Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 46
Feature .02
TEAM PLAYERS
Josh Legg, Amber Carver, and Abbey
Moore (front, left to right); Charlie
Daniels, Chad Wykle, Lili Brandon,
Jim Sapere, Blake Davenport, Taylor
Chesney, Brandon Taylor, O'Ryan
Lovins, Joe Schalk (back, left to right).
in Hixson, Tennessee. Wheeler purchased
the company in 1987, after thru hiking the
Appalachian Trail with his wife. When Marvin
Webb-a high school friend of Wheeler's-
signed on as partner, the team changed the
name to Rock/Creek. In a way, the shop was
ahead of its time. Wheeler and Webb founded
their business on a passion for the city's access to recreation, an asset even Chattanooga
didn't appreciate at the time.
Once a railroad and industrial hub,
Chattanooga in the 1980s was bleak. Major
textile and steel factories had shut their doors.
Downtown Chattanooga was nothing more
than rows of empty storefronts. After decades
of unregulated dumping, the Tennessee River,
which bisects the city, was practically toxic. The
smog was so bad, a 1969 Federal Air Quality
Report found that Chattanooga was the most
polluted city in the United States.
But that was not what Wheeler and Webb saw.
46 OUTDOOR RETAILER
/ Winter 2020
"WE WERE SERIOUS ABOUT OUR SUCCESS
BECAUSE WE VIEWED IT AS A FAMILY THING.
IF YOU'RE BITING INTO OUR BUSINESS,
YOU'RE BITING INTO OUR FAMILY." -DAWSON WHEELER
"The potential of the city was unbelievable,"
says Webb. "It was so obvious, too. Here's this
city with mountains around it and a beautiful
river running through it, and none of that was
being taken advantage of."
In the 1990s, that all changed. Forwardthinking leadership brought about major
improvements for the Scenic City and with
them came investments in environmental
initiatives and public green spaces. The city
made such a turnaround that in 2011 and
2015, Chattanooga won Outside magazine's
Best Towns contest, the first town ever to do
so twice.
As the city evolved, so, too, did the Rock/
Creek brand. The flagship store moved into
the heart of the city to the burgeoning Two
North Shore shopping center. For a while, it
seemed Rock/Creek was moving or adding
locations every other year. By 2016, Rock/
Creek had four stores in Chattanooga, a seasonal outpost near the Ocoee River, and two
stores in the nearby communities of Cleveland
and Franklin. Rock/Creek even had a booming e-commerce platform until 2014 when the
retailer returned its attention to brick-andmortar. Unlike Blue Ridge Mountain Sports,
a regional outdoor retailer that had stores
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020
OUTDOOR RETAILER - WINTER 2020
CONTENTS
THE PULSE
HEADLINES
MERCHANDISING
MARKETING
BIG PICTURE
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
CASE STUDY
IDEAS
GENE HAN
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
RESEARCH
THE REAL DEAL
ALL IN THE FAMILY
SUNBELT SKI SHOPS
BREAD+BUTTER
THE STORY OF GEAR
THE POWER OF PLUS
COUNTER CULTURE
#REPLIFE
THE VIEW
HOW I GOT HERE
BACKSTORY
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - OUTDOOR RETAILER - WINTER 2020
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - Cover2
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 1
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 2
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 3
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 4
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 5
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - CONTENTS
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 7
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 8
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 9
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 10
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 11
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 12
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 13
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 14
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - THE PULSE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - HEADLINES
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 17
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 18
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 19
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - MERCHANDISING
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 21
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - MARKETING
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 23
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - BIG PICTURE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 25
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 27
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - CASE STUDY
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 29
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 30
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - IDEAS
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - GENE HAN
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 33
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 35
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - RESEARCH
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 37
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - THE REAL DEAL
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 39
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 40
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 41
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 42
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 43
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - ALL IN THE FAMILY
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 45
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 46
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 47
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 48
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 49
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - SUNBELT SKI SHOPS
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 51
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 52
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - BREAD+BUTTER
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - THE STORY OF GEAR
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 55
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - THE POWER OF PLUS
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 57
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 58
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 59
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - COUNTER CULTURE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - #REPLIFE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - THE VIEW
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 63
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 64
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 65
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 66
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 67
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - HOW I GOT HERE
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 69
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 70
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - 71
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - BACKSTORY
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - Cover3
Outdoor Retailer - Winter 2020 - Cover4
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