly important to your differentiation. But I also want to just put out there, because as you know, what this show is about and has become about in 2022 especially, is looking at how we've always done things and evolving them forward because you and I have been in this outdoor rec space for a while. The relationships are the reason we come to work every day, which is what you've just identified and underscored. And obviously as larger companies change hands, that's one of the things that will change the industry, but there are still these pockets. And what I know you and your team provide is that sense, it's like a level of business partnership and trust that you bring to both the brand and the retailer, that literally is almost like a translator to them around the territory that you're covering.
So it's like you're bringing the lexicon and the theater of that brand into the stores on the brand's behalf. And the retailer's trust you to put the right things on the stage, if you will. And that takes a long time to earn that trust. They obviously went through hell and high water through COVID, trying to get that retail buy done, which you all have been critical for. It literally is what makes or breaks the business, okay. During a time when they couldn't touch and feel the product. And during a time when we weren't sure how we were going to get the product into this channel.
So I wanted to just put that underneath our conversation, because ultimately that trust that you've built with these brands and with these retailers as the absolute, I think, the binding that holds them together successfully. And if you look at the trade shows, here we are in August of 2022, having reverence for the trade shows, that's how I've grown up in the industry, so I'm not at all bashing them. But they are not serving the purpose or hold the value equation that they once did.
And think about it. I once had a client tell me that the trade shows offer us the opportunity to show the theater of the brand, the merchandising, the new product, the parties, meeting the people on both sides or all three sides with media, et cetera. And that's gone now. So a lot of people have been shortsighted in your role and said, ugh, how are we even going to stay relevant. But really what it comes back to is like, okay, well, what do our people need, right. And that's what I'd love to hear. Maybe some of the moments during COVID and coming out of COVID that have really defined who today's Mountain Stuff is. And then we'll get into the commitment that you've jumped into that we're here to talk about today.
Leta Kalfas:
So, here we are, rolling through a few years together after 2013 and then 2020 hits. I have to just give a shout out to my oldest son Jackson, who told me in November of 2019, mom, there's this pandemic and there's this disease, this infectious disease in China. And he was all worried about, I'm like, oh, it'll be okay, it'll be okay. And then five months later here we are, the world shuts down. And how do we stay relevant, to your question.
I've always felt like reps were an underappreciated part of the equation between a retailer and a vendor. And if we had to really become more of that picture and be more visible, we had to insert ourselves more. So we found ourselves during the pandemic inserting ourselves as much as we possibly could between the vendor, between the retailer, checking in, making sure that they're okay, figuring out different ways to do business, whether it's buy online and fit in store, what Osprey did. And how can we help do that.
How do we reframe our clinics to do them virtually and to also talk about different techniques to stay socially distant, yet, how do you fit a pack? Those kinds of things, we had to kind of relearn. How do you show a garment and talk about it's hand, it's feel, it's really, really tricky. And they had to really trust us, but that all that goodwill that we've created before by the closest of our relationship, kind of gave us that base to be able to do that. But it really worked.
Kristin:
Just imagine if they didn't have you during that time.
Leta Kalfas:
What's that?
Kristin:
I said, just imagine if they didn't have you during that time, as partners who are willing to try different things. And let's also remind us all, and then we all know this, but you have different brands, just like my company. They all require a different touch and a different approach and success looks different for every single one. So at the same time you're working to try and, I think, engineer a new system that works in your company, but you can't really scale it because it's so unique to the brands that you're working on.
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah, right.
Kristin:
And with. So I also just want to point that out too. I think that we've all kind of, I've said jokingly on the podcast, we've been training for this. Let's stay nimble. Let's keep pivoting. We're really good at this. Now we have a PhD. But at the same time, you almost, and we've heard people, they're waiting for something easier to happen.
Leta Kalfas:
Yes.
