Future of Acopa?

Does anyone know anything about how Acopa is doing since John has passed away? I've noticed that several climbing shops that used to carry a selection of Acopa shoes no longer have any (REI, Nomad Ventures, and several internet gear sites). I'm hoping they were just sold out, because if Acopa is going out of business I need to stock up on some JBs and Spectres before they're gone. I've tried a bunch of shoes and none of the other's seem to fit my foot even close to as well as the Acopas . . .

I'm with you Cory and I share those same concerns (though add the Enzo and Aztec to the mix). I've seen less and less since the tragedy.

Pricey here, but still lots available: endless.com/s/ref=topnav_sk…

I bought some Aztecs when they had 40% cashback...should've bought so many more.

Brad W wrote:Pricey here, but still lots available: endless.com/s/ref=topnav_sk… I bought some Aztecs when they had 40% cashback...should've bought so many more.

Wow thanks for the link. If you continue all way to the checkout page they give you 25% off, or 30% if your order is over $200!

Croft just signed on with Evolv. Probably to do an Evolv "JB" or "TC Pro" since old school is the new "new".

Also not a good sign for Acopa.

Bummer...I love these shoes.

I'd hate to see the company do anything less than success, but if they are, hopfully we can still get the rubber and I can get more time out of what I have.

Some of what I have heard is that the sole remaining partner, possibly the original owner on the Mexican side is trying to keep the company afloat.
That being said Tony at the Rubber Room told me that the rubber is unavailable right now. He said that they have had no success in getting any response from Acopa. He added that the rubber market in Mexico is run like the rest of Mexico.
I think the rubber is the best hands down and have tried sending Acopa a shining letter praising their product in hope of buying a slab of rubber for resoles; no luck so far.
So that is all the here say I got for you. My two cents from a climber hopeing for Acopa and Mr. Bachar's designs to continue.

I am just a blue collar laborer. What I am wondering is what would it take to buyout the brand and designs in order to restart Acopa climbing shoes. How does one go about putting together a proposal for a business loan for such a venture.? How viable of an concept would it be?
I figure there are a number if Mountain Projecters out there in finance that may be able to simplify it for a simple mind.

What website are you looking at? I can't find an official Acopa Website. Does anyone know whoe owns Acopa now? Are they looking to sell???

If you are serious about this then you might want to find that out, then if you don't have a ton of cash laying around maybe you can look into Kickstarter. I would throw down for a pair of Jb's or Spectras if I new they were being made by the same people and in the same fashion as the older ones. Maybe different investment levels:

$10 for a Acopa Leather Keychain made from the same leather as the JB's
$25 for an Acopa Tshirt or Chalkbag
$50 for both a tshirt and chalkbag???
$150 for a pair of shoes in whatever size you need
$250 for two pair of shoes???

I don't know a lot about Kickstarter but you may be able to do it all via mountain project.com???

Any ways good luck and let us know where this leads.

sweagan wrote:What website are you looking at? I can't find an official Acopa Website. Does anyone know whoe owns Acopa now? Are they looking to sell??? If you are serious about this then you might want to find that out, then if you don't have a ton of cash laying around maybe you can look into Kickstarter. I would throw down for a pair of Jb's or Spectras if I new they were being made by the same people and in the same fashion as the older ones. Maybe different investment levels: $10 for a Acopa Leather Keychain made from the same leather as the JB's $25 for an Acopa Tshirt or Chalkbag $50 for both a tshirt and chalkbag??? $150 for a pair of shoes in whatever size you need $250 for two pair of shoes??? I don't know a lot about Kickstarter but you may be able to do it all via mountain project.com??? Any ways good luck and let us know where this leads.

Kickstarter only allows "projects", and funding a business doesn't qualify to them as a project. It will be denied.

For starters, you would need a business plan to obtain financing. Of course, given that you would be trying to obtain financing to buy a defunct company, you will likely need Acopa's business records. Assuming the brand was for sale, they'll likely want a confidentiality agreement in place. That said, it's sort of the chicken and the egg, Acopa likely won't give up its information unless they know you are serious (i.e. have financing) and a lender won't agree to financing without having seen Acopa's financials.

Even if you get all that information, from a lender's perspective the burning question is why did Acopa fail in the first place? Acopa was in REI, that was a huge retail point of sale. However, IIRC, Acopa was losing shelf space in REI even before John passed (the company's major marketing asset). Was that due to supply issues, marketing, failure to educate the sales force, etc.? You will need to explain how you can make the brand successful when the former owners could not.

I love my Acopas and would love to see the brand come back, but like others have said, it'll be an uphill battle.

"You'll climb better if your feet are comfortable"

Acopa chameleons were probably my favorite pair of climbing shoes, ever.

Locker wrote:"why did Acopa fail in the first place?"... Did it, "Fail"? Or did it fold due to the fact that the two that started and ran the company (at least I think they did), passed away?

Perhaps fail was the wrong word, the use of which was not intended to disrespect the memory of John and Steve or their business efforts. I think we can all agree that there were a series of unfortunate events that lead to the company's demise. They definitely had a cult following though, so if the manufacturing piece could be restored (and stabilized) and with the right marketing, a comeback could be possible.

I recently scored a couple pair of Merlins from Amazon.. love them

It's kinda tough to get back a company when your lead designer dies... and someone who really knew the product

Evan Sanders wrote: Kickstarter only allows "projects", and funding a business doesn't qualify to them as a project. It will be denied.

You just have to be creative with how you choose your "project."

Re-launching Acopa shoes would be a viable project. I ran a successful kickstarter campaign last summer and would be glad to help. It would not be a good option for cash to buy the business but it would be a good option to raise cash to start production.

I don't know anything about the process, but I loved my Acopa's as well. I'd be happy to help in any way that I could.

Hi there, acopa shoes are still in market in Mexico. They have a new name: rock on.
For more info you can contact them here:

facebook.com/pages/Rockon-s…

Maby you can get them somehow.

My first pair of climbing shoes were the Icampa V1s. Best fitting rock shoe I've ever had - and still are. Just got them resoled for the first time since I bought them in 2003. I'd hate to see the company fade away or worse: be bought out by a lower quality manufacturer.

Yesterday I delivered two pairs of climbing shoes to be resoled on Guadalajara Mexico (I live in monterrey). The guy who received the shoes at Rock Art Escalada gym said the guy who does the resoling is the same guy who was in charge of the Acopa brand here in Mexico. Perhaps you could get a phone number from the people at Rock Art Escalda.

here´s the phone number if you want to reach them by phone or you could look them up on facebook. I´m believe they speak english.

teléfono [81] 2849 9101
celular [81] 8136 9382

They say everybody loves a comeback...

www.acopaoutdoors.com

Stay tuned!