You are cordially invited to join us for our 20222023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be held on Thursday, February 24, 2022,Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at 8:00 a.m., central standard time. Due to continuing public health concerns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, theThe annual meeting will be a completely “virtual meeting” of stockholders. You will be able to attend the annual meeting as well as vote and submit questions during the live webcast of the meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/JOUT2022JOUT2023 and entering the 16-digit control number included on your Notice or Proxy Card or the instructions that accompanied your proxy materials.

The Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and the Proxy Statement that follow describe the business to be conducted at the annual meeting. Members of our Board of Directors and executive officer team will participate in the annual meeting and be available to answer questions regarding the Company.

Your vote is very important. Whether or not you attend or participate in the virtual meeting, we encourage you to submit your proxy through the Internet or by mail. This will ensure that your shares are represented at the meeting. Even if you submit a proxy, you may revoke it at any time before it is voted. If you attend the meeting and wish to vote online during the virtual meeting, you will be able to do so using the 16-digit control number included on your Notice of Annual Meeting or Proxy Card or the instructions that accompanied your proxy materials.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE HIGHLIGHTS

This Proxy Statement, which is first being mailed on or about January 7, 2022,9, 2023, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 17, 2021,21, 2022, is furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board of Directors of Johnson Outdoors Inc. (the “Company”), for the purposes set forth in the accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders, to be used at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Company to be held on Thursday, February 24, 2022Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at 8:00 a.m., central standard time, at the following weblink: www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/JOUT2022JOUT2023 and at any adjournment or postponement thereof (the “Annual Meeting”).

If you submit a proxy now, your right to vote at the Annual Meeting is not waived should you decide to attend and vote online during the virtual meeting.

Shares represented by a properly executed proxy will be voted at the Annual Meeting and, when instructions have been given by the shareholder, will be voted in accordance with those instructions. If you submit a proxy without giving voting instructions, the persons named as proxies on the proxy card will vote your shares: (1) FOR the election of the directors named in this Proxy Statement, (2) FOR the ratification of RSM US LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and29, 2023, (3) FOR approval of the non-binding advisory proposal on executive compensation.compensation, (4) FOR approval of “every 1 year” for the non-binding advisory proposal on the frequency of future advisory votes on executive compensation, and (5) FOR adoption and approval of the Johnson Outdoors Inc. 2023 Non-Employee Director Stock Ownership Plan.

As of the date of this Proxy Statement, the Company does not expect any matters to be voted upon at the Annual Meeting other than the proposals set forth in the accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders. If any other matters properly come before the Annual Meeting, including, among other things, consideration of a motion to adjourn the meeting to another time or place, a properly executed proxy gives the persons named as proxies on the proxy card authority to vote on such matters. The individuals named and acting

The Board of Directors has standing Executive, Audit, Compensation, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. During the year ended October 1, 2021September 30, 2022 (“fiscal 2021”2022”), there were 86 meetings of the Board of Directors, 67 meetings of the Audit Committee, 54 meetings of the Compensation Committee, 53 meetings of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and no meetings of the Executive Committee. Each director attended at least 75 percent of the aggregate number of (i) meetings of the Board of Directors held during the period for which he or she was a director during fiscal 20212022 and (ii) meetings of the committees on which the director served during fiscal 2021.2022.

Executive sessions or meetings of outside (non-management) directors without management present are held regularly for a general discussion of relevant subjects. In fiscal 2021,2022, the outside directors met in executive session at least two times in accordance with the requirements of the NASDAQ Stock Market.

Thomas F. Pyle, Jr.William (“Bill”) D. Perez was a director during fiscal 20212022 and served as the Chairman of the Company’s Compensation Committee and as a member of the Executive and Audit CommitteesCommittee during the entirety of fiscal 2021.2022. Mr. Pyle also serves as the Vice Chairman/Lead Independant Director. Mr. PylePerez is retiring from the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting and will not stand for re-election at the Annual Meeting. We expect the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to make recommendations to the Board of Directors with regard to appropriate successors to the roles of Chairman of the Compensation Committee and the Vice Chairman/Lead Independent Director role following Mr. Pyle’s retirement.

