kuiu backorder times

[mauidiver]

Yeah, the port strike has all these companies screwed up fo show!!So who are the lucky guys who got the goods!!! Lets check them out. Ive seen some of the packs which look great. One day ill get my attack pants..I'm sure they will rock

 

[Where's Bruce?]

If you read Kuiu's owner's comments at http://blog.kuiu.com/2013/11/27/kuiu-called-out/#sthash.86LVzXiA.dpbs he says:

"I was down but not out and highly motivated and determined to build a new business model. A business set up to bring to market a line of the most advanced technical mountain hunting products ever produced featuring Toray fabrics.

This new company would be one of integrity, honesty and transparency, focused on making the best products possible with the best possible service. I took everything I learned from creating Sitka and used it to build a much smarter business plan.

But when his site deletes posts pointing to Kuiu's shortcomings, the absence of a recall on potentially life-threatening high-end tents that leak from the top, sides and bottom and a complete failure to maintain adequate inventory of their most basic and sought after products while constantly introducing new products...it is clear Jason's vision of "integrity, honesty & transparency has not been realized. And as a marketing person I find his BS amusing when he says stuff like "KUIU is on a growth rate 3 times faster than Sitka..." Think about it. Say you have a one million dollar company that is growing 100%. That means next your you have a two million dollar company. Impressive growth rate. But if your competitor has a 50 million dollar company and is growing at 18% then you have 59,000.000 the following year. So your "growth rate" is a fraction of your smaller competitor but your annual growth was 4.5 times that of your smaller competitor's company. Marketing hype at its finest but while accurate, hardly paints a real picture.

Many people believe that Jason is David and Sitka Gear is Goliath however, Jason was Goliath and claims "In 2009 my business partner and our CFO, feeling pressure from the failing economy made some bad decisions and lied to our shareholders, threw me under the bus, stabbed my family in their backs and sold Sitka to W.L. Gore for pennies. Then forced me out of the company I built. All of it was never needed as Sitka would have survived."

Now how does a founder and CEO lose control over his entire company like this in the first place? He was top dawg. If things went south it was due to poor management, poor business decisions and in my businesses that responsibility always ALWAYS falls on the shoulders of the top dawg. Leaders don't make excuses for their failings, they accept their responsibility, they own up to it and try to learn from it. Jason appears to having a real problem learning from his mistakes. Every time Kuiu has a sale, their site crashes. Once is an incident, twice is a coincidence...three times is a trend. I own two companies that transact retail sales online and the software is out there...it is bulletproof and it is canned! No excuse for this negligence. Jason could and should have fixed it after the first crash.

Who has a "sale" when they have a long term inventory shortage and procurement problem? Nobody UNLESS they are desperate for revenues and must liquidate all inventory because the company is cash poor and cannot meet its financial obligations. No other explanation makes sense. Fast forward one year...inventory is still difficult to secure but not because China lacks workers. Much more likely it is because of the terms of payment. I have had products manufactured in the Taiwan and the ROC and terms were always ALWAYS COD or LOC (letter of credit) and if you don't have the coin, your inventory is held until you do. Jason also admits, "Rob Moore a loyal friend and investor at Sitka believed in me and financially backed KUIU. Without Rob none of this could have happened." What if Rob Moore incurred financial difficulty? What if his relationship with Jason changed? Could this be the reason Kuiu cannot seem to get its collective chit together?

As a business owner for nearly 40 years I find it highly unlikely outside forces are to blame. Jason is a creative guy, he's an innovator and a visionary however I think he must be a very inexperienced businessman. Creative people often are. They use their "creativity" to overcome adversity....like fire sales to infuse an upside-down business with cash so they can pay for inventory they need. Oh and lemme tell ya, the R&D, prototype and commercial production hard costs to create and market a NEW PRODUCT (like tents, sleeping bags, etc.) are anything but cheap. But hey, you can always have a pre-sale right?

For you guys pointing to the fact that your card is not charged until the product ships...that is often true however YOUR ORDER is a tangible asset and therefore can be used as collateral for a loan by an investor or venture capitalist so even though your card has not been run...Jason can still get between 40-60 percent of the value of your order when used as collateral. I myself have done this when I was young and dumb, it is a costly and arduous form of finance. Often what you lose is control over your company’s revenues because the money collected goes to the venture capitalist first and everyone else second. Those contracts are written so one-sided you lean when ya read em. You lose control over your cash flow.

