In a move to solidify its management team, Black Diamond Inc. has tapped outdoor industry veteran Bill Kulczycki as general manager and VP of Gregory Mountain Products.
Kulczycki comes to the post after four years as president and CEO at the Filson apparel and luggage brand. Prior to that, he worked for 28 years at Patagonia, holding a variety of roles, including VP of product development, sales & marketing, international and business development. In his nearly 40-year career in the outdoor industry, he has also worked as a consultant and independent sales representative.
Kulczycki will be based at Gregory’s new Salt Lake City headquarters, where the company relocated from Sacramento earlier this year following its merger with Black Diamond.
Metcalf called Kulczycki “exactly the sort of seasoned industry veteran that an iconic Gregory needs to guide its next phase of global growth as the innovative leader in the world of specialty outdoor packs and bags. What makes this hire exceptionally gratifying is the fact that BK and I have forged a 30-year long friendship and professional relationship of mutual respect that has matured through the business challenges we have both successfully navigated.”
Kulczycki has known Metcalf from his days at Patagonia. Metcalf worked in marketing/sales management at Patagonia/Lost Arrow prior to co-founding Black Diamond Equipment in 1989.
“I've known Peter for a long time and I've always admired the job he's done in building Black Diamond,” Kulczycki told The B.O.S.S. Report in an exclusive interview.
But Kulczycki was particularly attracted to the opportunity to take the Gregory brand to the next level. “In backpacks, Gregory is known for relentlessly pioneering new suspensions and new technologies. Combine that 35-year heritage of innovation with Black Diamond’s operational platform and Gregory’s potential is unlimited,” Kulczycki said.
“I think the opportunities for the brand are three fold,” added Kulczycki. “One is further developing the brand across all regions, including in Europe where the brand is relatively small and then strengthening our business in North America. We have a strong platform in Asia that we'll continue to expand on. Second is really updating the brand a little bit in terms of its relevance and positioning. And then the third area is new categories that Gregory can move into using both the technologies that we have and the technologies that we can acquire.”
He noted with its numerous owners and managers in its recent history, the branding for Gregory hasn’t been as focused as it could have been.
“The focus was on developing exceptional product but I don’t think there was a specific focus that was complementing it by making sure the brand itself was connecting with the consumer and being relevant to them,” said Kulczycki. “Gregory was also positioned as a California-based company before and it's obviously not anymore. So we have an opportunity in updating a little bit.”
Regarding new categories, he said the brand is “fairly narrow” in the backpack category with ample room to expand in complementary areas. Its first travel line, for instance, is being introduced in Fall 2011 and Kulczycki said they “obviously will have potential to expand on that.”
With the majority of his experience in apparel, Kulczycki said one of the attractions to the job was working in a category “that's a little bit different than what I have worked in for awhile.” He also has some hard lines experience. Patagonia had a small backpack line and owned Lotus Designs while 40% of Fisson's sales were in luggage. At the same time, he said Gregory has a wealth of experts in backpack technologies.
“We've got great people here with loads of expertise from the founder Wayne Gregory all the way through the design staff of which some of them have been here for over ten years,” said Kulczycki. “So the pack expertise is definitely here. What I think I bring to the table is brand experience and just experience running a global company.”
Metcalf expects Kulczycki will help Gregory reach its potential. “Gregory has been growing steadily over the last several years,” Metcalf told BOSS. “However, with the multitude of ownership changes it has had over the last half decade, relocations, and changes of CEOs; clearly it did not grow as quickly as the market. It lost some opportunities and all of us here at Gregory are very pleased to have Gregory relocated to Salt Lake in its own discreet space on the Black Diamond campus and being here with a strong leadership team. We feel we are now well positioned to take advantage of the intellectual property, brand strength and distribution that is Gregory.”
He also said that as a member of Black Diamond Inc.'s senior management, Kulczycki's apparel expertise will be helpful as Black Diamond works on its entry into apparel. Said Metcalf, “There's no question he's going to be a great asset as an advisor and counselor on that project as we move forward with it.”
Line extensions such as Black Diamond's move into technical apparel, set for 2013, are one part of a three-pronged growth strategy for Black Diamond Inc. The second is continuing to drive untapped growth within existing categories for both Gregory and Black Diamond. “We've made some significant hires and we believe growth for both Gregory and Black Diamond can grow at double-digit rates in the categories they're already win,” said Metcalf.
The third growth leg is through acquisitions. Although Black Diamond in its 22-year history has done four small tuck-in acquisitions, the Gregory deal that created Black Diamond Inc. was its first large acquisition. Metcalf said the Gregory relocation and merger was completed “in a seamless way and in a way that was imperceptible to our customers” and has shown that Black Diamond has the structure and people in place to handle more.