The Board of Directors has adopted a written charter for each of its Committees which may be amended from time to time. The Company makes available copies of each of these charters on its website at www.johnsonoutdoors.com, 24 hours a day and free of charge. The Company is not including the information contained on or available through its website as part of, or incorporating such information by reference into, this Proxy Statement.

The Company is committed to establishing and maintaining high standards of corporate governance, which are intended to serve the long-term interests of the Company and its shareholders. The Board of Directors has adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines which the Company has published on its website at www.johnsonoutdoors.com.

The Board of Directors has determined that the Company is a “Controlled Company,” as defined in NASDAQ Stock Market Listing Rule 5615(c)(1). The Board has based this determination on the fact that Helen P. Johnson-Leipold is deemed to be the beneficial owner of more than 50 percent of the voting power of the Company. The Company, therefore, is exempt from certain independence requirements of the NASDAQ Stock Market rules, including the requirement to maintain a majority of independent directors on the Company’s Board of Directors and the requirement to maintain a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and a Compensation Committee composed entirely of independent directors. Notwithstanding such exemption, the Board of Directors has reviewed the independence of the nominees for election to the Board at the Annual Meeting under the applicable standards of the NASDAQ Stock Market. Based upon this review, of the nineeight nominees, the Board of Directors has determined that each of the following nominee directors was independent under the NASDAQ listing standards:

The Board of Directors determined that Ms. Johnson-Leipold was not independent in accordance with the NASDAQ standards because she is an executive officer of the Company.

The Board of Directors determines whether it is appropriate to combine or separate the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer depending on the Company’s circumstances at the time. Ms. Johnson-Leipold currently serves as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Ms. Johnson-Leipold possesses extensive experience in the industries in which the Company operates, and in-depth knowledge of the issues, opportunities and challenges the Company faces, and is thus best positioned to develop agendas and highlight issues that ensure that the Board of Directors’ time and attention are focused on the most critical matters. In addition, the Board of Directors has determined that this leadership structure is optimal because it believes that having one leader serving as both the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer provides decisive, consistent and effective leadership, as well as clear accountability. Having one person serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer also enhances the Company’s ability to communicate its message and strategy clearly and consistently to its shareholders, employees, and business partners, particularly during times of turbulent economic and industry conditions. Although the Company believes that the combination of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer roles is appropriate under current circumstances, it will continue to review this issue periodically to determine whether, based on the relevant facts and circumstances, separation of these offices would serve the Company’s best interests and the best interests of its shareholders.

Thomas F. Pyle,John M. Fahey, Jr., serves as the Company’s Lead Independent Director/Vice Chairman of the Board, serves as the Company’s lead outside or independent director.Board. In his capacity as lead outside or independent director, Mr. PyleFahey coordinates the activities of the independent directors and serves as a liaison between the Chairman and the independent directors. Mr. PyleFahey also presides at the executive sessions of the independent directors and has the authority to call additional executive sessions or meetings of the independent directors.

Johnson Outdoors is a strong proponent of the new diversity disclosure rule adopted by the Nasdaq Stock Market. As evidenced by the disclosures in the table below, the Company has historically been proactive in seeking to ensure that its Board possesses, in the aggregate, the strategic, managerial and financial skills and experience necessary to fulfill its duties and to achieve its objectives, while at the same time seeking to ensure that the Board is comprised of directors who have broad and diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences.

The Company has established a Risk Committee, which is primarily responsible for the Company’s enterprise risk assessment and enterprise risk management policies. The Risk Committee is co-chaired by the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel and includes various other members of senior management. The role of the Board of Directors in the Company’s risk oversight process includes receiving reports and presentations from the Risk Committee or other senior management leaders on areas of material risk to the Company, including operational, financial, legal and regulatory, strategic, reputational, cybersecurity and reputationalEnvironmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) related risks and any measures taken to mitigate such risks. In addition, the Board of Directors regularly reviews and discusses areas of material risk at its meetings.

