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Montana

FDI Industry Spotlight
Outdoor Economy

With over 33 million acres of public lands, Montana’s pristine, natural beauty makes it the finest destination for outdoor activity in the nation. Montana’s vast outdoor spaces include 170,000 miles of rivers, 3,200 named lakes and mountains running across the whole state providing ample access to year-round outdoor recreational activities such as fly-fishing, hiking, hunting, biking, kayaking and skiing. Indeed, the commute to work and play is one of the shortest in the U.S., with most Montanans considering outdoor access an essential part of their quality of life. We know that in addition to enhancing the quality of life, Montana’s unparalleled outdoor opportunities are attractive to businesses of all kinds because they translate into happy employees and lower turnover.

Outdoor Economy

Case Study: OBOZ Footwear

ACQUISITION COUNTRY New Zealand
MONTANA HOME Bozeman
ACQUIRED 2018

“The acquisition of Oboz enables the Kathmandu Group to accelerate our international growth and diversifies our product mix, geography and channels to market.”
-Xavier Simonet, Former CEO, Kathmandu

Founded in 2007 in the heart of Montana’s outdoors community, Oboz makes performance and lifestyle footwear inspired by Bozeman and the surrounding Yellowstone ecosystem for backpacking, hiking and general outdoor wear. The area boasts a vast and breathtaking landscape of peaks, valleys and rivers just waiting to be explored on two feet. Outdoors + Bozeman = Oboz. New Zealand-based Kathmandu has been Oboz’s exclusive retailer in Australia and

New Zealand since 2007. Both businesses focus on innovative product design, a customer-first culture, collaborative teamwork and sustainability. With a shared passion for the outdoors, the acquisition of Oboz in 2018 was a logical addition for Kathmandu.

Discover What Many Others Already Have About Montana

• Top five state for shortest average commute time

• No sales tax, creating one of the best business tax climates in the nation

• Top state to start a small business

• Highly trained, loyal workforce keeps recruitment costs low

• Consistently ranked one of the best states to live in

Facts at a Glance

15 ski areas statewide

Home to Yellowstone National Park & Glacier National Park

81% Montana residents participate in outdoor recreation

$7.1 billion consumer spending on outdoor recreation

12 million+ tourists annually

33.8 million acres in public lands

3518 river miles of Blue Ribbon Fishing

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