Kristin:
And that something easier is Outdoor Retailer. So without going to in the weeds and talking captain obvious about what the trade shows used to represent, let's talk this quickly about when you realize that probably wasn't how you're going to create the best solution anymore for your relationship between your brands and the retailers and where you're going today. I'm super curious. I know everybody's been on pins and needles and we're kind of backing into the lead here, but trust me, we had to get this background in place.
Leta Kalfas:
No problem. So we realized kind of almost before the pandemic... Can we pause this?
Kristin:
Yeah, for sure.
Leta Kalfas:
I'm sorry. No, it's okay.
Hi.
Speaker 3:
Hi.
Leta Kalfas:
Hey, I'm doing my podcast right now.
Speaker 3:
Oh, am I live?
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah, kind of, but you're going to be edited out.
Speaker 3:
Oh, that's so fun. All right.
Leta Kalfas:
Bye. I'll call you later.
Speaker 3:
Okay. Bye.
Leta Kalfas:
Bye.
Kristin:
Was that Jackson?
Leta Kalfas:
That's Jackson.
Kristin:
Oh. That's awesome.
Leta Kalfas:
We'll piece that out.
Kristin:
Okay. No problem.
Leta Kalfas:
And so we were talking about just what we-
Kristin:
We were talking about kind of, yeah, what really quick. We don't want to spend a lot of time on the trade shows because nobody really wants to talk about that. It's more about-
Leta Kalfas:
How do you do it differently now.
Kristin:
Well, when you realized, what was the moment where you and the Mountain Stuff team were like that actually isn't what we're going to go back to. And we have to take our brands and retailers by the hand and do something new. So, that's where... I'll ask the question again.
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah, great.
Kristin:
And I'll patch it together. So I was kind of talking up to the question. So I'll have the guy keep what we have there, but I'll say so. Okay. Here's the question. So Leta, if you could tell us when you and your team at Mountain Stuff realized that the platform of the trade shows or even the regional shows, the moving shows around there, when you realized something more was needed to extend the level of partnership you knew you needed to your stakeholders?
Leta Kalfas:
So that's such a great question, because for us, it started to happen before the pandemic. It really did. The timing was really kind of jostling with trade shows and deadlines for us would happen so much earlier. So we had to start to be creative and either go out more on the road before shows would even happen to see people, fly them in and see them in our showroom that was at the Denver Merchandise Mart. There was a collection of reps that were at the Denver Merchandise Mart and we were kind of piecemeal all over the Mart, but we would see some of the same customers.
And then the other thing was shows are so limiting because you have an hour block or a two hour block, and there's just not the time to relax, maybe grab a lunch, talk about the business. It was always like you had to hop right into showing product and you really need that tee up time to touch base again, understand the business, see what's working for them, just understand how they're doing, connect again.
And the shows, although the connections were happening at the shows, we saw a reduction in the amount of people going to shows just overall. They were starting to stay closer to home, do their regional shows. But again, because the regional show's only three days that really wasn't doing the trick either. We had to do something different. So the Denver Merchandise Mart was a solution that then got pulled out from under us.
Kristin:
Well, how did it get pulled out from under you? I wasn't aware of that.
Leta Kalfas:
So the Denver Merchandise Mart, we probably had 30 or more reps that had different showrooms in the Merchandise Mart. Merchandise Mart was for reps in different industries, jewelry gift, apparel, flooring. I mean, there's just a whole bunch of reps that then trade folks would come in and buy their things, see the samples, et cetera.
Kristin:
And so this was it almost like a WeWork where you would book it as you needed it, or was it something you had to commit to?
Leta Kalfas:
We had a commitment, just year by year. And this is the same location where the WWSRA show, our regional trade show association, would have their trade shows. So it was kind of nice because they could have their trade show and then the customers could just go upstairs and see us in our showrooms. So we started to pull away from WWSRA, just in Denver, only because we had a more full experience and just a better overall buying connection in our own showroom that wasn't dismantled and then put up and dismantled and put up. It wasn't grid walled. It was something more, it was just elevated. So we had that. And then what happened is because of the pandemic, the Denver Merchandise Mart lost so much revenue because trade shows were a big part of what they did and that just went away. So we got the word in February or March of 2021 that we had to find a new home.
