California Apparel News

The Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, headquartered in Asheville, N.C., has built a network of 83 independent outdoor retailers and, like other merchant groups, it has had to cancel its in-person trade shows and events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its Connect trade shows, which were scheduled to be produced in Kansas City, Mo., and Knoxville, Tenn.

Recently, the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance announced a partnership with NuOrder, a Los Angeles–headquartered business-to-business e-commerce company, to develop an online platform for its members, said Rich Hill, Grassroots Outdoor Alliance’s president.

NuOrder will provide an online platform that will offer participants a space to exhibit digital line sheets and catalogs and the opportunity for vendors and buyers to collaborate in real time, Hill said.

“Independent outdoor retailers need tools like NuOrder to help them work smarter and harder,” Hill said. “The potential of having a universal order-writing tool helps them make better decisions, helps us be better partners with our vendors, and reduces excess and non-functional inventory no one wants.” The NuOrder buying platform will be offered complimentary to the group’s vendors and retailers this fall.

In May, NuOrder also announced a partnership with Informa Markets Fashion, the producer of the sprawling MAGIC trade shows, to produce digital events with Informa.

NuOrder’s platform for Informa features virtual trade-show booths and showrooms. They include 360-degree product imagery, giving viewers the opportunity to view a garment at all angles. Transactions also can be made on or off the platform according to a user’s wishes.