Grassroots Outdoor Alliance announces education slate at upcoming Connect Show

May 26, 2026

Connect Education Day will offer retailers sessions on inventory planning, financial analysis, and ways to practically use AI.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (May 26, 2026) /OUTDOOR SPORTSWIRE/ — With less than two weeks until the Connect retail buying show, Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, the national organization dedicated to the health and growth of specialty outdoor retail, unveiled its schedule of retailer-focused education sessions that will take place on Connect Education Day Sunday, June 7, the day prior to the four-day Connect show. Along with its twice-annual buying show, one of Grassroots Outdoor Alliance’s core missions is education and business support for its retail members.

Featured sessions at Connect Education Day include practical guidance on integrating AI into independent retail environments, a deep dive into essential store-level KPIs for outdoor retailers, and strategies for more effective inventory planning.

“Along with creating an effective, streamlined venue for line showings, being together at the Connect Show provides a great opportunity for knowledge sharing,” said Gabe Maier, President of Grassroots. “The ability to learn from both peers and experts in the industry continues to be one of the benefits of being a Grassroots Outdoor Alliance member. The sessions at this spring’s Connect were all borne out of discussions we’re hearing at the ground level from our members.”

Scheduled programming for Sunday, June 7, includes the following educational sessions:

• Know Your Numbers: Store Level KPIs For Outdoor Retail, and how to use them — This seminar, led by Dan Mann, President, The Mann Group, will explore the most valuable store-level KPIs for outdoor retailers, including how to track them, interpret them, and use them to make smarter decisions that improve sales, margins, inventory, and overall store performance.
• Applied AI Without the Hype | for Independent Outdoor Retail — Led by Marty Bhatia, Chief Technology Officer, Digital Ninja Consulting LLC, this session will provide independent outdoor retailers insight into where AI belongs in their shops, and a short list of tools worth trying.
• The Next Layer of Retail Analytics: Category, Brand & Assortment Insights — Building on store level KPI’s to category and brand level analysis, Dan Mann will dig deeper into inventory planning by taking a precise look at a category strategy that predicts category performance and addresses the unique needs of different customer types.
• Financial Study Workshop (Grassroots Principals Only) — Presented by Heidi Rasmussen, Director of Finance at Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, this session will be a review of the financial study and working session provided for Grassroots Member Principal/Owners who have a submitted 2025 Financial Study template. Attendees will learn about key takeaways from the 2025 report and have opportunities to dive in and learn more about how to use the financial study to benchmark their financial metrics.
• Applied AI Without the Hype | for Brand Leadership — This vendor focused session led by Marty Bhatia, will take place on Tuesday, June 9. It will provide brand leaders with a clear methodology for assessing AI readiness in their own organization, a working definition of what “documented” actually means at brand scale, and the questions to ask before their next AI investment.

About Grassroots Outdoor Alliance

Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is a retailer-owned network of 100+ independently owned outdoor retailers and vendor partners, working together for the health and growth of specialty outdoor retail. Through data collection and analysis, direct member support, specialty events and deep vendor partnerships, Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is creating both a vision and roadmap for the long-term success of independent specialty retail. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is recognized as a catalyst for the success of its retailers and vendor partners; an advocate for specialty independent retail; a promoter of education and community within the specialty channel; and a key influencer of the national outdoor industry. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance also operates Connect, a twice-annual legacy show experience that spans four days, offering an efficient and structured format for retailers to conduct pre-season line showings and business conversations.