Grassroots Outdoor Alliance (GOA) has added five new retailers from four states to its membership ahead of its upcoming Connect Show in Reno in June.
“As we add more independently owned retailers to our network, it strengthens the work we do in helping all of our members run their businesses more effectively,” said Maile Spung, GOA board chair and owner of Colorado’s Ute Mountaineer and Neptune Mountaineering, in a statement. “We’re excited to welcome this group of five proven retailers to our network. As we grow, so does our ability to share information and learn from one another, which helps us all serve our communities better.”
The five new Grassroots retailers are:
- Down Wind Sports, with three locations in Houghton, Munising, and Marquette, Michigan. Owned by Bill Thompson, Todd King, Arni Ronis, Nic Dobbs and Matt Abbotts, Down Wind’s mission is to provide the highest quality outdoor products for its customers in the greater upper Midwest.
- Granite Sports, a shop in Hill City, South Dakota. Owned by Lisa and Pat Wiederhold, Granite aims to provide the best products and service to meet its customers’ needs and to get people to enjoy the outdoors. “It is important for us to be active in the community and give back in as many ways as possible,” they said.
- Sherpers, which has three locations in Hales Corner, Port Washington, and Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Owned by Nathan Scherper, Sherpers is a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated business that’s been open since 1935. “That is a rarity and something I take a lot of pride in,” Scherper said. “Continuing this legacy is something that drives me every day.”
- The Trail House, located in Frederick, Maryland. Owners Drennan and Catie Hicks want to build upon the retailer’s 40-year legacy and part of that is participating in organizations like Grassroots to learn, share, and make our industry better. “Ultimately, we want to be able to share our love of the outdoors and to provide our local community with the best that we can offer,” they said.
- WheelzUp Adventures, located in Cumberland, Maryland. Owned by Mandela and Jaime Echefu, Wheelzup started from recognizing the unique opportunity for specialty outdoor retail in this location. “Wheelzup is very diversified, hence the percentage of our sales that comes from things like bikes, shuttles, rentals and experiences,” they said. “However, we believe there is an opportunity to grow the lifestyle and outdoor categories.”
GOA now has a coalition of 104 retailers with 223 stores in 45 states and 67 vendor partners.
GOA expects retailer and vendor attendance to be flat with 148 retail businesses and 147 exhibitors at this spring’s show, while total buyers in attendance will increase 5.9% to 391 compared to numbers at last spring’s Connect Show.
