Oboz, the new footwear brand that launched last summer under the guidance offootwear veteran John Connelly, has shipped its first orders of lightweight,performance trail shoes to retailers.

Shoppers at online retailer backcountry.com (www.backcountry.com), Spokane,Washington-based Mountain Gear (www.mountaingear.com) and Bugaboo MountainSports, in Santa Cruz, California will get their first look at the footwearinspired by the Bozeman, Montana and greater Yellowstone environs. Oboztakes its name from 'outside Bozeman' and was launched last summer under theguidance of John Connelly, a veteran of numerous outdoor shoe brands.
Next shipments of Oboz will go to key retail partners including REI(www.rei.com), Hudson Trail Outfitters (www.hudsontrail.com), EMS(www.ems.com), Zappos.com (www.zappos.com), and about 60 other specialtydealers in the United States. Additionally, Kathmandu (www.kathmandu.com),with 75 shops in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, is alsoselling Oboz.

"Our launch has been a success," said Connelly, whose experience includesdeveloping, designing and marketing footwear at Keen, Montrail, Tecnica,5.10, and Vasque. "Good retailers are always looking for up and comingbrands to replace the underperforming shoes on their walls."

For spring 2008, the Oboz collection includes six styles each for men andwomen, some of which are named after the wild places near Bozeman.Top-selling styles include the Yellowstone, Hyalite and Bridger-alllightweight styles that can be used for hiking and kicking around theoutdoors-and the Ignition, a trail running shoe. "Our goal is to deliverexciting products that blend top-shelf materials and execution with superiorfit and fresh styling," said Connelly.

About Oboz
Oboz is a new outdoor footwear brand inspired by the wild environs 'outside Bozeman,' Montana - spanning the region from Bozeman to Jackson, Wyoming. Itis there that Oboz is found-a place for play and work, and a state of mindthat has the deepest respect for the area's rich natural heritage. Obozshoes-arriving in stores in February 2008-are designed to have meaningfulinnovation, solid performance and recognizable quality.

We had another great trade show this January! The new lines (END and Ambler) debuted very well, while the additions to the OBoZ line look incredible. And of course all the great new products from Marmot were very well received. We even won a few awards and had a few parties! Our new Green award for the EcoPro Sleeping bags!
This image shows the new booth design showing the "People, Product, Planet" brand moniker. Beautiful images for a beautiful message!
Brian and team Marmot holding down the front of the booth!

On Thursday night of the show, Marmot hosted Climbing's Golden Piton awards, complete with some great pint glasses!


Marmot also recieved two awards from Backpacker magazine: The Gold Award for our 800+ fill down bags and the Green award for our Ecopro sleeping bags. Congrats!!