LA GRANDE — Enjoying the Northeastern Oregon outdoors calls for the right gear, shoes, accessories and apparel, all the products available at Blue Mountain Outfitters, 1124 Adams Ave., La Grande.

The store has been under new ownership since July 2021 by Mike Craig and his wife, Trier. Mike Craig became acquainted with Blue Mountain Outfitters and its former owner, Jim Whitbeck, through their mutual business dealings.

“I was a sales rep in the outdoor industry, and Blue Mountain Outfitters happened to be one of my accounts,” Craig said. “I had come through town quite a bit, and I knew that the owner had already moved, so since my family was from this area, I decided it was time to set down some roots where the family started.”

The Craigs currently reside on the outskirts of Elgin. Trier Craig is a teacher at Elgin High School, and their daughter, Olive, attends school in Elgin and is very active in barrel racing and 4-H.

Mike Craig is a member of the Union County Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Alliance. He also serves on the Economic Vitality Board for La Grande.

His business background includes about 20 years of outdoor retail experience, with about five years of corporate experience.

“I have a strong background in retail, but also as a sales rep, I got to go into over 150 stores throughout the Pacific Northwest,” he said. “I got to see what worked and what didn’t work.”

As an outdoor industry rep, Craig spoke with retailers in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington daily and helped them be successful in their communities.

“When we took over our store, we were able to take the mentality and ideas of all those 150 stores and focus on what would work for our Eastern Oregon customers to provide a unique experience and great product in a small-town environment,” he said.

COVID challenges

Although it was a turnkey business sale with inventory, Craig thought it was an interesting time to take over a business due to the challenges of the pandemic.

“We had supply chain issues as a direct result of a lot of the COVID lockdown, shipping issues and manufacturing,” he said. “It was a dynamic time working with our suppliers to find product and be able to get things on the shelf.”

In terms of the store’s operation, he hired back the store’s former employees, and he feels this enabled the business’ new owners to hit the ground running.

“They were phenomenal, and we relied on them very heavily in the first year,” he said. “Today, we have three full-time and one part-time employee.”

Another thing Craig did immediately after purchasing the business was create a welcoming atmosphere in the store and an all-encompassing outdoor product line, possibly the only store of that kind within a 200-mile radius.

A niche in the local marketplace

Blue Mountain Outfitters offers products for hunting, backpacking, family car camping and everything in between. There are also a few other outdoor retail businesses in town that focus on specific sports gear and apparel. Each business has its own niche in the local marketplace, and Craig says they work with each other as partners.

Adventure and outdoor travel consumers are demanding apparel that is functional, sustainable, packable and fashionable. The industry has answered those demands with new apparel coined as “techwear” and “athleisure” apparel. Techwear incorporates technology designs for sustainability and performance. Athleisure apparel describes the amalgamated line between athletic outdoor wear and leisure outdoor wear.

Presently, the active outdoor apparel segment of the industry is driving the overall apparel market growth. The 2022 outdoor clothing market was worth $34.8 billion in the U.S., and it’s forecasted to rise over $45 billion by 2027, according to market research studies.

The booming outdoor apparel market is driven by several factors, one being that more people desire to live a healthy lifestyle and are participating in more outdoor activities. Craig cited another factor he observed locally.

“One of the interesting things about the COVID period and coming out of that was that the outdoors was one place that people could go to escape,” he said. “The outdoor industry did very well during the restrictions by allowing people to get outside, stay healthy and get some sunshine.”

Blue Mountain Outfitters sells summer and winter outdoor clothing, shoes, gear and accessories. It has one of the largest inventories locally of walking and full weather shoes, he said. The business also buys and sells used gear and clothing. It offers U.S. Forest Service recreation passes as well as maps, books and other local resources.