MINDSpast seven months, the ProfessionalPaddlesports Association (PPA) andthe Trade Association of Paddlesports(TAPS) have met and discussed theformation of a new paddlesportstrade association. The meetings, whichwere to continue this summer, have in-cluded retailers, manufacturers andoutfitters who have voiced the needfor a new entity that would more ef-fectively work to increase participa-tion in paddlesports, deal with regu-latory issues and improve theprofitability of companies.

“We desperately need an association thatthe manufacturers and retailers will getbehind—one that will do things for thebetterment of the industry,” said KelleyWoolsey, senior vice president of marketingand sales for Confluence Watersports.

Certainly, there is a long history of failedattempts to blend the alphabet soup ofpaddlesports trade associations. But anew opportunity arose in December 2005when Paul German left his post as exec-utive director of TAPS to run a water-

sports operation in the Caribbean. WithGerman’s departure, TAPS considered itsoptions for the future.

“When we were left without an executivedirector, we decided it was time to sit backfor a few seconds and look at where theindustry is,” said Ray Fusco, president ofTAPS and program director for HudsonValley Outfitters in Cold Spring, N.Y. “Wethought that, before we went through anotherhiring process, we should talk to some peopleabout what we should be looking to do.”

At the 2006 Outdoor Retailer WinterMarket trade show in Salt Lake City, repre-sentatives of TAPS, PPA, Outdoor Retailerand various paddlesports companies heldan informal meeting to discuss the stateof the paddlesports trade associations. “Atthe OR meeting, we talked about what weneeded—one voice to promote the busi-ness and provide more information to theconsuming public,” said Norm Cavallaro,owner of North Cove Outfitters in OldSaybrook, Conn.

“The meeting was very positive,” saidMike Prom, owner of Voyageur CanoeOutfitters in Grand Marais, Minn. Prom,who also serves as president of the PPAboard of directors, said, “What came fromthat meeting was that, yes, we (TAPS andPPA) need to do something to work together,and the most obvious thing would be amerger of some sort to form a new associ-ation so we could achieve bigger things.”

In early spring, a second meeting washeld at Canoecopia in Madison, Wis. Thisgathering of about 30 people includedpersonnel from PPA and TAPS, some oftheir constituents, as well as paddlesportsindustry leaders who are not affiliated witheither trade association. Matt Menashes,executive director of PPA, said the associ-ations wanted input not just from theirmembers, but also from a variety ofindustry leaders, regardless of their affili-ation, or non-affiliation, with TAPS or PPA.

The Canoecopia meeting led to theformation of the Industry Unification Work

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meeting of the

over theIS THE FORMATION OF A NEW PADDLESPORTSTRADE GROUP ON THE HORIZON?

B Y M A R C U S W O O L F

»

»

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Group, which will explore the big pictureof what needs to be done to address theneeds of the paddlesports market.

Representatives of PPA and TAPSemphasized to GearTrends® they are notnecessarily working to combine both asso-ciations, but that remains a possibility.

“The entire premise is not to merge thetwo existing organizations, but to unifythe industry,” said Menashes. “That mayresult in a merger of the two existingorganizations, but more than likely it willresult in the creation of a new organizationthat the two existing associations fold into.It would be PPA plus TAPS plus folks whoaren’t aligned with either organization,creating more than what the two existingorganizations already had.”

Fusco said he’s not sure what type ofentity will be formed. “That new thing isvague and ambiguous right now. It couldmean a merger, it could mean a neworganization,” he said.

So, as the industry moves into latesummer, its representatives know some-thing lies down the road, though itremains a blurry vision on the horizon.Nobody yet knows the structure of thenew thing; neither do they know its goalsor which sectors of the paddlesportsindustry it will serve. But Menashes saidthe Industry Unification Work Groupwould determine all of this.

“Once we’ve figured out those things,you put the processes and organization inplace,” said Menashes. “We’re not out tocreate the organization first, and then figureout what it’s going to do. We want to figureout what the industry wants to do andcreate the structures to make that happen.”

WE NEED MORE PADDLERSOne thing the work group will likely deter-mine is that the industry’s primary concernis increasing consumer participation inpaddlesports.

According to Prom of Voyageur CanoeOutfitters, most people who attended thespring meetings said their chief concernwas increasing participation. “This is avery small industry,” he said, “and we needmore people paddling.”

Jeff Weidman, co-owner of the Rutabagapaddle shop in Madison,

Wis., said he agreed. “Business is reallyhard, and unless the pie gets bigger, no oneis going to benefit,” he said. “Participationcannot go down the road it’s going now,or it’ll end up like board sailing.”

Menashes said he also agreed that partic-ipation is at the top of most peoples’ lists.“For this industry to flourish, you have tobuild participation to increase sales orrentals,” he said. “There are other thingstrade associations do—typical memberservices, education, things like that. But ifthe group is going to take on a mission, ithas to be participation and how wegenerate the demand for the industry.”

He said it will take the combined effortsof manufacturers, retailers, outfitters andsales reps to grow the pie, and he wouldlike any new trade association to serve allof these sectors.

“Right now, PPA and TAPS both purportto represent all of those groups, and try ourdarndest to do that, but there are stillperceptions that each organization is alignedwith one or two sectors of the industry. Soit makes it harder to do work on behalf ofthose other sectors,” Menashes said.

One thing all these sectors have incommon is that they’re suffering the effectsof a market that is seen as either static orshrinking. Many agree that an economicpinch has sparked interest in a new tradeassociation.

