Backcountry said it has created an incubator with a focus on growing the next generation of outdoor brands.
The outdoor specialty retailer’s incubator platform is called Backcountry Garage, and the plan is for it to work with founders to help them accelerate the growth of their brands with resources, expertise and distribution to scale. Backcountry said that by creating space and support for new brand builders, the retailer is tapping back into its entrepreneurial roots. Backcountry was founded in 1996 when its two founders began selling beacons out of a garage.
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“We believe constant innovation is the most powerful way to improve our customers’ experience outside,” said the chain’s president Kevin Lenau. “Backcountry Garage is how we keep pushing when much of the industry is waiting — partnering with builders and founders who are rethinking how great gear should perform so our community feels the difference every day on the trail, at the crag, and in their own backyards.”
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The first brand acquired for the innovation platform is the Utah-based, eco-focused apparel brand Coalatree that was founded in 2010. Coalatree will continue to sell through its direct-to-consumer site and some items, such as its fan-favorite bottom’s style Trailhead Pants, will now be available at Backcountry.com.
JM Fabrizi, the newly-installed director of Backcountry Garage, will oversee Coalatree’s growth under the incubator’s umbrella. His goal is to establish the incubator as the hub for “differentiated, community-focused products and brands that reflect Backcountry’s values of quality, sustainability, and access.”
Coalatree community members help shape many of its products. “Partnering with Backcountry means Coalatree can stay close to that community, obtain feedback on a larger scale, and bring new ideas to life that were too big for Coalatree to tackle alone,” Fabrizi said.
Backcountry said that the incubator is in its early development phase and that it is seeking brands to bring under its stewardship.
The specialty retailer offers a curated seelction of premium products for the outdoors from nearly 800 brands, both online and across its nine U.S. locations. The retailer expanded its portfolio last year with the acquisitions of Level Nine Sports and Bike TiresDirect. It also operates Competitive Cyclist for premium road, gravel and mountain bike gear, and Steep & Cheap, its outlet for past-season and overstock deals.
Backcountry was sold to TSG Consumer Parters, a private equity firm, in July 2015. TSG later sold the specialty retailer to CSC Generation Enterprise in 2024. CSC describes itself as an AI-enabled multi-brand platform that acquires and transforms retailers into profitable, digital-first, consumer-centric businesses. Other brands in the CSC portfolio include Sur La Table, DirectBuy and One Kings Lane.
Participation in outdoor sports and activities grew after the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent focus on health and wellness has given category some staying power.
Academy Outdoor + Sports is growing its store base and recently said it is taking on a bigger positioning in Hyrox-branded goods as the cross-function sport is taking the fitness world by storm. Industry trade show groups, such as Outdoor Retailer, have regrouped to determine how best to serve the sports category. And up-and-coming brands like premium technical performance firm Arc’teryx has the potential of reaching a target of “$5 billion” in top-line sales by 2030, according to company executives in a conference call last year. Arc’teryx, the No. 1 outdoor brand in China since 2024 according to company executives, is focused on the mountain athlete in climb, snow and trail sports.