80% off BLACK DIAMOND

Okay, okay. I'm hoping to get to the bottom of this. Why did BD sell EVERYTHING in their Bend, Oregon retail store for 80% off? 

They MUST have lost money.  Why didnt they just ship all their product back to the warehouse if they were closing down one specific location?

Also, if you haven't heard, this actually happened. Starting Nov 8th, without any formal announcement, the Bend store began selling absolutely everything for 80% off

That's $8,000 worth of gear for $1,000 to put it in perspective. 

Any Theories?

They know climbers are cheap and just bought a shit load of brand loyalty for cheap probably. They also just gave a lot of people opportunity to climb.

Because the cost to repackage, box, ship, unload, add into inventory at another location would cost more than selling for 80% off. So locals got a blowout deal. Hopefully you bought three of everything and selling the extras so what you kept was "free."

It’s also 80% off retail, not wholesale. Since they’re also the manufacturer, it’s actually 80% off cost. They most definitely did not lose money. 

Marc801 C wrote:

It’s also 80% off retail, not wholesale. Since they’re also the manufacturer, it’s actually 80% off cost. They most definitely did not lose money. 

they sold gear that wasn't even BD- like Smith Sunglasses for 80% off

Dan, any idea how long it took them to sell out the inventory? Is it all over, now? 

As others have said, moving inventory to another sellable location has costs and its not cheap. But also, consider the selling season, and what they'd have to do with shelf-products to get them in condition to sell as new from ecommerce; repackaging, poly bags, and the labor to do all that. Then add up the chances of actually selling that stuff at full price. What would suck is to move the product, not sell it quickly, and your warehouse is clogging with unsold goods, thus blocking the storage of more sellable newer inventory. Unsold inventory is a chain around the neck of any product company and it has killed many a brand. 

Sometimes quick and fast with the minimum of touches, is the right answer. 

Any idea why store closed? Not enough business?

Most of it was gone on day two. Word had gotten out after it started softly the day prior. I was one of about 30 people who gathered to get in at open. Most hard goods were already gone, no cams and I think it was 6-8 pairs of skis left. Was absolutely bonkers. I did see some folks with massive piles of items assuming to try to upsell. 

Dan Bookless wrote:

they sold gear that wasn't even BD- like Smith Sunglasses for 80% off

Again, that’s still off retail. 

Cherokee Nunes wrote:

Any idea why store closed? Not enough business?

it was almost always empty, definitely not a profitable location

I work in the outdoor industry and most companies have a giant glut of inventory and customers aren't purchasing anything full price.  Even the Christmas season hasn't pushed sales.  Winter has been slow all around the country and the economy is softening ... it's been rough.  People are looking for off price products and retailers are trying to cut year end inventory numbers.  80% is steep but they are probably cutting their loss at cost.  Shipping everything back to DC or HQ is wildly expensive (labor, transportation, packaging etc).  Easier to sell off inventory then move it around the country. 

Ok so I was on the phone for a couple hours with Black Diamond HQ and HR. After talking to several representatives it seems that black diamond doesn’t think there is any good climbing in Bend, Oregon and found it to be a better business decision to sell their inventory and leave before any more damage was done to their brand recognition. 

Dan Bookless wrote:

Okay, okay. I'm hoping to get to the bottom of this. Why did BD sell EVERYTHING in their Bend, Oregon retail store for 80% off? 

They MUST have lost money.  Why didnt they just ship all their product back to the warehouse if they were closing down one specific location?

Also, if you haven't heard, this actually happened. Starting Nov 8th, without any formal announcement, the Bend store began selling absolutely everything for 80% off

That's $8,000 worth of gear for $1,000 to put it in perspective. 

Any Theories?

That math don't math (20% X $8,000 = $1,600).  

Andy Forquer wrote:

That math don't math (20% X $8,000 = $1,600).  

Dan likes to upgrade things so makes sense he calls 80% 88

it was almost always empty, definitely not a profitable location

I was surprised to hear there was one there at all. Did they run a local shop out of business when they moved in?

Cherokee Nunes wrote:

I was surprised to hear there was one there at all. Did they run a local shop out of business when they moved in?

Probably not. It was in box factory so if anything, the land lords ran a local shop out of business with their insane rent increases. FWIW the word from people who worked at the store was that BD is focusing on online/d2c in general and scaling back brick and mortar shops - Bend is one of multiple locations they closed at the same time.

Also, they did not announce the sale because other retailers in town carry BD and have been BD retailers since before BD opened their store (like the old mill rei for instance). There was an agreement that BD would not advertise prices below retail as a way to protect their existing partners in town. But like above, I heard this third hand so maybe it's not completely true..

Personally I'm just sad I didn't notice until after Thanksgiving. By the time I got there the only climbing things they had in stock were XS harnesses.

Hey thanks for the feedback Brando! Makes sense, since when did Black Diamond belong in the retail game? That is a tough racket. So is wholesale, but they know that! 

In different news I saw REI will lay off several hundred people this quarter, after acknowledging 4 quarters in a row of declining sales!