Kristin:
Oh. For the love of God. You're like, oh, great, good, because we really haven't had enough change in our business.
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah.
Kristin:
Oh, okay. So talk us through the next steps that you took at Mountain Stuff. Because this is actually kind of a cool opportunity because you were kind of feeling like before the pandemic hit, you had a sense, you were seeing the smoke signals, if you will. Then you walked into the pandemic and had to do everything we did during that time. Then you landed somewhere. I mean that gives you a really nice foundation from which to make, I think, a calculated risk decision. Tell us what happened then.
Leta Kalfas:
So it was just kind of a core group of us, Axel Geittmann, Steve Copeland, myself, a number of other reps, that maybe seven of us that came together and really realized that we need to stay together. That was it. We need to stay together because what we've done here is create such a great place for our retailers to land, we don't want to lose that. We've gotten great feedback just by being at the Denver Merchandise Mart. Like, oh, this is so convenient, I could just come here for a week and get all my buying done. It was great. And we had lots and lots of brands there. But then where do we go? So this steering committee that I was describing, seven of us, we looked at five different properties, talked to different landlords and landed on one that was owned by a guy in our industry, used to be in our industry, Ken Gart, who-
Kristin:
Oh yes. I know Ken. The [inaudible 00:18:07]. He's awesome.
Leta Kalfas:
That's right. He had a property that we think would fit. But what we needed is kind of a master lease holder to then build out the space and create our own custom showrooms. And we got that by partnering with Thrive. Thrive Workplaces is a temporary workplace solution. There's a number of them in the Denver metro area. They all have different owners, kind of like a franchise model, but this one is owned by the brothers, Chad and Charlie Johnson. And they've taken a great interest in this new model for them, which is a kind of permanent model. We are paying month by month and we have a five year lease.
Kristin:
Wow.
Leta Kalfas:
Some reps have a three year, some reps maybe have done a 10 year. Most of us I think did a five year commitment to this model of doing business. So we are in our own spaces now.
Kristin:
Holy you know what. A five year commitment. I mean, it's funny because you've sat in a lot of the same meetings I have, where whether it's a sales meeting or a strategic planning meeting around a new category within a brand. And sometimes they'll say the three to five year vision and that used to be something I was excited to participate in before the pandemic. And now I'm like, that's crazy. But it really isn't when it comes down to needing to provide something like you are, I think it's actually, and you're able to use this like a canvas and change it as you need to change it. So it's not like you're locked into something that happens twice a year, that's owned by a larger company. This is for for reps by reps, it sounds like.
Leta Kalfas:
Yep. And independent reps. And this is where, going back to something I said earlier, just I've always understood the importance of the rep connection to the retailer and the vendor, more so than I think the industry likes to acknowledge. And this is a way, when I was talking about inserting ourselves, how can we insert ourselves? This is the way to insert ourselves, because what we've done at Mountain Stuff in our room is actually create a brand experience in our showroom. Each of our areas, each of our brands, Osprey, Outdoor Research, Western Mountaineering, Lowa and Blundstone has their own unique feel and area in our space. We can show 10 different retailers at the same time. I mean, in different stages, in different areas. It's just so, so nice. And then what it does is it takes the retailer who's been slammed into this narrow slice of what's called the buying season and it helps them elongate it. They love it.
Kristin:
Talk with me about that because that's something, let's go back to the consumer. The buying season in our markets, it doesn't really fit the way consumers are being trained to want new drops in the sneaker world, for example.
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah, right.
Kristin:
You name the category. And even some larger industries that are on one time a year product drops are starting to do things that look like multiple year product drops just through innovative launching. But give us more around this stretching out of the buying season because I feel like that's something that is so needed and not a lot of people understand the importance of that.
