Across the active lifestyle industry, wholesale is getting renewed focus.
After years of prioritizing digital transformation during and after COVID, leading brands are now putting fresh energy into strengthening their retail partnerships. While wholesale still accounts for the majority of retail transactions, how brands show up in-store is evolving.
In 2025, success isn’t just about winning shelf space or being present in-store. It’s about how well brands collaborate with retail partners to drive sell-through and show up in the moments that matter most. That includes how they engage with frontline staff, how product stories are shared, and how easy it is for associates to make the right recommendation when the customer is ready to buy.
Shoppers arrive more informed than ever, but 63% still walk in undecided on which product to buy. That moment when they turn to an associate and ask, “What would you recommend?” remains one of the most powerful opportunities for brand influence.
Brands succeeding at wholesale are refining how they show up in-store through clearer messaging, more effective training tools, and stronger day-to-day connections with the floor. These efforts help store teams confidently speak to the product, recommend it, and create a more personal, connected experience for shoppers.
How Leading Active Lifestyle Brands Are Showing Up Differently in 2025
From footwear and packs to optics and outerwear, active lifestyle brands are revisiting their approach to wholesale with a renewed purpose:
- Altra is strengthening its connection to specialty run and outdoor stores, with a renewed focus on store-level education and support.
- Black Diamond grew North American wholesale by doubling down on core partnerships and retail presence.
- Mountain Hardwear’s rebrand gained traction in speciality shops, where staff could share the updated story directly with customers.
- Outerknown, The North Face, and Birkenstock are enhancing how their products show up in retail, from merchandising to storytelling to staff enablement.
- Even Nike, which scaled back wholesale in favor of its own DTC channels, is actively rebuilding key retail partnerships, acknowledging the value and reach that wholesale continues to deliver.
What connects these moves is a renewed focus on the in-store experience, from how brands tell their story and present their products to how they equip and support the people who bring it all to life on the floor.
The Store Floor Continues to Be One of the Most Influential Spaces in Retail
The path to purchase today is more layered than ever, spanning digital campaigns, influencer content, community engagement, and in-store experience. Each touchpoint shapes how customers discover, evaluate, and choose a product.
Leading brands are supporting retail teams in ways that make those final in-store moments more impactful:
- Making product knowledge easy to access and share.
- Offering quick, digestible training for seasonal or technical gear.
- Motivating teams with timely, relevant incentives and rewards.
- Ensuring messaging and displays are aligned and consistent.
The moment a shopper asks for a recommendation is one of the most important in retail and the brands that are top of mind for associates in that moment are the ones that are winning.
How ENDVR Helps Brands Support the Store Floor
As more brands continue to put greater emphasis on their wholesale channel, platforms like ENDVR make it easier to connect with the people who influence the shoppers’ final decision: sales associates.
With ENDVR, brands can:
- Share mobile-friendly product education.
- Launch campaigns that reward associates for training, sales, or display execution.
- Keep messaging consistent across all stores.
- Track store performance and associate engagement in real-time.
These tools help brands stay relevant on the store floor – making sure associates have what they need to confidently speak about the products they recommend.
Start Supporting the Store Floor in 3 Simple Steps
Step 1: Join the ENDVR Network (Free)
Create your brand profile and start building visibility with retail sales associates.
With your free account, you can:
- Add your logo and a short brand video.
- Share updates on the newsfeed.
- Invite retail partners to join.
- Build a presence across your store network.
Step 2: Launch & Learn (Pay-As-You-Go)
Launch your first campaign to educate, incentivize, and motivate associates.
- Start with sales incentives, digital education, or in-store display checks.
- Test what works best for your brand and retail partners.
- Scale as your campaigns see results.
Step 3: Scale for Impact (Annual Plan)
Upgrade to grow faster with premium features and support.
- Unlock preferred rates and deeper insights.
- Optimize campaign performance.
- Get strategic support from ENDVR’s team.
In a year where every dollar and recommendation counts, smart outdoor and footwear brands aren’t pulling back on wholesale; they’re doubling down. Not just by showing up in stores, but by showing up better. The brands that will win in 2025 will be the ones who make it easier for sales associates to tell their story, recommend their gear, and help customers walk out confident in their purchase. Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about where your product sits on the shelf, it’s about who puts it in the shopper’s hands.