I hope Kuiu is able to get its problems corrected but suspect it will be someone besides Jason that does it...if it happens at all. Sometimes you need to delegate duties (even as CEO) when you recognize you are inept and not up to the task. That's when you hire talent, give em a big stake in the company's future and admit you are not the best man for the job. Maybe Jason should stick to his strengths in the design room. Jason intended to take, "...everything I learned from creating Sitka and used it to build a much smarter business plan. Well when you look at the company's numerous failings it is clear that isn't happening. Who is to blame this time Jason?
JMO

 

[mauidiver]

Man, this was a totally different way to look at it. Interesting info. Learn something every day. Thanks

 

[gelton]

If you read Kuiu's owner's comments at http://blog.kuiu.com/2013/11/27/kuiu-called-out/#sthash.86LVzXiA.dpbs he saus:

"I was down but not out and highly motivated and determined to build a new business model. A business set up to bring to market a line of the most advanced technical mountain hunting products ever produced featuring Toray fabrics.

This new company would be one of integrity, honesty and transparency, focused on making the best products possible with the best possible service. I took everything I learned from creating Sitka and used it to build a much smarter business plan.

But when his site deletes posts pointing to Kuiu's shortcomings, the absence of a recall on potentially life-threatening high-end tents that leak from the top, sides and bottom and a complete failure to maintain adequate inventory of their most basic and sought after products while constantly introducing new products...it is clear Jason's vision of "integrity, honesty & transparency has not been realized. And as a marketing person I find his BS amusing when he says stuff like "KUIU is on a growth rate 3 times faster than Sitka..." Think about it. Say you have a one million dollar company that is growing 100%. That means next your you have a two million dollar company. Impressive growth rate. But if your competitor has a 50 million dollar company and is growing at 18% then you have 59,000.000 the following year. So your "growth rate" is a fraction of your smaller competitor but your annual growth was 4.5 times that of your smaller competitor's company. Marketing hype at its finest but while accurate, hardly paints a real picture.

Many people believe that Jason is David and Sitka Gear is Goliath however, Jason was Goliath and claims "In 2009 my business partner and our CFO, feeling pressure from the failing economy made some bad decisions and lied to our shareholders, threw me under the bus, stabbed my family in their backs and sold Sitka to W.L. Gore for pennies. Then forced me out of the company I built. All of it was never needed as Sitka would have survived."

Now how does a founder and CEO lose control over his entire company like this in the first place? He was top dawg. If things went south it was due to poor management, poor business decisions and in my businesses that responsibility always ALWAYS falls on the shoulders of the top dawg. Leaders don't make excuses for their failings, they accept their responsibility, they own up to it and try to learn from it. Jason appears to having a real problem learning from his mistakes. Every time Kuiu has a sale, their site crashes. Once is an incident, twice is a coincidence...three times is a trend. I own two companies that transact retail sales online and the software is out there...it is bulletproof and it is canned! No excuse for this negligence. Jason could and should have fixed it after the first crash.

Who has a "sale" when they have a long term inventory shortage and procurement problem? Nobody UNLESS they are desperate for revenues and must liquidate all inventory because the company is cash poor and cannot meet its financial obligations. No other explanation makes sense. Fast forward one year...inventory is still difficult to secure but not because China lacks workers. Much more likely it is because of the terms of payment. I have had products manufactured in the Taiwan and the ROC and terms were always ALWAYS COD or LOC (letter of credit) and if you don't have the coin, your inventory is held until you do. Jason also admits, "Rob Moore a loyal friend and investor at Sitka believed in me and financially backed KUIU. Without Rob none of this could have happened." What if Rob Moore incurred financial difficulty? What if his relationship with Jason changed? Could this be the reason Kuiu cannot seem to get its collective chit together?

As a business owner for nearly 40 years I find it highly unlikely outside forces are to blame. Jason is a creative guy, he's an innovator and a visionary however I think he must be a very inexperienced businessman. Creative people often are. They use their "creativity" to overcome adversity....like fire sales to infuse an upside-down business with cash so they can pay for inventory they need. Oh and lemme tell ya, the R&D, prototype and commercial production hard costs to create and market a NEW PRODUCT (like tents, sleeping bags, etc.) are anything but cheap. But hey, you can always have a pre-sale right?

For you guys pointing to the fact that your card is not charged until the product ships...that is often true however YOUR ORDER is a tangible asset and therefore can be used as collateral for a loan by an investor or venture capitalist so even though your card has not been run...Jason can still get between 40-60 percent of the value of your order when used as collateral. I myself have done this when I was young and dumb, it is a costly and arduous form of finance. Often what you lose is control over your company’s revenues because the money collected goes to the venture capitalist first and everyone else second. Those contracts are written so one-sided you lean when ya read em. You lose control over your cash flow.

