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UNDERSTAND WHAT IS DRIVING THERACK MARKET, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO

IS START PAGING THROUGH RECENT ISSUES OFCAR & DRIVER, STUDY CAR ADS IN MAGAZINES ORON TV, OR SPEND SOME TIME WANDERING THECAR LOTS PRETENDING TO BE A BUYER.

Mark Pate of Watermark points out, “Theautomobile industry is in love with outdoor stuffright now. Studies show more Americans areseeking to vacation by car, and Detroit is makinga point to show that their vehicles are the idealtransportation for an active lifestyle. It’s com-monplace to advertise vehicles with outdoor toysattached to racks.”

However, this doesn’t mean more rack featuresare now standard with the newer cars. Whilemore vehicles now come with factory-standardrails on the roofs, car makers are also strippingaway features to keep the sticker price down, sofewer rails have cross bars. Also, if you’re watch-ing the car trends, SUVs are beginning to losefavor somewhat, and sport wagons are becomingmuch more popular—though thankfully withoutthat fake wood panel along the doors.

What this means for the future of racks, rackaccessories and aftermarket add-ons is this: Lookfor more cross-bar kits that will adapt to a varietyof rails in Euro-style vehicles so that you can easilyattach rack accessories, including boxes, rooftopbaskets, bike racks, ski racks and boat saddles.

Of course, as the SUV loses stature that meansless room inside the vehicle and, according toFred Clark, president of Thule, we can expect tosee box sales continue to increase, which hasThule and Yakima smiling.

And, in keeping with the more streamlined pro-file many of today’s vehicles are adopting, racksystems and boxes are becoming more sleek andstreamlined to help minimize the wind noise socommon with any rack—factory or aftermarket.

BOX IT BABYThule and Yakima believe consumers want a roofbox that not only looks great but makes life easi-er. This means sleek boxes that are easy to put onand take off, and sport lids with two openings.Yakima is pushing the bar with a new box itclaims is lighter than any on the market and, as aresult, combined with new mounting hardware,the easiest box to take on and off. How muchvalue this will be to the consumer remains to beseen as it appears most vehicle owners leave theirboxes mounted to the rooftops as a permanentfashion statement.

» T H E B O O K » S U M M E R 2 0 0 3

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RACK TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS AREBEING DRIVEN BY VEHICLE

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SEEKING TO BE GOOD IN BEDFor years, sport rack companies simplyignored the ubiquitous pickup truck, butthe Big Two—Thule and Yakima—havesuddenly realized what the automobileindustry has known for eons—pickuptrucks are hot sellers and a lot of ownersneed racks for their toys. Last year,according to stats from the automobileindustry, pickup sales outstripped anyother class of vehicle. It’s also no secretthat until this year, if a pickup truckowner wanted to accessorize for carryingmore than, say, lumber, that requiredmodifying a construction or industrialrack, or attaching a few essentially lameaccessories to the bed that sort of did thejob for bikes, but little else.

OK, sure, pickup truck owners can usea hitch-mounted rack, but few do. Andyes, TracRac (www.tracrac.com) hasbeen offering a deluxe rack system fortrucks that even graces the bed of aGearTrend’s vehicle—holds 1,000 poundsof lumber, or canoes/kayaks and bikeseasily. And while we’ve gotten raves fromeveryone who sees the set-up, the price-tag ($650 just for the basic unit with noaccessories) and bright chrome lookfrankly cause most to shy away—eventhough the versatility and durability ofthe system is superb.

Last year, Thule announced the com-pany was coming out with the XsporterTruck Rack, with delivery this summer.The rack retails for right around $400,has a 400-pound weight-capacity, can beraised or lowered while attached to thebed, and drew numerous oohs and ahhswhen on display at Summer Market lastyear. Thule promises a range of acces-sories for the Xsporter, including storagecontainer and toy-mounting accessories.

Not to be outdone, Yakima hasresponded quickly with its truck systemdubbed the Outdoorsman 300. It has a300-pound weight-capacity and, in keep-ing with the apparent trend to matchprice and carrying capacity, carries asuggested retail of $300 for the set offour uprights, or $150 for a pair of two.Different than other systems, theOutdoorsman allows mix and match ver-satility. The crossbars are sold separatelyso the system will fit any truck. Pickupowners who already have a rack mountedabove the cab will only need one set ofuprights and a cross bar to add boat-car-rying capability over the bed.

