zulily Gets The Scoop on All That's New in Outdoor Gear
From small shops to the largest national retailers, thousands of buyers from all over the world attended the late January Outdoor Retailer (OR) Winter Sports Market in Salt Lake City, UT. The Outdoor Retailer market is held twice yearly (Winter & Summer) and is where connections are made, orders are written, new accounts are found and new brands & products are launched.
Of course, zulily is no stranger to this monster of a market, and we had to get the skinny on just what this experience is like first-hand – from one of our very own attendees! We asked Sabeeka Dar, a zulily Senior Account Manager, what her experience attending the OR Winter Market was like, from hearing the latest buzz in trends, to getting face-to-face with manufacturers (and llamas!), to experiencing winter sports products first-hand.
Can you tell a little about your background & more about your current position at zulily?
I’m a “shoe dawg” at heart. My retail career started about 13 years ago as a Shoe Buyer for a specialty sporting goods’ company in Boston. Eventually I made my way to zulily as a Footwear Buyer and since then have moved into Business Development as a Senior Account Manager. My team and I are responsible for some of our customers' most loved brands. Â
What is your main goal when attending a big market like Outdoor Retailer?
My main objective is to help people understand who we really are at zulily and why they should work with us. I want to to help them understand why we are relevant.Â
How do you prepare prior to attending?
I sleep a lot! :) I had 34 meetings in 2.5 days. Besides that, we prepare all recaps of our last year’s business and lay out all new business for the upcoming year. For each individual meeting, I identify additional opportunities that we can explore with them and leave time to listen to what the brand has to say. For all new business, we prepare a pitch deck and spend time researching what the vendor is all about and what they are looking for and how I would be able to convince them to do business with us. Our team meets prior to the show and we tackle all the tasks to ensure that everything is covered.Â
How is this show different than other markets you might attend during the year?
The outdoor industry is my absolute favorite. I love OR because I get to see what all the brands are coming to market with for the following year. It allows me to geek out over the weight of a jacket or the lacing system of a shoe.Â
What was the best or most favorite part of your recent trip?
Seeing the llamas. No seriously. They were my favorite. I was in a meeting with the President of a really large vendor and I had to stop dead in my tracks because there were two llamas walking by… IN THE SHOW! I also get to see my Rolodex in person. It’s always amazing to reconnect with all of my business connects, both present and past.
What was the most fascinating/interesting part of your recent trip?
I can count on one hand the number of brands that we are not currently doing business with who attended OR. There are over 1,600 brands there. It’s truly fascinating. I also find it really interesting spending THAT much time with my coworkers. You get to learn a lot about them. I learned that my colleague Camille climbs mountains in running shoes! Not hiking shoes, but running shoes… and my boss Kevin spent a ton of time early in his life designing car parts because he is an engineer at the core (explains everything!) :)
What are your first steps when you return from market?
I sleep, and then immediately send thank you notes to every single person that I met. I also recap every single meeting and re-do the pipeline of projects based on what happened at OR.Â
Any other fun facts or tidbits?
Salt Lake City is at a high altitude, so you have to keep that in mind and drink a TON of water and carry lip balm at all times. Oh and wear extremely comfortable shoes. :)
Another fun fact: you can register your DOG to attend the OR market with you! How can you not like a work trip that allows you to bring “man’s best friend” – no dog-sitter needed!
You could even pick up something special for your next hike with "Fido!"Â