I hope Kuiu is able to get its problems corrected but suspect it will be someone besides Jason that does it...if it happens at all. Sometimes you need to delegate duties (even as CEO) when you recognize you are inept and not up to the task. That's when you hire talent, give em a big stake in the company's future and admit you are not the best man for the job. Maybe Jason should stick to his strengths in the design room. Jason intended to take, "...everything I learned from creating Sitka and used it to build a much smarter business plan. Well when you look at the company's numerous failings it is clear that isn't happening. Who is to blame this time Jason?
JMO

Well said Bruce. Probably the reason they didn't recall the tents is because it could have put the entire operation out of business.

 

[jm1607]

Yeah, I agree with a lot of you, BUT!! I thought the whole point of moving the business over to China was going to help the situation out, but I'm not sure that happened. When you have a contract signed with Japan who creates these top of the line fibers and material, then use their resources and sewing shops and Still have crazy backorder waits kinda sounds bunk. I'm sure bigger companies have priority in the material and KUIU will never catch up!! It sounds like a business deal that didn't pan out as Jason thought. The last thing he wants to do is get the Japanese company Toray (I know I botched up the spelling...I apologize) pissed off and cut him off. Then he's done!! So I guess all we can do is hope they still dilever a solid made product and succeed in his dreams. I wish he and his family all the success. Also as far as a on-line business selling product at "discounted" prices (which there would be no way he could retail his line) would be even more expensive then Sitka. You know he saved a lot of money making product in China, but loosing out from no inventory. There is obviously tons of fine line details that we can't assume, but again, it's been to long already. How does the new product look in hand that the few lucky guys have received so far? Any comments as to the quality and workmanship yet? Would like to hear some positive feedback about your stuff.

The whole more inventory was just an excuse.. It was all about more profits

 

[Beendare]

Kuiu is a small niche hunting company that I will continue to support. Small businesses are the life blood of this country and I'm not going to be a whiny biotch and trash them on the internet while they are doing the best they can with overwhelming demand for their stuff [yeah, its that good].

The owner is a hunter trying to sell direct to the consumer which gives us a very high quality product for less $$. To get exactly what you want when you want it might require a bit of advance planning- its a small business and I realize they can't stock everything for everybody all the time....but I suppose we have become a society of spoiled brats used to getting what we want NOW.

 

[dotman]

Beendare, exactly why I support Kryptek and First Lite. But the owners of these two clothing companies are very humble. I just like knowing the people whose businesses I support are good people and I'll leave it at that.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Kuiu is a small niche hunting company that I will continue to support. Small businesses are the life blood of this country and I'm not going to be a whiny biotch and trash them on the internet while they are doing the best they can with overwhelming demand for their stuff [yeah, its that good]. Except for the fact they are only a small direct sales force in the U.S. cuz the product is imported from China. While we're on the subject of China, a country that is notorious for knocking off product lines and violating trademarks...what does Kuiu's contract with the tent manufacturer look like? Did he fail to add a clause for defective products? Or worse, was the product intentionally made defective so the manufacturer could offer a similar product for greater profit? Anything is possible but the losses of a recall SHOULD have been recoupable under contract. If not, jason screwed up.

The owner is a hunter trying to sell direct to the consumer which gives us a very high quality product for less $$. To get exactly what you want when you want it might require a bit of advance planning- its a small business and I realize they can't stock everything for everybody all the time....but I suppose we have become a society of spoiled brats used to getting what we want NOW. Not every businessman "hunter" would sell leaky tents and not issue a recall. Ethics...you either have them or you don't. Why haven't Kuiu's defective tents been recalled? Maybe after someone dies in one? Remember, this is the same guy who promised, "This new company would be one of integrity, honesty and transparency, focused on making the best products possible with the best possible service." Nobody is "trashing Kuiu"...Kuiu has trashed itself and people are discussing it rationally in an effort to understand why this company has so many problems. Think back on the companies you've purchased hunting/outdoor gear from. Are any of them plagued with failings like Kuiu is? You cannot blame the consumer for this. Frankly I do not understand the fanboy position of Kuiu...some of their actions are completely indefensible. Obviously I support small business but not Kuiu, Jason should learn from companies like Kifaru and Tarptents, they do it right. JMO, I could be wrong.

PS: Just for giggles I posted a link to this discussion at http://blog.kuiu.com/2013/11/27/kuiu-called-out/#sthash.86LVzXiA.dpbs to see if Jason would allow it, he didn't. Only positive comments to his BS letter are allowed to remain. That's pretty transparent eh?