GETTING HITCHEDAs recently as five years ago, hitch rackswere made by a host of mom-and-popoutfits, serving the needs of specialty

rack stores and localized retailers.Products were functional, but about asfar from elegant or easy-to-use as onecould imagine. It wasn’t until Yakima andThule began to take notice of the marketpotential, however, that the category real-ly became one most folks cared about.Now it’s almost as common to see ahitch-mounted rack on a car or SUV as itis a roof-top box.

Each year, Thule and Yakima work tooutdo the other and, as a result, havepushed the level of innovation. Now, it iscommonplace to see racks that swing outof the way of the vehicle’s backside, mak-ing it easier to open the trunk or hatch.Arms for stowing bikes fold down or tuckaway for cleaner profiles when not in use.Locks are pretty much standard now too,adding value.

By most estimates, 95 percent of allhitch rack sales serve the needs of vehicleowners with bikes, and that is not likelyto change anytime soon. What is begin-ning to change is the size of the receiver.Whereas 2-inch receivers once outsold 11/4-inch receivers by 3-to-1, that is shift-ing as more car manufacturers are optingto offer only the 1 1/4-inch receivers asstandard on the car. Why? A smallerreceiver limits how much capacity thevehicle can tow.

Because of the popularity of hitchracks, trunk racks have all but disap-peared at specialty stores, and now areprimarily the domain of the mass mer-chants, such as Wal-Mart.

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BOXES: Determining who owns thismarket is a little more difficult, chieflybecause of all the private labeling thatgoes on. Either way, Thule commandsglobal domination. Insiders have con-firmed to GearTrends that Thule likelymakes more boxes worldwide in a monththan its closest competitor makes in ayear. But, let’s get down to details.

By brand name, best guesses place Thuleat approximately 30 percent market share.Yakima owns approximately 10 percentshare currently (down from past years).

Sportrack (www.sportrack.com) andPackasport (www.packasport.com) split a7 percent share. As for the remaining 53percent? Here’s a shocker—Sears ownsnearly 40 percent, confirming whatexperts have told us, that Sears is thelargest provider of boxes around. But getthis—Thule is the company that makesthe boxes for Sears. In addition, Thuleprovides private label boxes for theremaining 13 percent. So, if you add inprivate label that means Thule garners awhopping 83 percent market share!

ROOF RACKS: Here you’ll find a two-mule team pulling the roof-rack marketalong. Both Thule and Yakima appear toown approximately 45 percent of the mar-ket each. That leaves brands such as AllenRacks (www.allenracks.com), Barrecrafters(www.barrecrafters.com) and SportWorks(www.sportworks.com) fighting over theremaining 10 percent market share.

HITCH RACKS: Thule has been nipping atYakima’s heels for a few years now, and it’ssafe to say that in the last year, it hasnudged slightly ahead of the venerableArcata, Calif.-based, company in terms ofmarket share—26 percent to Thule and 24percent to Yakima. Graber Products(www.graberproducts.com) isn’t that farbehind either with a 20 percent marketshare by all accounts. After that, the scrapsare eaten up by Allen Racks (www.allen-racks.com), SportWorks (www.sportworks.com) and a host of regionalized players.

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care for years has been apretty moribund category—

yes, we all know we should use it, but otherthan variable SPF ratings or the odd addi-tive like moisturizers and the like (remem-ber the Avon Skin-So-Soft buzz a few yearsback?), there hasn’t been much beyondsmell and packaging glitz to help the poorconsumer differentiate between products.

While there aren’t many new productsthis season, FDA marketing rules arereshaping branding focus for at least afew sunscreen product manufacturers.

First, some sobering numbers: Accordingto the American Cancer Society, one in fiveAmericans will develop some form of skincancer in their lives, and 67,000 will dieeach year from it. While we’ve been goodabout responding by using more skin-careproducts, the market has been glutted withwild claims about performance.

All that is set to change when proposedFDA rules could go into effect in late2004 or early 2005. If the FDA has itsway, after that time, no SPF rating high-er than 30 will be allowed, and compa-nies will not be allowed to make state-ments such as “sun block,” “waterproof,”“all-day protection” or other unsupportedabsolute claims. Ingredients will be limit-ed to 16 allowed substances, as well.

Which means companies that havemore than numbers to offer may do verywell. One example: Proderma. All itsproducts already meet the proposed newstandards, and contain natural elementslike tea tree oil and ginseng, herbalextracts, and vitamins A, C and E.

