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Be careful of how you use the word Backcountry! Especially if it's part of a business you're starting.

Jenny

Angel Diva
You know what you he most obnoxious part of this is? The fact that the others HAD trademarks and backcountry.com filed to cancel them. And that they predated backcountry.com's. Never mind the whole thing where they went after people who clearly weren’t competing with them.

What good is a trademark if someone can file to have it cancelled?
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
A key change happened in 2018 when Backcountry wanted to start marketing their own brand of stuff. A major competitor is REI, which has clothing, luggage, and all sorts of other gear that are "house brand" with a visible REI logo.

Note that 2015 is the year TSG bought Backcountry from Liberty. The previous CEO resigned by the end of that year. From the article:
" . . .
In 2007, Backcountry secured its first registration of a service mark, the USPTO shows. In 2017 and 2018, San Diego-based attorney John Kim (on behalf of Backcountry) expanded the service mark’s scope and the various trademarks by listing hundreds of types of outdoor gear, from heart rate monitors to mountaineering gear. In between those two filings, Nielsen became CEO in 2015 after serving in other roles since 2010.
. . .
In March 2018, Backcountry announced it was launching its own private label, sticking its goat logo to shirts, jackets, ski apparel and skis, tents and sleeping bags, and more outdoor gear. It collaborated with brands like Burton and Flylow, and expanded this year to include climbing, mountain biking, winter sports, and travel and lifestyle collections.
. . ."
 

geargrrl

Angel Diva
I"ve been following this all day. There is a LOT of press, and none of it is good. TGR, Pinkbike, OutsideOnline, pretty much everything BUT the AP feed. Some of it is highly entertaining, too. I'm not sure if I like the "product reviews" or the annotated version of the apology letter better.

As I understand, they went after over 50 small businesses, everything from a place that did upfitting on vehicles for backcountry use to a women's avalanche program. Many of these businesses have had to spend thousands and thousands of dollar with legal costs and rebranding. Making good would be reparations inmsho.
Capture.JPGCapture  2.JPG
 
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newboots

Angel Diva
I"ve been following this all day. There is a LOT of press, and none of it is good. TGR, Pinkbike, OutsideOnline, pretty much everything BUT the AP feed. Some of it is highly entertaining, too. I'm not sure if I like the "product reviews" or the annotated version of the apology letter better.
...
Making good would be reparations ...
I must say, both the fake reviews and the annotated letter are wonderful!

This is revolting. I’m going to sign up for the FB group to help the ranks keep swelling. They do owe all those other little companies reparations!!
 

WaterGirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Good to see this on the forum, had been following the recent media buzz. Thanks @snoWYmonkey and @ski diva for bringing to light. I love the annotated letter @geargrrl I think it rings true.

Looking up the PRB connection I found it interesting that again, the parent company TSG decided to sue according to wikipedia - seems TSG wants to get their own way, all the time, with litigation.
Pabst Brewing Company announced November 13, 2014 that it had completed its sale to Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, LLC. Blue Ribbon is a partnership between American beer entrepreneur Eugene Kashper and TSG Consumer Partners...suggested the price agreed upon was around $700 million.....In November 2018, a lawsuit by Pabst against MillerCoors reached trial stage. Pabst argued that MillerCoors wanted to put it out of business by ending a longstanding contract through which MillerCoors brews Pabst's beers. Pabst said that MillerCoors is its only option for the 4 million to 4.5 million barrels brewed annually for the company, since Anheuser-Busch, which has the biggest U.S. market share, does not do contract brewing. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and the contract between the two companies was renewed
So that crap PRB is really outsourced to be brewed by MillerCoors, its competitor and only hope for large scale brewing which it seems to have forced to brew its beer. Interesting. Clearly TSG has $$$ if it can "force" settlement form MillerCoors.

Moving on, seems TSG initiated the "gear head" movement at back country - Additionally, since our investment, the Gearhead program has grown to include 150 account managers who provide high valued customer service. These experts are driving increases in repeat sales for customers that they connect with at a profit margin that is higher than the average order. https://www.tsgconsumer.com/portfolio/back-country-co
A
while I go I posted about how annoying and intrusive the gear heads were. Seems they make $$ for the company. I have not purchased from Backcountry for a while, the addition of sales tax makes them equal to any other on line retailer and I would rather support brick and mortar.