Leta Kalfas:
Kristen, just, this may be something we edit out, but just for clarification, you used the term consumer in the retail world. I was talking about the buying season for a retailer in our [inaudible 00:21:44 you want me connecting that.
Kristin:
Okay, so I'll start over. But before I do, basically the retailers are selling to the consumers.
Leta Kalfas:
Yes.
Kristin:
And so the consumers are looking to the retailers to have more of an experience that's matched up with everything else they're getting in their life. So our retailers are being forced to carry product for longer, for example, for a number of reasons. And so if you're able to talk about, there was this finite window where the buying would happen, but now that retailers are dealing with such a fast evolving consumer and have different needs put upon them. And then you can talk about it from the business side too. But ultimately the retailers, I think maybe it's not appropriate for this, but it feels to me like the retailers are going to need to have an extended buying season to even stay in front of the evolving consumer that they have. And maybe the way you're speaking about it is more like their back end of their business, they have to have it more than just these little slivers during the year.
Leta Kalfas:
I'm saying back end of the business because ultimately the vendors are driving what the product drops are. There are two.
Kristin:
Okay.
Leta Kalfas:
You know what I'm saying? So it's not this I'm going to buy here and then I go buy here and then... That's not happening. I'm just saying, for their own sanity and their... We can start because I have some thoughts about-
Kristin:
Okay. So I'll keep the consumer out of it and we'll strike that. So the way I'll ask the question is I'll just say, ooh, tell me more about lengthening the buy sell cycle. Does that sound like the right way to say it?
Leta Kalfas:
Sure. Yeah.
Kristin:
Okay, great. All right. So, that's a really interesting comment. Can you please shed some light on what you mean around, I think, lengthening the buy sell cycle for your retailers?
Leta Kalfas:
So retailers, if you think about the position that they're in, these buyers are seeing so many brands and they have to buy and figure out for their sorts, just a monumental task they have to work with. And the faster they go through the product, the faster they go through this process of buying, I think, the reduced outcome is kind of inevitable. And what I mean by that is maybe it's not a great buy, maybe it's not a great representation of your brand, maybe it's a... So, to have more of their time with you, three hours instead of an hour or an hour and a half, to go through and step through the go to market strategies for Outdoor Research, for example. Or what are the foundations that Osprey needs us to talk about to lay that out for the consumer, so that they're marching in lockstep with where the brand wants to project itself and its product, et cetera.
So only through elongating these appointments and thus the time from a week or two to maybe six weeks, maybe now there's six weeks that we're seeing customers in and out of our showroom, as needed. We do try to focus the showing to a week or two, because the critical mass is what makes this whole thing work. When we all talked about, we reps all talked about, we have to stay together, now that the Denver Merchandise Mart was going away, we knew that critical mass was it. And how do we take our critical mass and have that be important to our vendors and our retailers. And our retailers understand that if they are coming in and other retailers are coming in, there's more reps that are going to be around to be showing them.
So it's a step that we took that just grows the whole pie. It is not a small minded kind of like, well, we don't want to be sharing customers. It's like, no, that's exactly what we want to do. We want to set up our customers to be in the most advantageous position to see us for the longest period of time and have the best brand experience that we can give them. And that's what the Outdoor Market Alliance does.
Kristin:
And that's also a lot, it's a lot more, well, maybe the old platform of the show had 30,000 people. It was like in and out speed dating hour, on the hour, on the hour. And I know our brands and the reps that we've worked with over the years, yourselves included, are on from 6:00 in the morning to 11:00 or 12:00 at night, trying to cram everything in. And I feel like this, it's definitely more catered to a relationship forming and building process around an evolving business, right.
I think it has to go this way in order for you to maintain the level of partnership that you've worked so hard to build trust around. You cannot, I don't think solve for what needs to be solved for in an hour long appointment at a trade show today.