 

[mauidiver]

For even more fun and giggles, why don't any of their new clothes match anymore? Colors appear to be different. No, animals can not tell the difference, but if you spend the money and have OCD this will drive you nuts. I want to match!!! Plus if my pants are lighter then my guide jacket, it makes my a@& look big!! This I just can't have.

 

[Joshmarquez]

Mauidiver, same thing happened to me! Tried calling/emailing about it and they said they are coming our with a revised camo, but couldn't tell me when it was to be released or when the clothes would start to have the new camo.

 

[1hoda]

Kuiu is a small niche hunting company that I will continue to support. Small businesses are the life blood of this country and I'm not going to be a whiny biotch and trash them on the internet while they are doing the best they can with overwhelming demand for their stuff [yeah, its that good]. Except for the fact they are only a small direct sales force in the U.S. cuz the product is imported from China. While we're on the subject of China, a country that is notorious for knocking off product lines and violating trademarks...what does Kuiu's contract with the tent manufacturer look like? Did he fail to add a clause for defective products? Or worse, was the product intentionally made defective so the manufacturer could offer a similar product for greater profit? Anything is possible but the losses of a recall SHOULD have been recoupable under contract. If not, jason screwed up.

The owner is a hunter trying to sell direct to the consumer which gives us a very high quality product for less $$. To get exactly what you want when you want it might require a bit of advance planning- its a small business and I realize they can't stock everything for everybody all the time....but I suppose we have become a society of spoiled brats used to getting what we want NOW. Not every businessman "hunter" would sell leaky tents and not issue a recall. Ethics...you either have them or you don't. Why haven't Kuiu's defective tents been recalled? Maybe after someone dies in one? Remember, this is the same guy who promised, "This new company would be one of integrity, honesty and transparency, focused on making the best products possible with the best possible service." Nobody is "trashing Kuiu"...Kuiu has trashed itself and people are discussing it rationally in an effort to understand why this company has so many problems. Think back on the companies you've purchased hunting/outdoor gear from. Are any of them plagued with failings like Kuiu is? You cannot blame the consumer for this. Frankly I do not understand the fanboy position of Kuiu...some of their actions are completely indefensible. Obviously I support small business but not Kuiu, Jason should learn from companies like Kifaru and Tarptents, they do it right. JMO, I could be wrong.

PS: Just for giggles I posted a link to this discussion at http://blog.kuiu.com/2013/11/27/kuiu-called-out/#sthash.86LVzXiA.dpbs to see if Jason would allow it, he didn't. Only positive comments to his BS letter are allowed to remain. That's pretty transparent eh?

Very Telling.

 

[Obi-wanshinobi]

I think someone already mentioned this but spend your money with whomever you want. I don't get why some of you hate KUIU so much but post in every single thread about them. Pretty simple if you don't like them, don't support them.

I like some of their products and I have some gaiters that are on backorder. I'm okay with that because I'm well aware of how they do business.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I think someone already mentioned this but spend your money with whomever you want. I don't get why some of you hate KUIU so much but post in every single thread about them. Pretty simple if you don't like them, don't support them.

I like some of their products and I have some gaiters that are on backorder. I'm okay with that because I'm well aware of how they do business.

Where in this discussion do you see hate? I see consumers asking and responding to real life problems associated with Kuiu orders. The only "hate" I see is coming form Kuiu fanboys directing their hateful distain at anyone who doesn't defend Kuiu no matter what the consumer's problem is with Kuiu. Toyota recalled 7.5 million cars five years ago...did everyone who complained about the accelerator sticking automatically become a Toyata hater too? Grow up. The adults are talking.

 

[MattB]

As Kevin Dill and Beendare stated, they make what is in my assessment better mountain hunting clothing than the other prominent hunting gear manufacturers so they will keep getting my business.

It is borderline hilarious that the poster calling into question Jason's integrity, honesty and transparency patronizes a W.L. Gore company.

 

[castandblast]

Kuiu is a small niche hunting company that I will continue to support. Small businesses are the life blood of this country and I'm not going to be a whiny biotch and trash them on the internet while they are doing the best they can with overwhelming demand for their stuff [yeah, its that good]. Except for the fact they are only a small direct sales force in the U.S. cuz the product is imported from China. While we're on the subject of China, a country that is notorious for knocking off product lines and violating trademarks...what does Kuiu's contract with the tent manufacturer look like? Did he fail to add a clause for defective products? Or worse, was the product intentionally made defective so the manufacturer could offer a similar product for greater profit? Anything is possible but the losses of a recall SHOULD have been recoupable under contract. If not, jason screwed up.


