Andrew Denton, CEO of the Outdoor Industries Association (OIA), looks at how important education is to retail staff, why they should attend Outdoor and Social and what other events to put in your calendar.
Andrew has been working in the outdoors since 1984, starting his career in outdoor education and then moving on to a series of senior management and ownership roles in businesses such as Rohan, Mountain Equipment, Sprayway, the Outdoor Sports Company and now climbing walls.
He is best known as the modern founder and co-owner of the international technical brand Mountain Equipment where he worked for 17 years and then sold in 2003.
OIA CEO since August 2011, Andrew is also Secretary General for the Its Great Out There Coalition (IGOT), a ‘not for profit’ initiative launched by The European Outdoor Group, and a member of the ukactive Membership Council.
Andrew is looking forward to attending Outdoor and Social after visiting their inaugural event last year.
Outdoor and Social is a three-day outdoor learning event, held at Newfold Farm, Edale, in the Peak District, from March 11-13.
It is an outdoor trade event providing workshops and practical sessions designed to increase knowledge and confidence in outdoor products and skills through experience.
Delivered under the guidance of brands, experts and professionals it is completely free of charge to all retail staff and aimed to help all retailers and their staff deliver better information to the consumer.
and social working with the Institute of Outdoor Learning (IOL) have now made the first step in an educational path to guide specialism through specific modules covering outdoor categories.
and Social and the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) have joined together to implement the first certification scheme for outdoor retail staff in the UK.
Andrew said: “It was a cracking event last year I think their certification scheme for retail staff is a great idea and something the OIA is building on with an apprenticeship scheme.
“There’s so much information online at the moment. You can often get the best prices online, go to forums and talk to experts. If retail doesn’t step up and have outstanding customer service, knowledgeable staff, make it a welcoming and exciting shopping experience, then fundamentally they’re going to end up losing out.
“I think and Social is really great as it can build passion, interest in gear and in gear in situ. To be able to talk to the experts and use equipment on the hill is brilliant and then staff can start to drip that knowledge in to make the retail experience a stickier, better experience, which will bring customers back to your store.
“I will be there in Edale again this year. I can answer anyone’s questions about the outdoor industry, if anyone’s new to the industry and wants to sit down and find out my own journey, or journeys of friends, then I will be happy to do so.
“It’s a fabulous industry to be in. Getting inspiration, new ideas, sharing and networking at and Social, with your peers, colleagues and people that have been in the industry for a long time is invaluable.
“Socialising with colleagues after having followed a day of learning about product, I couldn’t think of a better way. And if you haven’t enjoyed it, then get out of the Industry because and Social really gives you a flavour of how good the trade can be. You’ll meet some brilliant people and it could set you up for an entire career.
“When I’ve been talking to my board members, who are the most senior people in industry, they’ve all been reporting back that their staff seemed to have a really good experience and they’ve considered it valuable and they’re sending more staff back.”
The OIA, in conjunction with and Social, are implementing an apprentice scheme for retail staff in the Outdoor Industry.
Andrew said: “We’ve always believed that outdoor education and training is an important part of the OIA’S message – we have done some stuff in the past with online education.
“We work closely with an outdoor training provider, Skern, who are Ofsted rated to deliver apprenticeships virtually online and have, initially, put a customer service programme together.
“It’s an NVQ apprenticeship scheme which you can do online at your work rather than going into a training college. All the training is paid for by the government and Skern facilitate all of that for you. So, staff that you’re already paying and doing the job for you can gain an NVQ or a full apprenticeship in outdoor retail customer service. The general trend is that it aids staff retention. You keep staff for longer. It makes them feel valued and more likely to come in and do a better job. And, of course, good customer service, generally speaking, does improve your sales and retention of customers as well. It feels like a win-win paid for by the government.
“It’s very much something that we’ve done in partnership with the and Social team. We’re excited to try and roll that out. We’ve had a soft launch, but we’ll be doing a bigger launch with the whole team at Outdoor and Social at Edale in March.”
Looking forward to the 2025 industry calendar, apart from Outdoor and Social, Andrew has highlighted events that people should be attending.
He said: “It really depends on which part of the industry you’re in. There are some vital ones.
“If you’re in a c-suite or leadership role then the OIA outdoor conference and AGM at the back end of March is an absolutely must-attend event. There’ll be 150 leaders from the industry attending and some fantastic speakers.
“If you’re in a more B2C consumer-orientated role, the Raccoon Events’ Outdoor Expo at the NEC is worth going around, either to work on your brand or just to get a flavour of what people are doing and buying.
“The beating heart of the outdoors now, which every marketing and brand person should go to, is the Kendall Mountain Festival in November.
“That’s not only to see the athletes, cameramen, story writers and the brands. There will also be 12,000 people walking around, what brands are they wearing? What’s hot? Who’s doing what? You get an incredible flavour of the whole industry in one spot at Kendall.
“I would recommend anyone from a Chief Exec of a big brand down to just an enthusiast on the ground to pop their head into Kendall.
“There’s so much more but they are three that I would certainly recommend people to put on their list.”
Read part two of Andrew Denton’s state of the outdoor industry.
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