Backcountry.com
TypePrivate company
IndustryEcommerce, Outdoor Industry
Founded1996
HeadquartersWest Valley City and Park City, Utah
ProductsOutdoor gear
OwnerTSG Consumer Partners (81%)
Number of employees
1200+
WebsiteBackcountry.com

Backcountry.com is an online specialty retailer that sells clothing and outdoor recreation gear for hiking, camping, road biking, mountain biking, rock climbing, winter sports, fly fishing, kayaking, rafting, road and trail running, and more.

History

Backcountry.com was founded in 1996 by Jim Holland and John Bresee. The two started the online business with a sparse collection of avalanche gear and began selling gear from their garage in Park City, Utah under the domain names BCstore.com and BackcountryStore.com.[1] The store's first sale, a Pieps 457 Opti-finder avalanche beacon, happened in February 1997.[2] The company purchased the domain name backcountry.com for $75,000 in 2004.[3]

Backcountry.com quickly became one of a very few profitable retailers and competed with REI for the lead in this category. REI never lost the lead. After rapid product growth Backcountry began to court other categories including discount and One Deal At A Time (ODAT)[4] In an attempt to regain focus and target bargain-seekers, the company added niche websites such as SteepandCheap.com and outlets such as the now-defunct BackcountryOutlet.com and Tramdock.com. Deeply discounted product was eventually moved to an Outlet section accessible from the Backcountry.com homepage.

On May 7, 2007, it was announced that a controlling stake in Backcountry.com was sold to Liberty Media Corporation, which also controls QVC and other e-commerce companies.[5] This transferred effective ownership of the company to billionaire John C. Malone.

On Dec 5, 2013, Backcountry announced its acquisition of German online outdoor retailer Bergfreunde.de.[6] Bergfreunde was founded in 2006 in Kirchentellinsfurt, Germany where the business first sold clothing and gear for climbing and mountaineering. Bergfreunde has since expanded its product selection to include gear for hiking, camping, snowsports, and avalanche safety.

On July 1, 2015, TSG Consumer Partners purchased Liberty's stake in Backcountry.[7]

On December 11, 2015, Backcountry CEO Jill Layfield resigned from her position as Backcountry.com CEO after working for the company in various capacities for 11 years.[8]

Lawsuits

In October 2018, Backcountry.com filed for trademarks protecting the word “backcountry", then proceeded to file lawsuits against smaller companies with the word "backcountry" in them, such as Backcountry Denim (now known as BDCo), Backcountry eBikes (now known as Backcou eBikes), Backcountry Babes (a female avalanche education clinic), and Marquette Backcountry Skis.[9][10] This slew of lawsuits has caused huge controversy with backcountry enthusiasts around the world, leading to a current social media backlash in late October 2019.[11] On November 6, 2019, the company dropped one of the lawsuits and apologized for starting the controversy.[12]

Backcountry Athlete Sponsorship

Backcountry.com launched a non-traditional athlete sponsorship program in 2008, which requires that the athletes promote themselves and the brand they represent through social media.[13][14] Backcountry.com-sponsored athletes are responsible for actively driving traffic to Backcountry.com through YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and blogs.[13]

The program also acted as an affiliate marketing program in which Backcountry.com provided athletes with tools to track and measure their online impact and athletes got a percentage return on each sale that is referred through their community presence. That program is no longer running.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Peters, Kurt. The Age of Innovation, December 2005, Internet Retailer
  2. ↑ The Retailers, Outside Magazine, March 2009, page 61
  3. ↑ "Press Release, 2004". Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  4. ↑ Internet Retailer, 2005
  5. ↑ Press Release, May 2007
  6. ↑ Press release, Dec 2013
  7. ↑ "Latest News". Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Jill Layfield Steps Down As CEO Of Backcountry.com". December 14, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Backcountry.com sues anyone who uses its namesake. Is it bullying or just business?". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Online retail giant sues small Michigan ski maker, which promises big fight". Crain's Detroit Business. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  11. ↑ Sun, Jason Blevins, Colorado. "Backcountry.com faces boycotts, social media backlash over trademark lawsuits. But the company remains mum". Retrieved November 7, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ "Backcountry.com breaks its silence amid trademark lawsuit controversy to apologize and say "we made a mistake"". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  13. 1 2 3 Backcountry.com team athletes get after it...on the Interweb, April 28, 2008, Climbing Magazine Archived 2008-10-24 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ Backcountry.com Adds More Rippers to Line-up, March 31, 2008, Transworld Business
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