Mesa County Outdoorsy Footwear Opportunity - Part 2

When I started writing on this topic, I did not plan on having more than one part to this. However, when you get on a topic you enjoy and that triggers your imagination, it is hard to stop it, so the writing must continue.

In the first post, I made a statement, or more so asked a question: "Could Mesa County become what Eugene/Beaverton/Portland became to Nike?" Now, I asked that clearly based on an oversimplification of information and imagination. We all know currently Mesa County, and more specifically places like Grand Junction, CO, or Palisade, CO, are no major cities like Eugene, Denver, or Salt Lake City. Additionally, every place has its wonderful physical landscape for running, hiking, walking, etc. So a place is a place is a place.

But what is it outside of what I mentioned in the previous post about Mesa County that hypothetically makes it a footwear opportunity if there is no Phil Knight, Bill Bowerman, and Onitsuka Tiger running shoes?

Is the opportunity manufacturing?

Is it marketing?

Is it material sourcing?

Is it becoming a home base for a big brand?

I mean, an Amazon warehouse moved into Grand Junction, and that is a big brand if I have ever seen one.

Now, if Mesa County had a Phil Knight version, there may be one; I just don't know who they are, and a version of Bill who understood the many complaints people have with their footwear, I would say that manufacturing and building a brand is an opportunity. However, that is a giant obstacle. And with the Mesa County scenery, marketing campaigns are not a bad idea. However, Mesa County is not the only place with great scenery. Plenty of places have great scenery. Plus, I imagine big brands already have so much reach in major cities there is no need to come to a smaller place. But here's the thing: while everyone is familiar with Nike, Adidas, New Balance, etc., there are smaller brands popping up and growing every day. After all, who knew about On Cloud and Hokas until they became mainstream?

Now, we have established that outdoor recreation and tourism are big in Mesa County. When you focus more on trail running as a subset of outdoor recreation, it's expected to increase substantially over the next five years in the United States, with footwear production climbing substantially too. Along with the growth in sports and its investments, and even for children, parents are willing to sacrifice on other things outside sport investments. Perhaps the opportunity lies in a more niche, smaller subset activity: footwear product testing.