The goats. I have stickers from many years past. I keep thinking I'll post a picture of what I do with them in the "what do you do with your stickers" thread. In a moment of sheer immature internal cerebral humor I came up with a way to constructively use the goats. Makes me laugh to this day. "They" are on a few skis to help identify the "popular on the mountain" skis I own as mine. I use a pair of goats, somewhat edited so that one has smaller horns and no beard.
I'm sure BC would not like my version.
But I think I'll keep my humping goats on my skis.
It will remind me of what BC is currently doing to small business.
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I"ve been following this all day. There is a LOT of press, and none of it is good. TGR, Pinkbike, OutsideOnline, pretty much everything BUT the AP feed. Some of it is highly entertaining, too. I'm not sure if I like the "product reviews" or the annotated version of the apology letter better.

As I understand, they went after over 50 small businesses, everything from a place that did upfitting on vehicles for backcountry use to a women's avalanche program. Many of these businesses have had to spend thousands and thousands of dollar with legal costs and rebranding. Making good would be reparations inmsho.
View attachment 11489View attachment 11490
This kind of stuff always makes me chuckle! Love witty people.
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
I thought I didn't have a dog in this fight. I don't buy from Backcountry or SAC, but....damn...Planet Fitness!! I'm a member. Nuun tablets I use all summer for dragon boat practice. Comet...well it's been a few years. P&G have their plant across the road, so I'm partial to their products now. Some of the products we don't see in Canada as they are more local. Not a beer drinker so don't really care about PBR.

Not impressed with the letter from the CEO either.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
I get the concern about the employees, but hopefully this will help steer this company and maybe others in a better direction. Or maybe it will give local stores or larger shops like REI that are not owned by a hedge fund a boost, thus benefiting their employees.
 

lisamamot

Angel Diva
In August, Backcountry Edge rebranded to Enwild. Everything I read says it was a decision that came from them - "In the works for more than two years, outdoor gear and apparel ecommerce retailer Backcountry Edge has rebranded and is now known as Enwild. Inspired by the soul-fortifying benefits gained from engaging with the outdoors, the new name brings with it new branding, an updated web presence, and a new logo" - prnewswire.com article

I wonder if when this started in 2016 they started the rebranding process to avoid making the list.....
TTABVUE. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Inquiry System
 

mustski

Angel Diva
In fairness, it looks like they got the message. In that article, they apologize and say they have dropped the suit and plan to rethink their approach to trademark protection in the future. Time will tell if they actually mean that.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
In fairness, it looks like they got the message. In that article, they apologize and say they have dropped the suit and plan to rethink their approach to trademark protection in the future. Time will tell if they actually mean that.

I’m honestly not sure where I stand on all of this. Before they made a statement, I was angry as well. However, if all of the backlash causes changes for the better there, that would be great as well and I can support that. There has to be some room for accepting an apology and “making it right” if they are willing to do so I think.

My perspective may be a little more forgiving due to the industry I work in. I’m in pharmaceutical drug development, and obviously there is a lot of hate towards our industry as a whole. It doesn’t matter if the company you’re at has only the best intentions, we are all pretty much lumped into the same sphere together. The fact is that the general public has very little insight into the real nitty gritty of everything that goes on behind the scenes in any industry.
 

geargrrl

Angel Diva
In fairness, it looks like they got the message. In that article, they apologize and say they have dropped the suit and plan to rethink their approach to trademark protection in the future. Time will tell if they actually mean that.

What about all the small companies that they bullied and that have had to spend thousands of dollars to litigate and/ or rebrand? General feeling seems to be that the apology letter is BS and doesn't help out the 50+ small businesses they have harassed over the years.
 

Skier31

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
What about all the small companies that they bullied and that have had to spend thousands of dollars to litigate and/ or rebrand? General feeling seems to be that the apology letter is BS and doesn't help out the 50+ small businesses they have harassed over the years.

I agree. I know they are saying they "had to do it to protect their trademark" but it appears that they went out of their way to bully small companies who were not competing against them. Backcountry Babes, Backcountry Nitro (coffee company) etc. It seems they could have partnered with these companies and enhanced everyone's business.
 

VTsnowflower

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Wouldn't it be nice, now that they have apologized and dropped the Marquette lawsuit, if they offered to reimburse the the companies they bullied earlier for their legal expenses? That might go a long ways toward rebuilding trust.
 

bsskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We no longer support any of the companies that are part of the bully portfolio. Life is too short for crap beer like PBR, so no problem there, but some of my haircare and makeup brands are off my shopping list permanently. I’ve emailed Sephora and ULTA and let them know these brands will not wind up in this years’ holiday shopping cart as in years past. Goodbye IT, ELF, Alterna and Pureology, just to name a few. I’m still on the fence about the Famous Amos cookies though.
 

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