Leta Kalfas:
Right.
Kristin:
And what I'm hearing you say is the thing that's making this work is obviously you're building a platform with other reps, but you're able to almost offer a much different experience where there's a mindset shift in the buyer. They're coming in and they're almost like going to a workshop, in addition to seeing a line. We're working on our business. We're working to see exactly where we are now. And frankly, my guess is you're probably having deeper conversations throughout the year as the business is changing throughout the year now so much.
Leta Kalfas:
Absolutely. Absolutely. And even for our vendors, they can come in and bring in people that they need to see and utilize that space as well. It's just a great space to land and not have to be temporary. I mean, the only thing that we're changing in that space really is twice a year, the product in and out. The product we sell for spring '23, we're going to be removing that now and putting in the product for fall '23, so that our buyers can see that starting in October.
Kristin:
Okay. That's awesome. So that also gives you the freedom to be able to control the calendar, in a way that works for the retailers and not for where the major companies that are running these shows. Not that WWSRA is that, please hear me. I realize that's also buy-in for reps. But the bigger shows are dealing with grabbing space in the right city, in the right trade hall. And that really is what's dictating the calendar moments of the buy sell cycle. And so this also is giving flexibility to... I just think it removes a lot of the just obstacles, frankly, to doing a really smart buy again and again. And the buy itself, the value around the buy, is changing just in terms of there's so many forces. We'd have to talk for three days to talk about all of them.
But I would be remiss if I didn't ask you, here we are, going into September, how does it feel out there with your brands? Because I actually have been doing a lot of one-on-ones with Verde's clients and it does seem like we're dealing with a consumer who's still spending. And in my world, it's very much consumer focused, yet they're taking longer to do this buy. And obviously you and I have been reading about the bull whip effect that Target is going through and that we also have major retailers in our space who are really managing a very difficult inventory position right now.
So I would love to just get your take on, because you've been through this before. You and Tom Gordon, I know, were there when the great recession hit and we've all been through different versions of this, but those horizon lines are not apples to apples with what we're dealing with here today. So since you talk to so many retailers in our world, I would love to hear maybe just a few insights on where you think people are without their recreation.
Leta Kalfas:
What I'm hearing from retailers, and this is dot coms and independent retailers, is that they're just, there's this whipping effect of what happened with the pandemic. They were closed and then it was just like, boom. Certainly in the Rockies, this was a place where, not only we all got outside to recreate, but other people drove to because they were going stir crazy in their homes and get outside and outside was then the best place to be. So people started running and cycling and hiking and what's that thing, backpacking, let me try that.
And so there was this enormous boom of new entries into the outdoor industry. REI as a retailer that kind of caters to bringing people in, I think, saw a huge lift. And that really happened to a lot of our independents as well and dot coms. So they had this big lift, they had this big surge, I think after 2020, they were anticipating kind of a little bit of a digestion, but 2021 was also very, very strong.
Now what happened then, let's talk supply chain and how that affected everybody. And that's like another pandemic, almost, this supply chain issues. Here Mountain Stuff booked the most we've ever booked with our retailers. We have the orders in place. We're ready to go. And only a percentage of that is actually going to be shipping. So that is very difficult for a retailer. And how do we manage that and how can we maybe extend the cancel date or what can we do for them? And so we would make substitutions, we would extend cancel dates. We would insert ourselves to try to make their business feel as less impacted as it could be. But it was just ultimately that is an ongoing thing. And my understanding in the industry is it's going to go on supply chain issues through 2024 is kind of the word on the street that I'm hearing.
Kristin:
I've heard that too. I'm like, hey and your great acceleration, can you maybe apply some of the acceleration over here?
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah, yeah. For sure.
Kristin:
No such luck.