In addition to sunscreen, Proderma’sline includes a windscreen designed to beused in concert with sunscreen. (SeveralGearTrends editors and writers have usedthe product while skiing and adventuringoutdoors and it seems to work as adver-tised.) It also produces Moonscreen, anantioxidant healing cream that’s supposedto help skin recover from and reverse theaging effects of the sun. Proderma’s prod-ucts have also received approval from theSkin Cancer Foundation, and passed the

» T H E B O O K » S U M M E R 2 0 0 3

comprehensive SCF testing to be deemed“very water- and sweat-resistant.”

Proderma’s marketing can be very com-pelling: For those daring enough to seejust how damaged their skin is, Prodermawill again be offering DermaView scansduring Summer Market, which allows par-ticipants to view subcutaneous sun andweather damage. The result: Proderma iswell-positioned to take advantage of theFDA change, by having both a deep valueproposition and a well-developed marketstrategy, courtesy of Tim Bilbray, formerlyof Banana Boat brands.

Another company that’s already limit-ing itself to 30 SPF ratings, and drawingfans for its oil- and alcohol-free sun-screen, is the Canadian firm Kinesys. Itsspecialty is spray-on versions of its skin-care and sunscreen products. Recognizedby the Canadian Melanoma Foundation,this season it’s adding scent-free versions,along with a titanium dioxide cream.

However, not everyone agrees less ismore when it comes to SPF ratings. EricHansen with Rocky Mountain Sunscreensaid the American Academy ofDermatology (AAD), along with bigbrands like Banana Boat and Coppertone,have been lobbying against those newstandards, and it is possible that this will

delay their implementation. Meanwhile,the trend he sees is toward higher SPFnumbers—naturally. New for RMS thisseason: a carabiner clip sunscreen, and aone-ounce tube called Faces 50, an“extreme” sunscreen with an SPF of 50.

We checked in with the AAD and con-trary to what some manufacturers areclaiming publicly, it is not actively lobby-ing against the new labeling standards atall. In fact, from the position statementpublished by the AAD, it advocates basi-cally the following: UVB protection, asreflected by SPF, should be the primaryconsideration. No sunscreen with onlyUVA protection can claim a broad spec-trum of protection. Further, an increasein SPF must be accompanied by a pro-portional increase in the UVA protectionvalue, and those proportions should bejointly determined by the FDA and theindustry. See our sidebar for clarificationon the FDA labeling proposal.

What does all this mean for the retailer?Consumers are finally paying a lot of atten-tion to this sector, and in the months andyears ahead they’ll be looking for more thanjust a thick cream to slather on. Retailerswho provide comprehensive skin-care solu-tions that address a broad spectrum of con-sumer wants and needs should do well.

skinburn

PROPOSED FDA STANDARDS ARE RESHAPING BRANDING FOCUS FOR SOME,WHILE MAKING OTHERS NERVOUS.

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ˆProderma’s DermaView before and after scans show damage on the bridge of the nose

and around the eyes—common areas of neglect for most people.

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Buff® is the chameleon of versatile headgear. Knotthe microfibre top, flip it inside out and you’ve creat-ed a cap. Or roll the tube over itself and it’s a head-band. Neck cold? Pull the Buff over your head andit’s an instant balaclava or neck gaiter. Buff was pop-ularised by adventure racers who appreciate its

adaptable and highly functional nature. With a dozendifferent ways to wear a Buff, it’s wind-resistant,breathable and wicks moisture to keep you perform-ing in both warm and cold climates. In fact, it’ll keepyou comfortable just about anywhere you happen toend up!

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H E A L T H : S K I N C A R E

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P R I V AT E L A B E L

D E S I G N & P R O D U C T I O N S E R V I C E S

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tel: 510-236-4182

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Skin damage builds up with continued exposure to the sun.Sunburn is associated with UVB. However, UVA has been provento penetrate the skin, even if the skin feels cool, and damageconnective tissue. Many experts recommend wearing sunscreenalong with protective clothing to ensure protection. Applicationrecommendations in general state that one ounce of sunscreen(assuming full- or nearly full-body application) applied everytwo hours is appropriate for adults, and that sunscreen alwaysbe applied 30 minutes before heading outdoors. Remember thatthe sun’s rays are strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Waterand snow glare increase exposure to UV radiation.

In an effort to eliminate confusion and misperceptions atthe consumer level, the FDA has proposed standards that willamend the sunscreen standards and develop a comprehensive

program that addresses sunscreen formulation, labeling andtesting for both UVB and UVA radiation protection. Many inthe industry—especially those who have been garnering signif-icant percentages of sales from high (above 40) SPF labeling—are hoping the FDA can be swayed to change its tune and soft-en its standards to allow for higher SPF labeling.

