Cloudveil Mountain Works is closing its Denver office, which houses sales operations and customer service, and moving these functions to Jackson Hole Wyoming, where the current company headquarters is located. As a result of this relocation, the company is undertaking a considerable expansion to their existing facility. The Denver facility will be closed by mid-year. The consolidation will take place over the next three to six months in strategic phases to ensure a smooth operational transition. The build-out of the expanded facility in Jackson is already
underway.
Stephen Sullivan, Cloudveils VP of marketing, told BOSS that following
their acquisition by SBI and a shift in their long term planning, the
move was primarily an effort to get everyone in the company under
the same roof. “Prior to our deal with SBI, Cloudveil took on two investors
who became part of our operational team. The Denver office
was part of their longer range plan which included acquiring other
brands and having sales, customer service and distribution based in
Denver,” he said. “Now that we are pursuing a different business plan
under SBI, it only makes sense to have the sales, marketing and product
people in one place where we can all sit down together.”
The company is also in the process of moving its distribution facility to
Maryland, where Fila also a brand owned by SBI currently has
their state-of-the-art facility. Sullivan said that it really came down to
a timing issue with these two concurrent moves.
“Now is really the best time for us to make these changes because
spring/summer is a much smaller season for us than winter. Although,
with the launch of our new fly-fishing line, this could all change,” he
said. “We will have some redundancies for a short period of time in
order to make sure there are no gaps in customer service, but once
we get everyone up here to Jackson, the whole company should operate
smoother.”
The company is expecting considerable growth this year from its line
extensions and its international expansion, and making these changes
before they are needed should allow Cloudveil to support these goals
without too many growing pains.
In a prepared statement, Cloudveil CEO Jim Reilly said, “We have developed
many key initiatives in the pipeline this year which will enable
further growth, including the implementation of a new ERP system and
the consolidation of Cloudveils distribution facilities, operated by our
affiliate Fila USA. This new structure will create a more cohesive work
atmosphere and foster improved communication. We are especially
excited to bring the customer service group back to Jackson, allowing
us to more effectively perpetuate our unique mountain culture.”
The move will be difficult for many of the Denver employees, but the
majority of the current Denver employees have been extended relocation
to Jackson, and the company is optimistic that most key members
of the staff will make the move.
“I just skinned up and made a few runs at lunch. Giving everyone access
to opportunities like this will really infuse the company with the
mountain culture that helped us get where we are today,” said Sullivan.
>>> Smart move by the folks in Jackson. While the cost of living
may be somewhat higher, preserving the culture of the
company is clearly a priority for both Cloudveil and SBI…