Leta Kalfas:
No such luck for sure. Yeah. So is now this digestion I'm sensing. Orders are, and I've always thought of it this way. So we have this new flood of people in the outdoor industry. Not all of them are going to stay there. They're going to go back to their old habits, but some of them have like, oh, I love this. I'm going to take the next step. And so we've now grown the outdoor industry in our consumer base. And so we're going to see growth from 2019, but it's 2020, 2021 is going to be just anomalies. So I think we go here and we're going to kind of settle down just a bit and see where that goes, but I don't see it going away. I see the level above 2019 for sure and kind of getting back to a more normal growth cycle than this kind of peaks and valleys that we've seen either because of demand or shortages in shipping and logistics and things.
Kristin:
Okay. Well that's good to know. And that is the word from the frontline, everyone. You're talking with buyers every day, all seven of you. So I feel like that's a really good snapshot and I really appreciate hearing that myself. And so I think it's fortuitous and very forward looking and I know you're de-risking it as you go, right. This is a new concept. You've signed a five year agreement to grow this platform. And I really have to say, I have so much respect for what you all are doing and you're putting your relationships first in making this commitment.
So I think it's massive and I'm really excited to see where it goes. As you know, my business partner, Dave Simpson, is working closely with Outdoor Marketing Alliance to build a public relations event. That's coming up here in September. And this also is a very much a first of its kind. We don't usually call and work with other agencies. I think a lot of the agencies are really friendly with each other and we love each other. But at the same time we don't necessarily go in and do what you all have done in the Mart and Denver or what you're doing here.
Leta Kalfas:
Yep.
Kristin:
Sorry. That was bad to have my phone ringing. I forgot to turn off the ringer. So they'll edit that out. But point being is, we're trying the same thing, but we had so much respect for what you've built with OMA, that this is an awesome concept that we're really leaning into. And our hope is that we're going to have a lot more ahead to support what you're building there and really bring media in to have what we like to make the media's job more entertaining and more efficient. And ultimately they have huge reach and we want to make sure that our brands are showing up for them with the best quote theater possible. And that includes cause that includes product. It includes the whole package. And that is something that we get less than an hour at shows.
Leta Kalfas:
Yes.
Kristin:
So sometimes it's like 15/20 minutes and then a lot of follow up. So it's going to be a really exciting new concept. And I really am so glad that we're able to work out of this space that you and your colleagues have created.
Leta Kalfas:
Yep. And hats off to Dave Simpson. He and I were having lunch at our Outdoor Research sales meeting. And as I was talking about this new concept that we created called OMA, Outdoor Market Alliance, he's like, huh, I wonder if we could do that in MPR. And we just kept talking, kept talking, got the right people involved. And this is, again, how do we reps insert ourselves in the whole process to elevate everybody in the industry?
So not only are we helping the experience with the retailer and the vendors, the PR agencies are such an important part of that to bring it to the consumer and get people in that kind of like, oh, that's the next cool thing. But then what about the Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation? So we're tied in with those guys. Conor Hall is the director over there and we've been meeting with them and they really love what we're doing. They see us as part of the economic generator for the outdoor industry in the state.
And so we're looking at doing different job internships with them and different collaborations that we can do with them. And what else can we tie together? How about chambers of commerce? How about when this event comes up, this PR event that we're doing? What if we had the town of golden chamber of commerce there with us? So they could talk to the different editors about what the outdoors has to offer here in Colorado.
Kristin:
I like that.
Leta Kalfas:
There's so many areas that we could just rise up in our industry and we are stronger for it. Just you talk about the risk and I get it. Like five years, oh my God, that's really risky. And on one hand, and yet you look at the risk of not doing something. Right.
Kristin:
Amen.
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah. So we had this space and just going to kind of elaborate on that a little bit. We had this space and we needed to bring our other rep partners together. And so we have 25, maybe 26 of us in that space. But there are others who chose not to. And now they're kind of on the outside of the window looking in like ah, and there wouldn't be... For me, I just want blow the whole building up and make it more, more, more. We're just limited with the space that we have right now. But I would love to see this exploded, bring in more outdoor reps, more bike reps, more ski reps. Have this really be an industry hub, an industry center and make... So that's another thing that the Colorado office of Outdoor Rec really likes is they see that bringing these products to life for the retailer, bringing the vendors kind of more closely into Colorado is just such a great thing. So yeah, we want to grow it.
