Looking ahead to its November Connect retail buying show, Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, the national organization dedicated to the health and growth of specialty outdoor retail, is reporting a slight uptick in booked appointment hours, with consistently strong numbers of attending retailers and buyers.
The Fall Connect Show takes place Nov. 3-6, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo., with the Grassroots retailer education day and Discovery Marketplace, an opportunity for retailers to discover new brands, on Sunday, Nov. 2.
A range of education sessions for retailers will take place Sunday morning. Sessions this show will cover:
- Strategies for creating a business that can run without day-to-day owner involvement, and allow founders to focus on growth and strategic direction. Led by Peter Mohr, specialty retailer and retail business consultant.
- How specialty retailers can use sustainable practices to cut costs, increase sales, build customer loyalty and strengthen their brand. Led by Alex Lauver of Douglas Strategies and Rick Crawford of Emerger Strategies.
- Building resilience in a retail operation through consignment sales. Led by Megan Frank and Aiden Chisholm of The Trailhead, a retailer in Missoula, Mont.
- Disability awareness training covering inclusive communication strategies and everyday best practices. Presented by Search Inc. in partnership with Toad & Co.
There are 151 attending retailers and 394 buyers, with retail operations very slightly up and the same number of buyers. On the vendor side, there will be 136 at November Connect, compared to 127 at last Fall’s Connect Show.
In all, Connect will provide a forum for 8,484 hours of meetings, a 7.5-percent increase. The Grassroots Outdoor Alliance team has tracked buyer engagement statistics since they began pre-scheduling all appointments for retailers and brands in 2016.
“Our tracked numbers tell a straightforward story — retailers and brands are getting their essential business done at Connect, with appointment hours up nearly 7 percent year-over-year to over 8,400 hours. While the broader retail landscape faces ongoing challenges, our community continues to show up and do the work that specialty retail requires to stay competitive.” said Gabe Maier, President of Grassroots. “Along with that, we have a great lineup of education sessions this spring aimed at helping retailers grow their knowledge base, stay up to date on trends, and deepen their connections with the Grassroots community.”
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance will host 62 brands at Discovery Marketplace, also on Sunday, Nov. 2, the day before the Connect Show proper. While the Connect show focuses on line showings supporting long-established brand-retailer relationships, Discovery Marketplace offers new and emerging brands the opportunity to show product highlights to specialty retailers. For retailers, it offers them a chance to discover new and exciting brands and products.
About Grassroots Outdoor Alliance
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is a retailer-owned network of 105 independently owned outdoor retailers and 74 vendor partners, working together for the health and growth of specialty outdoor retail. Through data collection and analysis, direct member support, specialty events and deep vendor partnerships, Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is creating both a vision and roadmap for the long-term success of independent specialty retail. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is recognized as a catalyst for the success of its retailers and vendor partners; an advocate for specialty independent retail; a promoter of education and community within the specialty channel; and a key influencer of the national outdoor industry. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance also operates Connect, a twice-annual legacy show experience that spans four days, offering an efficient and structured format for retailers to conduct pre-season line showings and business conversations.
