We Are Not Snobs
By The Mann Group
It’s time to eliminate “specialty” from specialty retail.
The outdoor retail industry rests comfortably in the confines of “specialty retail.” Like our other sports-oriented brethren, we peddle wares that often require a depth of knowledge and expertise—in other words, specialization—in order to sell those products well.
Unfortunately, the phrase “specialty retail” no longer implies expertise that’s available to anyone interested in the sport or hobby. “Specialty,” it seems, has become synonymous with “exclusive.” We specialty retailers have become a community of braggarts and bullies; we snub customers who don’t fit our molds or who are new to our sports, we form cliques within our teams, and we withhold our hard-earned knowledge for ourselves alone.
That’s why we’re calling for an end to “specialty.” We think the outdoors should be available to everyone, and in many ways it’s the outdoor retail industry that serves as the gatekeepers. If we continue to maintain the modern sentiment of “specialty,” we’ll reject a whole new generation of outdoor enthusiasts. It’s our responsibility, instead, to act as retailers—plain and simple.
The term “retailer” hails form “tailor,” as in to create or fit a custom garment to a particular person. It’s this tailored, customized approach to service we should be offering to every outdoor retail customer. Retail in its simplest of forms—without “specialty” or anything else—is the act of matching a customer with the goods that fulfill their wants and needs. Returning to that simple concept could be the saving grace for outdoor retailers.
Simple retail, sans-specialty, means a lot of things. It means an inclusive environment where everyone is welcome and where every customer is treated with empathy. It means freely sharing the expertise and experience of employees with customers, and using the knowledge as a sales tactic rather than a blunt and offensive instrument. It means getting off our high horses (and out from behind the cash wrap) and actually working. It means taking pride in our industry, but not being prideful. It means sharing our passion for the outdoors and the goods we sell with a wide community of customers.
Imagine the impact we could have if we eliminated “specialty” and came solely from a place of “retail.” The outdoor retail industry would instantly lose so many of its detriments that dissuade new customers (and employees) from exploring it. It would no longer be as intimidating to walk into an outdoor retailer if what waited inside wasn’t snobbish experts but welcoming liaisons. With employees as a trusted resource, it wouldn’t be so scary to try a new sport or hobby. And without cliques within our staff, we’d draw a wider pool of applicants better suited for customer experience, rather than just vessels of product knowledge.
There are so many reasons to ditch “specialty,” but most persuasive is the opportunity to grow not just our industry, but the participation of our communities in the outdoors. Being outside shouldn’t require any specialization, and to imply that it does stunts the growth of our community. Let’s just provide quality retail and incredible service to our customers and leave the “specialty” for the other guys.
About The Mann Group: We are The Mann Group, a charmingly incongruous and blatantly genuine group of big thinkers and list makers. Get us together, and our ideas bloom into vibrant, sky-high projects; take us apart, and we work methodically and assiduously to accomplish the goals we created together. We create and implement practical courses and curriculum to help businesses and individuals grow.