Backcountry is getting into the wholesale business.
The Park City, Utah-based outdoor retailer announced on Tuesday that it will be offering its in-house Backcountry products to other retailers across the U.S.
The company said it plans to make its wholesale debut this week at Outdoor Retailer’s winter show, where it will be showcasing its fall ’24 collection. Retailers will now be able to stock Backcountry’s popular Cottonwoods Gore-Tex jacket and a brand-new Backcountry shell anorak. The company’s first wholesale collection is expected to hit retailer shelves in September 2024.
Colleen Burns, Backcountry senior director of owned brands, said in a statement that collaborations with brands like Gore-Tex, Pertex, and Allied Down have been “key” in elevating the company’s offering and “pivotal” in getting it to the point where wholesale is a natural step forward.
Colby Black, Backcountry’s chief product officer, added that its extension into wholesale comes as the company is making “significant strides” in creating an omnichannel experience for its consumers.
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“In the past three years, we’ve opened nine brick-and-mortar stores and now we’re broadening our reach with wholesale,” Black said. “This expansion will help build brand awareness, consideration, and sales in key regions. We connect people to the outdoors by offering the best gear on the market and venturing into wholesale will further strengthen that mission.”
This news comes as Backcountry made headlines in June on reports that its parent company, TSG Consumer Partners, was weighing a potential sale of the retailer. Bloomberg reported at the time that a sale for the digitally-led retailer could be valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, adding that Backcountry sees close to $1 billion a year in revenue.
Backcountry’s roster of websites includes Backcountry.com, Competitive Cyclist, MotoSport, Bergfreunde and Steep & Cheap. Although digitally-led, Backcountry opened two physical stores in 2021 and continued to expand its fleet to a total of six stores through 2022. In 2023, the retailer opened a total of three new stores in Palo Alto, Calif; Washington, DC; and Los Angeles, Calif.
