Backcountry.com is an online specialty retailer that sells clothing and

outdoor recreation Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

gear for

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

road biking Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

, rock

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...

, winter sports,

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

, road and trail

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

, and more.

History

Backcountry.com was founded in 1996 by Jim Holland and

John Bresee John Bresee (February 21, 1966 – June 29, 2019) was a Utah-based entrepreneur and co-founder of Backcountry.com, as well as a writer, editor, and entrepreneur coach. Business He was a co-founder of Backcountry.com, one of the first internet-b ...

. 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. The store's first sale, a Pieps 457 Opti-finder avalanche beacon, happened in February 1997.''The Retailers'', Outside Magazine, March 2009, page 61 The company purchased the domain name backcountry.com for $75,000 in 2004. Backcountry.com quickly became one of a very few profitable retailers and competed with

REI Rei or REI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Rei, a story arc of the anime ''Higurashi When They Cry'' *Rei, a shapeshifting godlike dragon in the Australian webcomic series ''Vainglorious'' *Rei I, II and III, episodes of ''Neon Genesis Eva ...

for the lead in this category.

never lost the lead. After rapid product growth Backcountry began to court other categories including discount and One Deal At A Time (ODAT) 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 Liberty Media Corporation (commonly referred to as Liberty Media or just Liberty) is an American mass media company controlled by chairman John C. Malone. The company has three divisions, reflecting the company's ownership stakes in Formula On ...

, which also controls

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Penn ...

and other e-commerce companies. This transferred effective ownership of the company to billionaire

John C. Malone John Carl Malone (born March 7, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman, landowner and philanthropist. He was chief executive officer (CEO) of Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), a cable and media giant, for twenty-four years from 1973 to 1996. ...

. On Dec 5, 2013, Backcountry announced its acquisition of German online outdoor retailer Bergfreunde.de. Bergfreunde was founded in 2006 in

Kirchentellinsfurt Kirchentellinsfurt is a municipality in the district of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany, about 7 km east of the city of Tübingen and 7 km northwest of Reutlingen. Since 2015, Bernd Haug has been the mayor of Kirchentellinsf ...

, Germany where the business first sold clothing and gear for

and

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

. 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. 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.

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. 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. On November 6, 2019, the company dropped one of the lawsuits and apologized for starting the controversy.

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 Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

.''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
/ref> Backcountry.com-sponsored athletes are responsible for actively driving traffic to Backcountry.com through

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, Myspace, and blogs. The program also acted as an

affiliate marketing Affiliate marketing is a marketing arrangement in which affiliates receive a commission for each visit, signup or sale they generate for a merchant. This arrangement allows businesses to outsource part of the sales process. It is a form of p ...

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.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Backcountry.com
Companies based in Salt Lake County, Utah Online retailers of the United States Sporting goods retailers of the United States Retail companies established in 1996 Internet properties established in 1996 1996 establishments in Utah