Interesting times lie ahead. Many 'big box' stores, multiples, are now trying to take specialist sports seriously, and are adjusting their stock and their approach accordingly. But the one thing these stores usually lack is knowledgable staff, and that's where the independent will usually win hands-down.

Within the last year ispo, the world's leading sports business exhibition, has taken a fresh new approach to communications with the markets in the UK and Ireland.  This positive strategy has been welcomed by brands and retailers alike and is a direct reflection of feedback from regular exhibitors and visitors as well as the evolution of the show and the sports industry as a whole.

Ronhill, the leading British running brand, is seeing robust growth across the board, despite the prevailing economic headwinds, with a strong order book for winter, up a record 30 per cent.

Stockport based schoolwear and sports goods supplier F R Monkhouse, which is celebrating its 70th year in business, has secured seven-figure funding from Bank of Scotland Corporate, enabling the business to focus on its long term objectives and to implement a new state of the art business and stock system and develop their internet e-commerce operations.

Aqua Sphere has announced a partnership with Ironman to produce a line of performance triathlon wetsuits.

Ronhill is launching its biggest ever point-of-sale campaign as part of the brand's retail ambitions of building a stronger and more imposing presence in-store. The campaign is also geared to underpin the brand's leading position in the market where the company's sales are seen to be climbing ahead of forecast.

Join SGB - Sports and Outdoor in wishing Teritex Sportswear a happy 30th birthday, as the company gears up to its anniversary this October. The company manufactures knitted scarves, hats, gloves, wristbands, flags, pennants, neoprene supports and more.

Lonsdale have designed a ‘gym within gym' concept in a strategy to target health club groups and widen the appeal of boxing within the fitness sector.

OPRO, creators of the OPROshield, the world's most advanced self-fit mouthguard, have upped their profile after recently supplying a set of their gumshields to Kent's Aylesford Bulls RFC juniors to try out.

Precision Training has announced a number of exciting partnerships as they strengthen their reputation as a supplier of training aids. Up and coming Football League Club Shrewsbury Town have agreed to a one-year deal which sees Precision Training, a wholly-owned brand of Reydon Sports, supply a complete range of training aids and equipment for use throughout the whole club, including the squad's senior professional playing squad, as well as the youth division.

Over 700 young footballers descended on Northwick Park, Harrow in August to take part in the inaugural McDonald's National Football Festival, the largest Mini Football Festival in the country.

One might have expected that with the melody of medals still ringing in our ears and the anticipation of four years leading up to our very own Olympic Games, anyone who is a specialist in the sports trade would be excited if not ecstatic right now. Well, Phil Talbot is obviously not as laid back as first impressions might lead one to believe, but he was most objective when we broached the subject of the Olympics, recalling that most of ‘our' medals were won in a sitting position, and that although the 2012 games would doubtless bring sports to the fore, the masses were unlikely to spend either more time or more money on their gear because of it.

Making inroads into a relatively new field can be difficult for any company, no matter what the size.  Wilson has a history in the field of badminton, but they want more.  The man charged with making that happen is Steve Yates, a former county player and Wales international. There's more to him than a sporting background (though his triathlon record is pretty impressive), as he has also spent several years working in sales and marketing in our industry. You could say, quite simply, he knows the sport inside out. Steve explains to SGB how Wilson are going to achieve great things in badminton...

Kookaburra have enjoyed fantastic success over recent years ˆ The combination of innovative product design, striking graphics and the endorsement of many of the Worlds Top Players have made us a Œmust have Brand‚ for all serious Cricket retailers. In terms of International Profile within the 2009 Season ˆ There will be plenty of Kookaburra Players performing with distinction throughout the summer.

The Xiphos

Gray-Nicolls continue to move the boundaries in the art of bat making. New for 2009, the Xiphos, with it's distinctive chrome effect branding and unique grooving, is an imposing addition to the Gray-Nicolls range. Gray-Nicolls have combined their heritage out scooped bats with todays demands of a bat with the ultimate profile. Thick edges and huge sweet spot, combined with a beautifully balanced pick up that will give any player unrivalled confidence. The Xiphos is also professionally bowed, enhancing the feel and control every player strives for.

Freeline Skates - the latest development in skateboarding technology - have been brought to the UK market by Serelo Sports. The skates have been previously sold online and via select and specialist outlets but are now being offered directly to retailers.

I've been distracted from my usual routines this week because both of my offspring, who fled the nest some years ago, have returned for a few days of parental support. My daughter is bemoaning the fact that she has still to meet Mr Right while my son, with the downturn in house sales, wants to get out of estate agency and into another sphere.

After the summer we've just endured, I can't help but wonder if high-spec tent sales might have gone up. Howling wind, pouring rain and occasional glimpses of the sun that lulled us into thinking we might actually get a bit of decent weather... Combine that with higher than ever fuel prices and an economy that seems to be slipping beyond our wonderful government's control, and you have what would appear to be a recipe for an unhappy society.

The North Face athlete Elizabeth Hawker, one of the brand's endurance athletes, recently won first place in the women's division at The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.

Timberland's new ad campaign is set to "celebrate the excitement and exhilaration of being in the outdoors", says the company. The campaign has been created by the newly-appointed Leagas Delaney.

Ispo's outdoor community enjoyed one of the most successful shows on record in 2008 confirming its place as the undisputed winter business platform for the industry. Encouraged by Munich's ease of access and the professional, authentic presentation of the sector, brands continued to increase their presence and outdoor ispo doubled in size to four vast halls within the main show.

