Speaking of the online to offline conversion, if done right Bookstores don't need digital.  So who is to say all of the focus for the outdoor brand should be digital?  What is happening is called entropy.  The world is digesting over a decade of digital and people are actually craving connectivity, personal interaction and random encounters.

While not exacty specific to the outdoor industry, I think a lot of small to mid-size retailers are missing the boat when it comes to engaging the outdoor enthusiast.  REI gets it, you can see this from walking in the door and having a list of "activities" on a whiteboard to choose from.

All in all the outdoor enthusiast is a unique species with his/her own set of standards and certainly their need to connect.  What can the outdoor industry learn from the entropy I mentioned above about "hub" centered bookstores?

Read on, rock on Salon:

http://www.salon.com/2011/12/15/what_slate_doesnt_get_about_bookstores/