The owner is a hunter trying to sell direct to the consumer which gives us a very high quality product for less $$. To get exactly what you want when you want it might require a bit of advance planning- its a small business and I realize they can't stock everything for everybody all the time....but I suppose we have become a society of spoiled brats used to getting what we want NOW. Not every businessman "hunter" would sell leaky tents and not issue a recall. Ethics...you either have them or you don't. Why haven't Kuiu's defective tents been recalled? Maybe after someone dies in one? Remember, this is the same guy who promised, "This new company would be one of integrity, honesty and transparency, focused on making the best products possible with the best possible service." Nobody is "trashing Kuiu"...Kuiu has trashed itself and people are discussing it rationally in an effort to understand why this company has so many problems. Think back on the companies you've purchased hunting/outdoor gear from. Are any of them plagued with failings like Kuiu is? You cannot blame the consumer for this. Frankly I do not understand the fanboy position of Kuiu...some of their actions are completely indefensible. Obviously I support small business but not Kuiu, Jason should learn from companies like Kifaru and Tarptents, they do it right. JMO, I could be wrong.

PS: Just for giggles I posted a link to this discussion at http://blog.kuiu.com/2013/11/27/kuiu-called-out/#sthash.86LVzXiA.dpbs to see if Jason would allow it, he didn't. Only positive comments to his BS letter are allowed to remain. That's pretty transparent eh?

That yellow font is totally unreadable on my phone, yet I feel like I'm getting the same value from the content either way......

 

[Where's Bruce?]

INTERESTING AND REVEALING FACTOID REGARDING THIS DISCUSSION:

Of the 95 posts contained above...

49 represent neutral/non-critical comments regarding Kuiu
34 are critical of Kuiu
12 are positive/supportive of Kuiu

Us business types tend to be bean counters and numbers generally paint a clear picture.

Here's a link to the fanboy rationalization processes (the product doesn't matter, the viewpoint does): http://www.gamespy.com/articles/117/1178432p1.html

 

[Beendare]

I'm not going to attempt to defend Kuiu on the tent thing- as I know nothing about what happened.

i do know that manufacturing overseas is a nightmare and you have to have your own QC people on the ground or you WILL get defective merchandise. I've heard many horror stories including one shortcut during manufacture of a circuit board that saved the manufacturer 1/2 of one cent per piece but caused millions of dollars in returned merchandise. Its almost impossible to get recourse from the chinese manufacturers- not like here in the USA. Along those same lines- Purina Beneful dog food was recently found to contain Polyglycol [sp?] same ingredient in antifreeze that kills dogs. These are the problems associated with overseas mnfr.

it doesn't appear that Kuiu has developed a good QC process for their stuff.

As I said, small company, trying to get it right that I will continue to support

 

[bivouaclarry]

Where in this discussion do you see hate? I see consumers asking and responding to real life problems associated with Kuiu orders. The only "hate" I see is coming form Kuiu fanboys directing their hateful distain at anyone who doesn't defend Kuiu no matter what the consumer's problem is with Kuiu. Toyota recalled 7.5 million cars five years ago...did everyone who complained about the accelerator sticking automatically become a Toyata hater too? Grow up. The adults are talking.

Where do we see hate in this discussion? Perhaps you should reread your diatribe against Kuiu. Have an ax to grind Bruce? It sure looks like it from the length and tone of your posts. You try to qualify your astute assumptions by saying you have "been in business for nearly 40 years". Time does not an expert make. Based on your assumptions we could say the same thing about First Lite and any other manufacturer waiting for inventory. Please. Your post is transparent and assumptions laughable. Now, go away so Rokslide can go back to discussing things that actually matter. You waste our time.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Where do we see hate in this discussion? Perhaps you should reread your diatribe against Kuiu. Have an ax to grind Bruce? It sure looks like it from the length and tone of your posts. You try to qualify your astute assumptions by saying you have "been in business for nearly 40 years". Time does not an expert make. Based on your assumptions we could say the same thing about First Lite and any other manufacturer waiting for inventory. Please. Your post is transparent and assumptions laughable. Now, go away so Rokslide can go back to discussing things that actually matter. You waste our time.

All I did was address the BS in Jason's letter and provide objective facts that those outside of the international product-based business world would not otherwise know. I see no facts in your rants and therefore, no tangible value. And who do you think you are anyway? The internet and this forum's existence is for the free exchange of information, thoughts, opinions, ideals, questions, answers and debate. You are not the Overlord of the internet and you do not get to dictate what or where people post.

 

[307]

I think it would be helpful to have a disclosure agreement with people "in the industry" so that we can weigh opinions with the appropriate suspicion of bias.