It comes as no surprise that Outdoor Retailer is the largest outdoor sports gathering in the world – bringing together a unique combination of brands, retail buyers and raw material suppliers. Brands include Timberland, The North Face, Columbia Sportswear, Patagonia, Kokatat, and Merrell; buyers include REI, MEC, EMS, The Sports Authority, Cabelas, LL Bean, and thousands of other retailers. It was great to see that many of these industry leaders are TEXbase customers and those who aren't are engaging with TEXbase with continued interest of joining our progressive customer base.
While these companies came to Salt Lake to celebrate their passion for the outdoors, engage in product previews, plan upcoming product line strategies, and mix it up with fellow industry advocates, they also carried with them one underlying goal - to leverage this gathering in a way that allows them to align with their corporate revenue, product development, and innovation goals.
We know this first hand because our schedule was jam packed with many of them to discuss these very issues. The theme of our discussions was recurring - "How can we leverage our people, process, and technology to allow us to exceed our corporate goals? And how can we do it earlier in our development cycle?"
These questions aren't new to us as our products are built with these very needs in mind. And, as our discussions explored how our solutions empower textile and apparel professionals to have a firm grip on materials management from concept to compliance, it was encouraging to see brands, retailers, and suppliers light up with excitement. It was clear that the existing methods of data management these companies employed (Excel, PDFs, email) were not maximizing their potential for growth and innovation. Furthermore, it was clear that our software and consulting services continue to bridge a distinct void that is evident across the supply chain.
Overall, the 2010 OR show was another event well worth attending. It's good to see continued business health in the outdoor industry despite the overall economy. And, better yet, it's fantastic to see how we continue to partner with customers to help fuel this growth.