Todd Frank is known in the outdoor industry for his no-nonsense approach to doing business.
Last year, for example, the owner of The Trail Head specialty store and the boat-focused Trail Head River Sports in Missoula, Montana, dropped 53 brands from its roster and brought on 60 new ones.
“We don’t want to walk away from brands, but most of the time we walk away from brands because they walk away from their commitment to doing business with people like us,” he said in an interview with The Daily.
“If we can’t make money with your brand because of the way you behave online, like your direct-to-consumer program’s really aggressive, or maybe your delivery sucks, or the service from the company sucks – if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.”
So it’s interesting that the longtime retailer is now also seeing things from a brand’s perspective. In March 2024, Frank bought Soar Inflatables, an inflatable canoe brand. It’s an effort to offset some of the losses the retailer has experienced in the past two years, both at Trail Head River Sports and The Trail Head store.
“Business for us was down last year, and then it’s down again this year,” Frank said. Backpack sales, for example, were down by 38% last year.
Soar Inflatables and Managing the Inventory Glut
Soar is introducing Frank to the manufacturing world, and he’s now in charge of importing goods from Taiwan and understanding the glut of inventory many vendors are trying to cycle through.
“It’s created some problems because vendors are caught between a rock and a hard place, either having to liquidate inventory or be stuck with it,” he said.
Margins are lower in boating compared to other categories, but there’s very little discounting, he said. Because he owns most of the inventory at Trail Head River Sports, he doesn’t feel the need to discount it and rush to get it out of the store.
“I can live with a slow return on getting the right margin out of it,” Frank said.
Prana has a large section of The Trail Head store in Missoula. Photo by The Daily.
So far, Frank has updated Soar’s website and he’s booked a trip to Taipei to start digging into the manufacturing side. There’s a five-month lead time between when the boats are ordered and paid for, and when they arrive in Missoula.
“I have a lot more respect for the challenges that vendors go through to get the product on time, how they want it, and the language barrier of trying to get that to happen over five and a half months,” Frank said. “It’s just a different game.”
Trail Head hangers are recycled from an old Eddie Bauer store. Photo by The Daily.
Brand ownership is just one way Frank is working to offset losses in recent years. Frank is laser-focused on delivering value to everyone who comes to The Trail Head. That means asking brands to send samples of items they can sell at Trail Head, just to offer something a little different from the competition, and expanding its consignment store for used apparel, gear, and footwear.
Trail Head is in downtown Missoula in the former Missoula Children’s Theatre building, which he bought in 2002. After renovating for two years, he opened The Trail Head store, which is managed by his daughter, in 2004.
Consignment Grows to More Than 20% Of Trail Head’s Business
The Trail Head’s consignment apparel business replaced the boating section of the store, which expanded into its own location in midtown Missoula, called Trail Head River Sports. Since launching in 2020, consignment now comprises 22% of the Trail Head’s business.
“It’s reintroduced our store to young people,” Frank said. “Before, we just didn’t see these kids in the store because they couldn’t afford a full-price store.”
The Trail Head’s consignment section has grown, making up 22% of the store’s business this year. Photo by The Daily.
Consignment brings an element of discovery to the consumer experience, he said, and locals often look for things there first before investigating options for new gear. Newness is built into Trail Head’s consignment approach, where items are discounted after they’re on the floor for 90 days, and then returned if not sold after 120 days. Another advantage to consignment is it really helps Trail Head’s cash flow, Frank said.
“Most people are taking credit, right?” he says, referring to how consignees receive payment once an item has sold. “About 70% of the people take store credit, and so the money never even leaves.”
Frank warns brands trying to erect their own resale programs online that the process is so onerous – to list each individual item one by one on a website – that it really makes more sense for retailers like him to participate in that market by bringing items into a store. For consumers, it’s easier to browse in person than it is online, although he concedes that online shoppers are more successful if they have something specific in mind.
Rotating new merch in and out is key to the success of the consignment space, drawing people in to check out what’s come in since their last visit.
Frank plans to eventually expand the consignment section of the store and potentially add a repairs service center in the large historic space. After finding someone to operate it, he would take a commission on each repair while capitalizing on each visitor.
“I want the draw,” Frank said. “I want people coming in, bringing stuff in, getting stuff fixed, and checking out the store.”
Kate Robertson can be reached at kate.robertson@emeraldx.com.