The FDA appears quite set on its intentions to publish theamendment proposal soon, await public commentary, and thenestablish the new sunscreen standards. But even the FDA saysit is not likely we’ll see the new standards before Jan. 1, 2005.When published, industry experts believe that the FDA willlikely not allow SPF labeling above 30+, which is what the FDAwants to allow for any sunscreen with UVB protection thatexceeds SPF 30. —Michael Hodgson

UVA/UVB PRIMERTO UNDERSTAND HOW SKIN AGES AND/OR BURNS UNDER THE SUN’S RAYS MEANS UNDERSTANDING UVA AND UVB.

UVAUVB

» UVA is ultraviolet radiation with wavelengths from 320 to 400 nanometers. It passesthrough the Earth’s ozone layer and can cause early aging of the skin.

» UVB is ultraviolet radiation with wavelengths of 280 to 320 nanometers. The ozone layer absorbsmost of the sun’s UVB, but even a small amount can do substantial damage. UVB causes skin cancer and may con-tribute to cataracts. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

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©3M 2002 “Thinsulate” is a trademark of 3M.

Give your sales a lift with Thinsulate™ Supreme Insulation. It’s quite possibly the one thing that

boarders and skiers agree on. Why? Well, maybe it’s the exceptional comfort they get with Thinsulate

Supreme insulation. Or maybe it’s the warmth and durability. It could be that they each enjoy less bulk

and more freedom of movement. Ask your suppliers for products that feature Thinsulate Supreme insulation.

The ticket to supreme softness, warmth and comfort.

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ven though, as Jeff Haug, mar-keting manager of Katadyn,puts it, “New technology comes

by rarely, so there are rarely new prod-ucts” in the water-purifier category, eachof the big players does have somethingnew up its sleeve in time for OutdoorRetailer Summer Market.

First up is Katadyn, which by variousestimates has 49 percent of the $15 mil-lion outdoor specialty water-purifier/fil-tration market. After successfullyrebranding this spring, from PUR toKatadyn, by using color-coded packagingand POS’s to target its three lines, it alsoexpanded its offerings to include a newchemical disinfectant tablet alreadyavailable in Europe, the Micropur MP1.

Micropur is a sodium chloride tablet,which converts to chlorine dioxide gaswhen added to water, killing bacteria, virus-es, crypto and giardia. Not one to rest on itslaurels, Haug hinted at more changes.“We’ve got a number of things lined up,mostly product enhancements.” At presstime the company couldn’t unveil details,but Haug said “the focus is really on ease ofuse,” so expect to see some enhancementsto existing products this season.

For its part, First Need by GeneralEcology will be celebrating its 30thanniversary as the only chemical-freepurifier system. “We may be the onlycompany that meets the EPAMicrobiological Guide Standards, andcertainly the only chemical-free modelthat meets it,” said Andrea Williams ofGeneral Ecology. Like Katadyn, it wastesting new products at press time, andwouldn’t know until closer to show timewhether or not it would have productsready to unveil at Summer Market.

CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGYWhat is certain to be really big news is thepublic release of the new MSR MIOX puri-fier at the summer trade show. Shaped likea long pen, the MIOX was developed inconcert with the U.S. military to meet therigorous needs of soldiers, and is based onthe same principles as a municipal water-treatment facility. In fact, the unit is aminiaturized version of the same high-tech

» T H E B O O K » S U M M E R 2 0 0 3

treatment system currently in use in citieslike Boulder, Colo., and Santa Fe, N.M.

The MIOX was field-tested inAfghanistan, where its ease of use—openthe top, scoop in some water, shake, pressa button and go, was a big hit with thosewho don’t want to wait around the water-ing hole.

Although high tech in concept, theMIOX operation is fairly simple. First,untreated water and salt is mixed to createa brine solution. Then a small electricalcurrent—supplied by a pair of CR-123Acamera batteries—is passed through, creat-ing a chemical reaction which produces asmall amount of mixed oxidants. A lightgoes off when the solution is finished cook-

ing, and the resulting mixtureis then poured back into theuntreated water, where it kills

bacteria and viruses at about the same rateas iodine and other chemically based treat-ments: 15 minutes for bacteria, up to fourhours for cryptosporidium.

The benefits are many, said former MSRspokeswoman Kitty Graham. Not only doesthis provide “scoop and go” water treat-ment without the need to sit and pump (adangerous prospect at times for armedcampers), it also works without leaving anychemical taste or chemical residue. It issold with safety indicator strips, which canbe used to determine when water is fit todrink. Cleverly, the unit is scaleable, so youcan do anything from half a liter to 4 fullliters of water at once—handy for largegroups. To maintain the unit, just replacethe batteries (good for 200 or so liters) andthe salt tablets, or just use table salt.

