Backcountry.com
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| Type | Private company 81% owned by Liberty Media |
|---|---|
| Industry | E-tail, Outdoor Industry |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | West Valley City and Park City, Utah |
| Key people | CEO Jill Layfield, CFO Scott Klossner, CTO CJ Singh, CMO Dustin Robertson |
| Products | Outdoor gear |
| Employees | 700+ |
| Website | Backcountry.com |
Backcountry.com is an online retailer that sells outdoor recreation gear for hiking, camping, cycling, rock climbing, snow sports, and more.
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History [edit]
Backcountry.com was founded in 1996 with a $2,000 out-of-pocket investment by lifetime friends Jim Holland and John Bresee. The two started an online business in a garage in Heber City, Utah under the domain names bcstore.com and backcountrystore.com.[1] The store's first sale, an avalanche beacon, happened five weeks later.[2] The company purchased the domain name backcountry.com for $75,000 in 2004.[3]
Backcountry.com soon expanded it's product line and became less focused, a move it later regretted.[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 (see Other Sites below).
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.
Other Sites [edit]
Backcountry.com currently operates Dogfunk.com (snowboard gear), CompetitiveCyclist.com (road and mountain cycling), DepartmentOfGoods.com (multi sport closeout), and several "one deal at a time" sites:
- Steepandcheap.com (outdoor gear and ski gear)
- WhiskeyMilitia.com, (surf and skate and snowboard gear)
- Chainlove.com, (bicycle gear)
Former Backcountry sites:
- Tramdock.com (Rolled into SteepAndCheap.com January 2011)
- BonkTown.com (Rolled into ChainLove.com)
- Brociety.com (Rolled into WhiskeyMilitia.com)
- BackcountryOutlet.com (Rolled into DepartmentOfGoods.com)
HuckNroll.com (mountain biking) was discontinued in October of 2012 and was rolled into CompetitiveCyclist.com.[6] RealCyclist.com was discontinued in March of 2013 and was rolled into CompetitiveCyclist.com.[7]
Backcountry athlete sponsorship [edit]
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.[8][9] Backcountry.com-sponsored athletes are responsible for actively driving traffic to Backcountry.com through YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and blogs.
In an interview on Climbing.com, Backcountry.com's pro team manager, Jon Atencio, said: "Athletes will have new motivation to participate in community, write product reviews, and make their presence known however they can — and we plan to do everything we can to leverage their community action."[8]
The program is actually an affiliate marketing program in which Backcountry.com provides athletes with tools to track and measure their online impact and athletes get a percentage return on each sale that is referred through their community presence.[8]
Sickbird Award [edit]
Backcountry.com recognizes standout athletes in the area of big mountain free-skiing by sponsoring Mountain Sports International's Freeskiing World Tour sick-bird award.
References [edit]
- ^ Peters, Kurt. The Age of Innovation, December 2005, Internet Retailer
- ^ The Retailers, Outside Magazine, March 2009, page 61
- ^ Press Release, 2004, [1]
- ^ Internet Retailer, 2005, [2]
- ^ Press Release, May 2007, [3]
- ^ http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-america/2012/10/16/backcountrycom-shuts-hucknrollcom#.UKUmN4eH0Z4
- ^ http://www.bicycleretailer.com/retail-news/2013/03/25/backcountry-shutters-realcyclistcom#.UVB61Exwp8E
- ^ a b c Backcountry.com team athletes get after it...on the Interweb, April 28, 2008, Climbing Magazine
- ^ Backcountry.com Adds More Rippers to Line-up, March 31, 2008, Transworld Business
External links [edit]
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