Outdoor specialty retailer Bent Gate Mountaineering is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and the store’s leadership is drawing on that experience to navigate a challenging market, including a highly promotional environment and looming, disruptive regulations.
Over the years, the downtown Golden, Colorado retailer has adapted to the many changing trends in the outdoor industry, and today its focus is on customer service with its boot-fitting department as well as finding new apparel and outerwear brands to replace industry stalwarts.
The Daily toured the store with Ryan Mayer, Bent Gate Mountaineering’s general manager, to find out what’s selling and what’s going on in the industry.
Feast or Famine
Bent Gate focuses on climbing and backcountry skiing while also carrying a wide assortment of outdoor apparel and gear.
The main level of the store is about 4,000 square feet, including the ski shop in the back. It also has a sizable boot-fitting area in the basement.
Bent Gate Mountaineering in Golden, Colorado. Photo by The Daily.
The boot-fitting component is a big part of the store’s identity, according to Mayer. It brings customers through the door and gets them to shop while they’re there.
Over the past year, sales have been up and down – “anything but steady,” Mayer said. “It’s a feast or famine thing.”
Financially, the store is “trending steadily upward,” and despite the inventory overhang that the industry has felt since the pandemic, Mayer sees consumer spending as a little more consistent.
The main problem: Shoppers can find outdoor products everywhere, and often at a discount.
“There are constant sales running from vendors themselves and from now the plethora of third-party retailer websites,” Mayer said. “It’s very hard to sell at retail anymore. Sales are the game we have to play.”
In-Store Focus
Bent Gate has an e-commerce site but sells 90% of its merchandise through its brick-and-mortar location.
Mayer said the store didn’t keep up with the e-commerce trend when companies like Moosejaw Mountaineering and Evo capitalized on online shopping.
“Now it’s so hard to catch back up or even be on the same footing as those guys,” he added. “So we’re very in-store specific.”
Inside Bent Gate Mountaineering in Golden, Colorado. Photo by The Daily.
One of Bent Gate’s sale strategies is to put a lot of its clothing, skis, and ski boots on tiered sale pricing, starting at 15% to 20% off, then working on up to 50%.
“The red tags on all the clothing are a big eye-catcher for people,” Mayer said. “Something to talk about with people coming in store. Even though we’re able to work that with our vendors and keep margins decent, we’re able to advertise that good sale price.”
PFAS Approach
Bent Gate has good relationships with the brands that use Gore-Tex, particularly with outerwear like hardshell jackets.
“To give our reps credit on their side of things, they’ve been very upfront about it,” Mayer said. “They’re not trying to dump stuff on us.”
The store doesn’t carry a deep stock of a lot of merchandise, so it can stay nimble. Typically, it only stocks eight or nine of one SKU.
Footwear wall at Bent Gate Mountaineering. Photo by The Daily.
Bent Gate hasn’t seen a supply chain disruption from brands dealing with PFAS at the production facility yet. The store’s spring orders are due to ship soon, and Mayer said he hasn’t heard about any big delays.
The store will start carrying the PFAS-free Gore-Tex products when they’re available.
What’s Selling
Ski boots with BOA’s lacing technology have been a hot seller for Bent Gate. The store carries K2’s Mindbender boot with BOA.
Bent Gate’s main soft-goods brand is Rab Equipment, which is filling a hole left by Arc’teryx after the store stopped carrying its outerwear.
“For many years, Arc’teryx was our pillar, soft-goods brand,” Mayer said. But because of the brand’s shift in focus, they went separate ways.
Rab’s spread doesn’t quite match what Arc’teryx used to offer, according to Mayer, but the store is seeing a lot of customers looking to it as an alternative.
The Amy Hoody is a hit with women shoppers for its versatility, for example.
Rab Amy Hoody at Bent Gate Mountaineering. Photo by The Daily.
“People use it casually and it has a crossover quality,” Mayer said.
Bent Gate also brought back Patagonia after carrying it many years ago then dropping it.
“Obviously they’re such a staple in our industry they’re easy to sell,” Mayer said. “We do great numbers with them.”
Along with apparel and outerwear, the store carries several sizes of Patagonia’s Black Hole packs and luggage line.
Patagonia luggage at Bent Gate Mountaineering. Photo by The Daily.
Climbing gear is the store’s most consistent category throughout the seasons.
La Sportiva’s TC Pro is one of the store’s best-selling climbing shoes for five or six years running.
“That’s one we keep a constant backstock of,” Mayer said.
La Sportiva’s TX category of approach shoes also sell well for Bent Gate.
Hestra, out of Arvada, Colorado, makes popular gloves and its sales compare to a full clothing segment, according to Mayer.
“Turns on square footage, this compares to some of our clothing,” he added.
Hestra gloves at Bent Gate Mountaineering. Photo by The Daily.
In backpacks, Ortovox’s LiTRIC avalanche backpacks have “hands down” been the best-selling pack this year, according to Mayer, even at a price point of over $1,200.
“We’ve sold three or four to the same family,” he said.
For hiking to the crag, Blue Ice’s Moonlight packs have “exploded the last couple of years,” according to Mayer.
“Another small company that we have a good relationship with that makes a really cool, new, innovative product,” he said.
Blue Ice packs at Bent Gate Mountaineering. Photo by The Daily.
Bart Schaneman can be reached at bart@ordaily.outdoorretailer.com.
