Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts here.
Outdoor Unfiltered host Eoin Comerford (former CEO, advisor to outdoor brands, and founder of Outsize Consulting) invited Jeanine to discuss: Is innovation really dead in the outdoor industry?
With 20+ years as a trend forecaster and brand strategist for leading outdoor brands, there are few others who can speak as authoritatively and intelligently on this important topic. The episode also includes a look back at Jeanine's landmark "The Modern Outdoors Woman" presentation at Outdoor Retailer and the shift from gender to DEI in the industry.
Key points from the conversation:
Eoin Comerford: Let's start with this whole innovation thing. There's a trope out there that there's a sea of sameness, there's this lack of innovation in the outer industry. Do you buy that as being truly representative of what we're seeing today?
Jeanine: Historically innovation has been defined through performance metrics. The more interesting innovation I'm seeing right now is a new proposition for what a product should do for someone outside of just their outdoor activities, how it fits into their life, even what that participation looks like. So in that sense, I don't think we are in a sea of sameness. I think some brands, particularly smaller brands, are doing a little bit of a better job with innovation, while the larger brands are maybe stuck within the mechanisms of the larger machine.
Consumers and culture are evolving faster than the industry in some cases. And I think Outdoor is very, very good at technical innovation.
Eoin Comerford: So who would you say are some of the brands that are doing a good job when it comes to innovation or following these cultural changes that you're talking about?
Jeanine: Generally speaking, the best brands know exactly who they are, and they don't try to appeal to everyone. Brands that don't do it as well, or that get it wrong from time to time, mistake trend adoption for consumer understanding.
Our biggest takeaways?
Brands mistake trend adoption for consumer understanding.
Outdoor excels at technical innovation; it is less comfortable with cultural innovation.
Small brands optimize for specificity; large brands have to optimize for scale.
The best retailers are cultural filters. Discovery itself has value.
Separate signal from solution. Ask what's changing in people's lives before asking what product to make.
We're not simply watching outdoor style change. We're watching outdoor culture expand.