British company ski~mojo is offering free upgrades to their customers following the introduction of new materials in its manufacturing process. New high-grade plastics developed by Dupont, who awarded ski~mojo the prestigious DuPont Winter Hardware Award at ISPO for its power boosting device, enhance the durability of the ski~mojo so the company decided that all cuostmers would be offerd a free upgrade. Martin Hannaford, Commercial Executive of Kinetic Innovations who manufacture the ski~mojo, said: "We wanted to do this as a thank you to our ‘early adopters' - after all, it's from their feedback that we've developed the product to an even higher spec since its launch last year."

Berghaus has announced its plans for entry into the Chinese market during 2009.  The company has signed an exclusive licensee agreement with Symphony Resources Ltd, a subsidiary of Symphony Holdings Ltd.  Commencing Autumn 09, Symphony Resources will aim to develop 200 dedicated Berghaus stores, as well as sell through specialised retail across China.

Outdoors and lifestyle brand Patagonia introduce a brand new Pro Shop in the UK.

Vango is once again the proud sponsor of the largest and most illustrious mountain marathon event in the UK - the Original Mountain Marathon (OMM).

TKC, formerly known as The Kite Company, distributes a number of diverse outdoor sporting brands and goods, including Frisbee, Aerobie, Rollerblade, Nordica and, as the name suggests, kites. Four years ago they diversified further with the distribution of Lowa footwear in the UK, and hope to match the success of the name in Europe with sales here. MD Matt Woodruffe is confident in their success as the brand has solid pedigree behind it, saying: "From a very blunt commercial point of view if we put the right resource behind the brand we've got so much opportunity for growth here in the UK." Matt and Brand Manager David Morton explain their plans and what makes Lowa footwear special...

Edgar Brothers, distributors through their Leisure Division of Spyderco and SureFire product, are bringing product to Stoneleigh that will raise eyebrows in the trade - in a good way!

The Outdoor Trade Show (OTS) at Stoneleigh Park will see a number of innovative developments from top British sleeping bag manufacturer, Snugpak, with its revolutionary Chrysalis range of expanding sleeping bags enhanced for 2009 in vibrant new colours, including Burgundy, Pewter, Evergreen and Deepwater Blue.

Burton McCall is using OTS 08 to showcase the latest innovations in premium outdoor accessories, after the company became the official distributor for the widely acclaimed ‘Freeloader' portable solar powered battery charger.

Travelproof is a range of bespoke travel products produced by Nomad Travel Stores & Clinics. Specialising in travel health products and travel, jungle and expedition equipment, this range of products have evolved from the Nomad Travel Store & Clinic people who have been operating since 1990.

Buff - The Original Multifunctional Headwear are always at the forefront of PoS development and offer a selection of highly effective point of sale items, display units and merchandising materials for their retailers.

Thatchreed, under the Web-Tex name, is launching Surviva-Pure, a new all-in-one water purification filtration system, at OTS 08. It works immediately with no pumps and is very easy to use; simply fill from any water source and drink straight away!

Wayfayrer, the number one outdoor food brand, will be unveiling a new look at the Outdoor Trade Show (OTS) with the launch of the new,  all improved packaging. Having a bolder more colourful look the new packing will be ready for delivery in 2009 in time for the start of the camping season.

Turn immediately right into the OTS, Stoneleigh to visit one of the UK's leading outdoor accessories distributors Dalesman International, Stand 5 to see the latest product offerings.

Anatom is showcasing new product from its outstanding portfolio at OTS, including teko socks, Superfeet insoles, Life is good clothing and their new line, Pacerpoles, ergonomically designed walking poles.

Result Performance, pioneers in stylish, technical and affordable outdoor outerwear has excelled for 2009 with the introduction of two new collections, TECHPerformance and RuckJack.

For the first time, Páramo will be at the Outdoor Trade Show this September/ October - with their unique collection of ethically produced, long lasting and high performance outdoor clothing. New fabrics, new designs and new colours will all be decidedly in evidence on stand 2A.

With a proven track record in sports stores, Sunwise are spreading their wings into the outdoor arena. Walkers and mountaineers should be keeping their eyes protected in all conditions - could Sunwise provide new revenue for you?

Whilst some of my contemporaries (busy guys with kids that used to do exciting adventure sports) lament the time when they could jet off unencumbered to go "play", I'm working hard to find inventive ways to continue to have it all. That means going on family holidays where there's also some action and adventure in it for me. Besides, I actually like being with my family, small as it is (one wife - who'd want more than one? - and a daughter, Sophie, two in September). In May en famile we visited the Dune de Pyla near Bordeaux, the highest sand dune in Europe and a brilliant, beautiful place to coastal soar on a paraglider, my main summer sport (skiing is my winter passion - you can substitute skiing, biking, walking , climbing etc. for paragliding in this article).

With a constant bombardment from the media about how difficult times are getting, along with a genuine slowing-down of high street trade, many distributors are looking to broaden their product offering to customers so they can offer more reasons for the retailer to come back. The Mountain Boot Company, with quality brands in its stable like Deuter, Grivel, Scarpa and now Outdoor Research, has done exactly that, and, says Steve Roberts, OR is the company's 'roof' which completes their 'house'. SGB found out what an impressive house that is...

Vango are all set to shine in 2009 with its much anticipated new range which sees brand new styles, modern twists on classic products and pioneering new concepts for the outdoors.

A new collaboration for Autumn Winter 2008 sees the addition of the Aniso eVent (SRP £80.00) to Teva's performance range of footwear.

Statistics show that the average person will walk over 108,000 miles in their lifetime, and walkers and ramblers will notch up a few more. It's not surprising therefore, that from time to time, we'd like a good foot massage.  Not many masseurs or masseuses are portable though - and that's where the Sanyo foot massager excels.

This appealing piece boasts the following:

• RESULT Breathable Weatherproof Technology
• Outer: 100% Polyester 2/2 Twill FD
• Inner: 70gsm recycled Polyester wadding
• Reverse: 220gsm Tech3 Microfleece
• Windproof