Dive Brief:
- Backcountry, the outdoor gear and apparel retailer, has launched Backcountry Garage, a brand incubator focused on nurturing up-and-coming outdoor brands, the retailer announced Tuesday.
- The company is soliciting pitches from interested companies. The incubator will provide brands with expert guidance, resources and distribution to scale their businesses, per the press release.
- Backcountry Garage’s first move is acquiring Coalatree, a Utah-based eco-friendly gear and apparel brand. As part of the deal, Coalatree will continue to sell products through its direct-to-consumer site and will also offer its popular products, such as its Trailhead pants, on Backcountry’s site.
Dive Insight:
Backcountry is betting on the next wave of outdoor brands to fuel growth.
The company’s incubator will evaluate brands based on their “merit, strategic fit, and potential for long-term partnership,” the company said in its press release. J.M. Fabrizi, Backcountry Garage’s newly appointed director, is tasked with steering Coalatree’s latest growth stage and positioning the incubator as a hub for brands with a focus on accessibility, sustainability and quality.
“At Backcountry, we believe constant innovation is the most powerful way to improve our customers’ experience outside,” Kevin Lenau, president of Backcountry, said in a press release. “Backcountry Garage is how we keep pushing when much of the industry is waiting — partnering with builders and founders who are rethinking how great gear should perform so our community feels the difference every day on the trail, at the crag, and in their own backyards.”
The launch of Backcountry’s incubator and acquisition of Coalatree come about seven months after the company purchased Velotech Inc., a Portland, Oregon-based cycling retailer that runs BikeTiresDirect, TriSports and Western Bikeworks. The company didn’t disclose the terms of the deal.
Backcountry is building out its portfolio of brands following its own acquisition two years ago. CSC Generation Enterprise bought the company — including its Competitive Cyclist, MotoSport and Steep and Cheap subsidiaries — for an undisclosed sum in September 2024.
Backcountry is taking a page from the playbook of other retailers that have snapped up emerging brands to boost their businesses. Pattern Brands, for example, used the purchase of the Poketo brand to accelerate its brick-and-mortar entry. About a year ago, Harry’s Inc. rebranded as Mammoth Brands as it continued to grow its portfolio of subsidiaries, which now includes baby care brand Coterie and personal care brands Mando, Lumē and Flamingo.