As noted above, the Company has established a Risk Committee, which is primarily responsible for the Company’s enterprise risk assessment and overseeing enterprise risk management. Notwithstanding such delegation of responsibility by the Company’s Board of Directors, the Board has reserved to the Company’s Compensation Committee primary oversight responsibility to ensure that compensation programs and practices of the Company do not encourage unreasonable or excessive risk-taking and that any risks are subject to appropriate controls. As part of this process, the Company (with the oversight of the Compensation Committee) designs the Company’s overall compensation programs and practices, including incentive compensation for both executives and non-executive employees, in a manner intended to support its strategic priorities and

The Company has a standing Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Based upon the review described under “Corporate Governance Matters – Director Independence,” the Board of Directors has determined that each member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is independent under the applicable standards of the NASDAQ Stock Market.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider director nominees recommended by shareholders. Recommendations for consideration by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee should be sent to the Secretary of the Company in writing, together with appropriate biographical information concerning each proposed nominee, including the following information: (1) the name, address (business and residence), date of birth and principal occupation or employment (present and for the past five years) of each person whom the shareholder proposes to be considered as a nominee; (2) the number of shares of the common stock (of each class) beneficially owned (as defined by section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) by each such proposed nominee; (3) any other information regarding such proposed nominee that would be required to be disclosed in a definitive proxy statement to shareholders prepared in connection with an election of directors pursuant to section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and (4) the name and address (business and residential) of the shareholder making the recommendation and the number of shares of the common stock (regardless of class) beneficially owned (as defined by section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) by the shareholder making the recommendation. The Company may require any proposed nominee to furnish additional information as may be reasonably required to determine the qualifications of such proposed nominee to serve as a director of the Company. The Company’s Bylaws also set forth certain requirements for shareholders wishing to nominate director candidates directly for consideration by the shareholders. With respect to an election of directors to be held at an annual meeting, a shareholder must, among other things, give notice of intent to make such a nomination to the Secretary of the Company in advance of the meeting in compliance with the terms and within the time period specified in the Bylaws. Pursuant to these requirements, a shareholder must give a written notice of intent to the Secretary of the Company not earlier than the close of business on the 120^th day and not later than the close of business on the 90^th day prior to the first anniversary date of the preceding year’s annual meeting; provided, however, that in the event that the date of the annual meeting is more than 30 days before or more than 60 days after such anniversary date, notice by the shareholder must be so delivered not earlier than the close of business on the 120^th day prior to the date of such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the 90^th day prior to the date of such annual meeting or, if the first public announcement of the date of such annual meeting is less than 100 days prior to the date of such annual meeting, the 10^th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of such meeting is first made by the Company. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will

The Company’s stock trading policies prohibit directors and the Company’s employees, including its executive officers, from (i) purchasing any financial instrument that is designed to hedge or offset any decrease in the market value of the Company’s common stock, including zero-cost collars and forward sale contracts; (ii) engaging in short sales related to the Company’s common stock; and (iii) maintaining margin accounts. All transactions in Johnson Outdoors securities by directors and executive officers must be pre-cleared with the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel.

The Audit Committee is currently comprised of four members of the Company’s Board of Directors. Based upon the review described under “Corporate Governance Matters – Director Independence,” the Board of Directors has determined that each member of the Audit Committee is independent under the applicable standards and rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market and the rules of the SEC. The duties and responsibilities of the Company’s Audit Committee are set forth in the Audit Committee Charter, which may be found on the Company’s website at www.johnsonoutdoors.com.

In accordance with its written charter adopted by the Board of Directors, the Audit Committee has oversight responsibility for the quality and integrity of the financial reporting practices of the Company. While the Audit Committee has oversight responsibility, the primary responsibility for the Company’s financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting and related internal controls and procedures rests with management, and the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the Company’s financial statements. In discharging its oversight responsibility as to the audit process, the Audit Committee has:

Based upon the above-described review and discussions with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, the Audit Committee recommended to the Company’s Board of Directors that the audited consolidated financial statements be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 1, 2021September 30, 2022 for filing with the SEC.