Kuiu sold?

[repins05]

Kuiu sold to conservation minded investor group? Do you think this will be good or bad......? Will kuiu go big box?

 

[Steve300xcw]

I bet we will find out soon enough

 

[Blacktocomm]

Looks like it is keeping the existing CEO and looking to expand in person/brick and mortar? Link to sales announcement

Not sure if the line about existing brick and mortar presence is opening more of their own stores, or getting into more retailers. Will be interesting to see.

 

[JDPAPA]

KUIU Ultralight Hunting Acquired by a Collective of Conservation-Minded Families | Cox Enterprises

This acquisition will bolster KUIU’s commitment to its customers, employees and innovation.

www.coxenterprises.com

 

[BasicUtahrd95]

Don’t know anything about Cox Enterprises, but it’s usually not a good thing when hunting focused brands get bought out by investment groups. They are there to turn a profit as quickly as possible. Usually by making a cheaper, more generic product that can be sold at volume to retailers.

 

[BasicUtahrd95]

I expect to see more high margin merch/lifestyle apparel and less technical hunting gear.

 

[UZY524]

Yeah, just announced yesterday Main Post sold KUIU to a group of conservation-obsessed families and businesses Cox Enterprises leading the pack. CEO Melissa Woolf's staying on, ops unchanged, privately held.

Good Long term focus means no slash and burn PE BS aligns perfect with KUIU's backcountry conservation vibe. More cash for innovation and wild places without selling out.

Bad Could get stuffy if the investors meddle on ethical designs or pricing, but early signs say nah.

Big box Nah, they're expanding their own stores already 5, more coming and ecomm partnerships not REI or Cabela's shelves. Keeps that direct to hunter edge you love. Overall, thumbs up for the brand.

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

^Joined Sunday

 

[Speaks]

Unlike many I have nothing against PEs broadly speaking and they drive lots of business growth. Sometimes the focus is cutting cost, may times its driving rapid growth. In some types of companies rapid growth is sufficient and having a PE involved can be a real blessing for both the company and customer.

That being said there are realities of the ROI they are looking for and timelines involved. If you need to 3x ebitda in 5 years there are only so many ways to do that with a niche hunting brand and simply increasing sales on the existing niche product can likely only do it for one exit cycle as most.

So how do you keep doing it, combo of cost cutting and expansion into lifestyle stuff to increase the TAM. I kind of doubt we see a change fast, but also that nothing much has changed a decade from now.

 

[Macintosh]

Unlike many I have nothing against PEs broadly speaking and they drive lots of business growth. Sometimes the focus is cutting cost, may times its driving rapid growth. In some types of companies rapid growth is sufficient and having a PE involved can be a real blessing for both the company and customer.

That being said there are realities of the ROI they are looking for and timelines involved. If you need to 3x ebitda in 5 years there are only so many ways to do that with a niche hunting brand and simply increasing sales on the existing niche product can likely only do it for one exit cycle as most.

So how do you keep doing it, combo of cost cutting and expansion into lifestyle stuff to increase the TAM. I kind of doubt we see a change fast, but also that nothing much has changed a decade from now.

All true, BUT are there ANY examples where that worked out to benefit the consumer focused on that highest-end niche technical product? Ive been directly involved in a few companies this happened to, will say my personal experience is its never once been a benefit for anything other than the company itself. Which is great, it just isnt what I personally care about. Imo the best thing it does is create a vaccuum into which a new small company might be able to better address those customers.