Boulder, Colorado — April 15, 2021 — Outside, the world’s leading creator of active lifestyle content, services, events, and experiences, today announced the acquisition of Cairn, the top subscription box service and non-traditional commerce business connecting outdoor brands and consumers. The deal represents Outside’s first investment in providing commerce services to its partners. It follows closely on the heels of the company’s rebranding (from Pocket Outdoor Media to Outside) after last month’s acquisitions of Outside magazine, Outside TV, athleteReg, Gaia GPS, and Peloton magazine.

“This acquisition is a key moment in fulfilling our mission to build the world’s best consumer experience across a wide range of activities. We’re very excited and honored to welcome the Cairn team to our family,” said Outside CEO Robin Thurston. “Our audience is made up of the world’s most active hikers, skiers, cyclists, climbers, and other outdoor athletes who love to discover new gear. By adding Cairn’s services to our Active Pass membership, we’ll help our members enjoy their passions with greater comfort, ease, and safety.”

Since its founding in early 2014, thousands of outdoor enthusiasts have looked to Cairn as a discovery platform for the latest and greatest brands and products in the outdoor industry. Through its monthly and quarterly subscription programs, customers receive a curated selection of products ranging from gear and apparel to food and skin care.

For industry partners, Cairn’s subscription platform serves as a powerful activation tool, with a demonstrated ability to increase brand engagement and drive incremental sales. The company has seeded products for more than 300 partners and introduced new brands and products to more than 75,000 highly qualified enthusiasts over the life of their business. With more than 3 million products shipped to date, Cairn has established a complementary new role alongside traditional retail as an avenue for product discovery and brand awareness. With nearly 250,000 real-world customer reviews syndicated to retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and REI, Cairn has become a powerful source of content and authentic validation for these stores.

“Like Robin, we’re motivated by the belief that a ride, a run, a hike, or a climb can change your life,” said Cairn co-founder Rob Little. Added co-founder Jared Peterson: “We founded the company to inspire everyone to get outside by helping them discover new brands and products, and we’re thrilled to bring our technology and community into the membership ecosystem that Outside is building. We see incredible opportunities to help even more people discover all the awesome outdoor brands and products our industry has to offer in hope of inspiring more people to get outside.”

In 2018, Cairn added Gear Up, Give Back™ to its offerings. It’s a program that facilitates recycling of outdoor gear and apparel, with all net proceeds being donated to charity. More recently, the company launched Kitted™, an industry-first, try-before-you-buy retail experience for outdoor products, and Unstacked, a unique gear auction experience.

The entire Cairn team is joining Outside, with Little and Peterson continuing to run the business, reporting to Danielle Quatrachi, Outside’s COO. The team will remain in Bend, Oregon, where Cairn was founded.

About Outside

Outside is the world’s leading creator of active lifestyle content and experiences. Across web, print, podcast, social, video, and TV, our brands reach 70 million of the most active and influential consumers in the world every month. Our brands include: Outside magazine, OutsideTV, Gaia GPS, athleteReg, Peloton Magazine, Yoga Journal, SKI, BACKPACKER, VeloNews, Climbing, Rock & Ice, Gym Climber, Trail Runner, Women’s Running, Triathlete, Better Nutrition, Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, Clean Eating, Fly Fishing Film Tour, IDEA Health and Fitness Association, Muscle & Performance, NASTAR, National Park Trips, NatuRx, Oxygen, PodiumRunner, Roll Massif, SNEWS, The Voice, Vegetarian Times, VeloPress, VeloSwap, Paleo Mag, Beta, FinisherPix, and Warren Miller Entertainment. Pocket Outdoor Media is headquartered in Boulder, with offices in Denver, Carbondale, Easthampton (MA), Frankfurt, New York City, Ojai, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Fe, and Toronto. Learn more at OutsideInc.com.

About Cairn

Cairn is changing the way outdoor enthusiasts discover new products and ideas that inspire them to connect and explore. Since the company’s founding in 2014 as a monthly subscription box service, Cairn has evolved to be a creative commerce market leader and growing community of thousands who love the outdoors. Cairn has partnered with more than 300 brands in the outdoor industry, shipped more than 3 million products, and was named to Outside magazine’s Best Places to Work in 2017. In 2018, Cairn added Gear Up, Give Back™ to its offerings, a program that facilitates recycling of outdoor gear and apparel (with all net proceeds donated to charity). More recently, the company launched the Kitted, an industry-first, try-before-you-buy retail experience for outdoor products, as well as Unstacked, a unique gear auction experience. Cairn is located in beautiful Bend, Oregon. Learn more at GetCairn.com.

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