Beyond just the outdoor market, theMIOX is being sold to the military andhomeland defense departments, and willbe targeted at survivalists and the like aswell. The unit weighs just 8 ounces,which includes the purifier, salt, testingstrips, a reference card and a storagesack. It will retail for $99.95, and will beavailable at Summer Market. Althoughthe price is high, over the long term it willbe a good value, and should be a big drawfor those who don’t like chemicals andprefer not to pump.

NEW WATER-TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES ARE BEING TOUTED BY THEBIG GUNS, WITH MSR FIRING THE FIRST MEANINGFUL SHOT.

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Brand share for 2002 is:

Sweetwater: 20%

MSR: 27%

Katadyn/PUR: 49%

Source: Leisure Trends

H2O PURIFIERS’ PIECE OF THE PIE

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No wonder people expect more from Ex Officio clothing, considering all the things they do. Whether it’s UV protection, venting, secret pockets, convertibility, anti-bacterial protection, moisture wicking or quick-drying performance, Ex Officio clothing does more of it than anyone.

Contact your Ex Officio Sales representative or call 800-833-0831 to see what else we have up our extremely ventilated sleeves.

Escape UVrays,moisture and e-mail.

Expect more from your clothes TM

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he idea hit Frank Meyer, co-founder and director of marketingfor Adventure Medical Kits (AMK), while packing up anothercustom medical bag for the many Eco-Challenge teams the com-

pany provides gear for. “I was thinking, this all adds up: all these com-partments and zippers and so on, and some of it isn’t even water-proof,” meaning the gear might be ruined before even beingopened—not a good way to meet a customer’s needs.

A quick redesign later, and AMK had its new Ultralight series, certainlyone of the best innovations in first-aid kits—and one that the entire mar-ket is jumping on as other companies revamp and update their lines, too.The AMK design is intentionally simple: a stripped-down but comprehen-sive medical kit packed first in a waterproof pouch, then inside alightweight, ripstop cover. The three kits in the line range in weight from9.5 ounces for the four-person, four-day package, down to the 3.5-ouncefeatherweight model suited for trail runs or overnight trips. Prices rangefrom $16 to $32.

“We just wondered, ‘what’s the ideal adventure racer kit, which couldalso be used for the weekend warrior,’ and we came up with this. It’slightweight, waterproof, it’s exactly what they need,” explained Meyer.

Apparently it’s also something consumers are interested in. While Meyerwasn’t willing to quote exact figures, he did note that “sales have beenreally strong for us,” and that EMS liked initial sales so much it’s interest-ed in doing a private label line.

Beyond its Ultralight series, AMK is also gearing up to unveil a com-pletely redesigned Mountain Series line at Summer Market. Each kit willnow have a total of five labeled compartments, sortedby injury type. “When you open it up, everythingyou need is right there, organized. You don’thave to get into four or five compartments tofind what you need.” It’s a bold move, since theMountain Series represents 60 percent of AMK’ssales, according to Meyer. He’s confident the

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changes will be good for retailers, sayingit will “give a fresh look to drive excite-ment” in an otherwise stagnant segment.The newly redesigned series will totaleight units, priced from $10 to $160.

OTHER PLAYERS: WHAT’S NEW?As AMK expands its line, another bigmedical kit player is collapsing its line.Todd Walton of Outdoor Researchexplained that the recent passing of com-pany founder Ron Gregg “gave us achance to really pause and look at thecompany.”

One thing the company discovered wasa massive overlap in products, which pre-sented a marketing challenge. For exam-ple, Outdoor Research was making 19different medical kits, but come SummerMarket those will be consolidated to justsix with each freshened up with a pack-age redesign. Walton noted the companywould be doing similar reviews acrossthe board and even more changes were tobe expected in its product lineup.

Another significant medical productworth noting is Sawyer’s new “West NileVirus Protection Pack,” which contains abottle of time-release DEET and somewash-in permethrin insect repellent,enough to keep two sets of clothes bug-free for up to six weeks. Only the packag-ing and positioning is new, although itdoes come with a booklet explaining howto protect yourself from infection. Itremains to be seen whether consumerswill be nervous enough about the poten-tial of the disease to be driven to buy the$13.99 package.

ULTRALIGHT AID

PLAYERS IN THE FIRST-AID GAME ARE STRIPPING DOWNKITS AND REVAMPING LINES TO MEET CONSUMER NEEDS.

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