Kristin:
Oh, Conor Hall is amazing, number one. And their office is sponsoring a dinner for the media. So thank you for that lead. And they're all about campuses, platforms, gathering places, elevating Colorado. Like we are, I think, a centerpiece state in the Rockies. I know Utah's very important. New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, all of them are very, very important, please hear me. But our office was one of the first Offices of Outdoor Recreation and I think they've always been forward thinking and I was delighted to hear that's part of the experience working with Conor and his team. And I think that Conor taking the helm there, we have some great years ahead.
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah, that's great. There's another aspect of OMA I just want to share. And it started in our founding together. We always said we want to do something that gives back. So we are our 501C3. And sadly, the first opportunity we had to give back was to the victims of the Marshall fire in the foothills, outside of Boulder. Just imagine a very tight, small suburban neighborhood that the fire and the flames and the wind just take the whole thing out. It was devastating. One of our key retailers, Neptune Mountaineering took the lead in trying to provide for those that have lost everything. We worked with them in providing over $100,000 worth of product from backpacks to shoes, to clothing, everything that people would need because they lost everything. We also had $25,000 in cash that we were able to donate to the victim's funds.
Kristin:
That's amazing.
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah, it was great. And that was our first opportunity to go do something good. And so with OMA, we make sure that we're going to be having a beneficiary each year that we'll all select and we'll probably have some kind of meeting to determine who it is for this year. That hasn't happened yet. But yeah. So, we [inaudible 00:40:12] do good.
Kristin:
That's awesome.
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah.
Kristin:
I'm so glad that you brought that up. That is such a core tenet of specialty, especially today. That is what separates what you do and aligns you with the values of the brands you represent. And that's what the brands are finding the most emotional connection and loyalty from, with the consumer. So it totally makes sense that's part of the ecosystem and I'm really glad you brought that up.
Leta Kalfas:
Yeah. Yeah.
Kristin:
Awesome. Well, we're going to be together here in just over a month at this new event and I can't wait to see the space and I really applaud you and it's wonderful to see your family at Mountain Stuff just continue to drive forward and drive the business ahead and honor the state of Colorado, build what you're building, honor the relationships that have kept you all in business and thriving for so long and really, I mean, let's face it, this level of business partnership has been a part of what has pulled these retailers and brands through, is what you're doing. So hats off to you. I really want you to know I think that you guys are doing incredible work and thank you so much for sharing it today.
Leta Kalfas:
Oh, of course. Thanks for asking.
Kristin:
Yes. And it's good to see you.
Leta Kalfas:
Yes. Great to see you as well. Can't wait to give you a squeeze when I see at the end of September and I think we're going to have an awesome, awesome media event.
Kristin:
I do too.
Leta Kalfas:
Really, it's going to be great.
Kristin:
Yep. And if anyone wants to learn more about the Outdoor Marketing Alliance, where do they go?
Leta Kalfas:
So it's OMA.org.
Kristin:
Awesome.
Leta Kalfas:
Excuse me. Outdoormarketingalliance.org. Thank you.
Kristin:
Okay. So Outdoormarketingalliance.org. Yes. Awesome. Okay. And that'll all be in the show notes folks. Thanks again so much for being on today, Leta. It was great to have you here.
Leta Kalfas:
Thanks so much, Kristen. Have a great one. Take care.

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The Channel Mastery podcast is presented by Verde Brand Communications and Life Time, Inc., owner of the Sea Otter Classic and producer of the Sea Otter Classic Summit outdoor recreation executive gathering, taking place April 18-20, 2023, in Monterey, Calif.