THE GOOD OL’ DAYS ARE GONE“If you look at this category, there aren’t alot of people making a lot of money,” saidNando Zucchi, general manager ofJohnson Outdoors Paddlesports. Hesuspects that this economic reality isbringing people to the table to talk.

Joe Pulliam, co-founder and formerCEO of Dagger, has been responsible forgetting people to the table in the new effortto overhaul the trade associations, and hesaid he agrees with Zucchi.

“While business is not bad, there are stillan awful lot of companies that aren’tmaking money,” said Pulliam, who worksas a consultant for PPA on a variety of proj-ects. “There have been a few tougher yearsfor some folks. In some cases, revenuehas been good, but

profitability hasn’t been there. People arestarting to ask whether we need to be doingsomething as an industry to make thesebusinesses healthier.”

One retailer, who asked to not benamed, told GearTrends®, “When peoplewere seeing 20- to 30-percent growth, noone thought they had the time or need toparticipate in a trade organization. Well,the good old days aren’t here anymore.”

Not only are businesses concernedabout their bottom line, but they’re alsofacing a changing business landscape dueto acquisitions and consolidations.

“Acquisitions are concerning peoplemore,” Woolsey said. “The world’s gettingsmaller, like with Confluence mergingwith Watermark. I think people are seeingthat the industry is changing, and weneed a forum where we can talk aboutwhere we are today and where we needto be tomorrow.”

With the rise of large paddlesports corpo-rations, some smaller companies feel they’relosing their influence in the market, andthey believe a new association would givethem a stronger voice. “There are a lot ofreasons this is happening,” said Fusco.“Retailers are saying they’re dealing withlarge corporations that are difficult to workwith.” In the May 2006 TAPS newsletter,Fusco wrote: “In a time of polarizationbetween the haves and have-nots, ourindustry needs to look inwards and putsome real energy into an organizationwhich will benefit the industry.”

The paddlesports market may be polar-ized, but people we spoke with were confi-dent and hopeful that something new andgood would come from the IndustryUnification Work Group. Of course, theoptimism was a little surprising. As Pulliamsaid, there have been many attempts overthe years to overhaul the associations with“lots of swings and misses.” In this newattempt, why won’t the players just strikeout again? People are at least saying theymay be more willing to provide leadership,and are ready to really strive tomake changes.

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WEB EXTRA! To read the latest de-velopments on a potential paddle-

sports association merger, an addedbenefit for SNEWS® subscribers, go to

www.SNEWSnet.com.

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nized the potential benefits of a strong, newassociation, and he said the conversationsso far have been encouraging. “I’m morepositive than ever because people are actu-ally listening to each other,” he said.Perhaps he’s right, and these new talks arecoming at a time when business leadersare more open-minded.

Nevertheless, rough waters may lieahead, because it’s never easy to changethe course of entrenched organizationssuch as TAPS and PPA. Groups in thesecases have to compromise and give upsomething, and nobody knows yet howfar each side is willing to go.

And then there’s the fact that paddle-sports companies are notoriously inde-pendent and sometimes even ornery. Manyhave intentionally avoided structure overthe years and don’t really care for tradeassociations of any shape or variety. As onefeisty manufacturer told us, “There arepeople with jaundiced views of trade asso-ciations. They think they’re like mosqui-toes sucking the blood out of you.”

» To read all the back issues of GearTrends®,go to www.GearTrends.com/magazines.

“There is enough consensus in themanufacturing sector, and that will makeit easier to happen,” said Menashes.“Company principals recognize it’s theright thing to do for the industry. We’vegotten to the point that companies havematured and understand that a tradeorganization is an integral component ofgrowing an industry.”

Another plus is that PPA and TAPS havesought input from manufacturers such asLiquidlogic that have previously steeredclear of the trade groups. They’ve alsosought input from leading retailers whowere previously not on their rolls.

Traditionally, Cavallaro of North CoveOutfitters hasn’t dealt with TAPS or PPA,but he’s offered his support for the neweffort. “I’ll be involved and stay with it aslong as it’s making progress,” he said.

Some retailers—even some who aren’tmembers of TAPS or PPA—said that sometype of merger or new association wouldbe a good idea. One of those retailers isEric Baden, owner of the BoulderOutdoor Center, a 25-year-old store, rentaloperation and instruction center inColorado. It’s been seven years since

Baden was a member of either TAPS orPPA, and he said, “They haven’t had themembership, power and clout to reallybenefit me, so they lost me as a member.”However, Baden added, “I would love tosee them combine, and there are quite afew things (a trade association) could doto benefit me.”

Weidman of Rutabaga also said he recog-

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p a d d l e s p o r t s

MEN AT WORKMEMBERS OF THE INDUSTRYUNIFICATION WORK GROUP ARE:

» Danny Batten | Great Outdoor Provision Co.

» Mike Cichanowski | Wenonah/ Current Designs

» John Durrua | Jersey Paddler

» Scott Forristall | Johnson Outdoors

» Ray Fusco | Hudson Valley Outfitters

» Mark Hall | Delta Kayaks

» Mike Prom | Voyageur Canoe Outfitters

» Tim Rosenhan | Innova

» Ed Schiller | Wild River Outfitters

» Kelley Woolsey | Confluence

For 17 years, the leaders of the outdoor industry haveeagerly supported the innovative and important work of

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