“If you look at some of other iconic leading smaller to mid-sized brands out there in the outdoor space, they were started out of passion versus money and many of them have proven to be very good at delivering great product – well branded and well marketed,” said Metcalf. “But because of where they came from, a lot of them haven't made the investments in infrastructure, supply chain and the other components that you need to put into a company when it reaches a certain critical mass in order to have a sustainable business. I think that's why Black Diamond is a very attractive acquirer to companies in the outdoor and snowsports space. We have that infrastructure and we also understand that user-intimacy and the passion to build the brand because that's who we are today. You can't say that about any of the other acquirers out there so we're in a really unique position and we believe that gives us an edge in executing an acquisition strategy.”
The company continues to talk to prospective acquisition candidates.
Black Diamond Taps Kulczycki as Gregory VP/GM…
In a move to solidify its management team, Black Diamond Inc. has tapped outdoor industry veteran Bill Kulczycki as general manager and VP of Gregory Mountain Products.
Kulczycki comes to the post after four years as president and CEO at the Filson apparel and luggage brand. Prior to that, he worked for 28 years at Patagonia, holding a variety of roles, including VP of product development, sales & marketing, international and business development. In his nearly 40-year career in the outdoor industry, he has also worked as a consultant and independent sales representative.
In his new post, Kulczycki will lead the brand and directly manage the senior Gregory team of John Pieper, North America director of sales & marketing; Dion Goldsworthy, international director of sales; John Sears, director of product; while also working closely with the European brand manager, Andrea Meerholz. In addition, he will serve as the liaison with the executive team at Black Diamond Inc., reporting to CEO Peter Metcalf.
Kulczycki will be based at Gregory’s new Salt Lake City headquarters, where the company relocated from Sacramento earlier this year following its merger with Black Diamond.
Metcalf called Kulczycki “exactly the sort of seasoned industry veteran that an iconic Gregory needs to guide its next phase of global growth as the innovative leader in the world of specialty outdoor packs and bags. What makes this hire exceptionally gratifying is the fact that BK and I have forged a 30-year long friendship and professional relationship of mutual respect that has matured through the business challenges we have both successfully navigated.”
Kulczycki has known Metcalf from his days at Patagonia. Metcalf worked in marketing/sales management at Patagonia/Lost Arrow prior to co-founding Black Diamond Equipment in 1989.
“I've known Peter for a long time and I've always admired the job he's done in building Black Diamond,” Kulczycki told The B.O.S.S. Report in an exclusive interview.
But Kulczycki was particularly attracted to the opportunity to take the Gregory brand to the next level. “In backpacks, Gregory is known for relentlessly pioneering new suspensions and new technologies. Combine that 35-year heritage of innovation with Black Diamond’s operational platform and Gregory’s potential is unlimited,” Kulczycki said.
“I think the opportunities for the brand are three fold,” added Kulczycki. “One is further developing the brand across all regions, including in Europe where the brand is relatively small and then strengthening our business in North America. We have a strong platform in Asia that we'll continue to expand on. Second is really updating the brand a little bit in terms of its relevance and positioning. And then the third area is new categories that Gregory can move into using both the technologies that we have and the technologies that we can acquire.”
He noted with its numerous owners and managers in its recent history, the branding for Gregory hasn’t been as focused as it could have been.
“The focus was on developing exceptional product but I don’t think there was a specific focus that was complementing it by making sure the brand itself was connecting with the consumer and being relevant to them,” said Kulczycki. “Gregory was also positioned as a California-based company before and it's obviously not anymore. So we have an opportunity in updating a little bit.”
Regarding new categories, he said the brand is “fairly narrow” in the backpack category with ample room to expand in complementary areas. Its first travel line, for instance, is being introduced in Fall 2011 and
“We've got great people here with loads of expertise from the founder Wayne Gregory all the way through the design staff of which some of them have been here for over ten years,” said Kulczycki. “So the pack expertise is definitely here. What I think I bring to the table is brand experience and just experience running a global company.”
Metcalf expects Kulczycki will help Gregory reach its potential. “Gregory has been growing steadily over the last several years,” Metcalf told BOSS. “However, with the multitude of ownership changes it has had over the last half decade, relocations, and changes of CEOs; clearly it did not grow as quickly as the market. It lost some opportunities and all of us here at Gregory are very pleased to have Gregory relocated to Salt Lake in its own discreet space on the Black Diamond campus and being here with a strong leadership team. We feel we are now well positioned to take advantage of the intellectual property, brand strength and distribution that is Gregory.”
He also said that as a member of Black Diamond Inc.'s senior management, Kulczycki's apparel expertise will be helpful as Black Diamond works on its entry into apparel. Said Metcalf, “There's no question he's going to be a great asset as an advisor and counselor on that project as we move forward with it.”
Line extensions such as Black Diamond's move into technical apparel, set for 2013, are one part of a three-pronged growth strategy for Black Diamond Inc. The second is continuing to drive untapped growth within existing categories for both Gregory and Black Diamond. “We've made some significant hires and we believe growth for both Gregory and Black Diamond can grow at double-digit rates in the categories they're already win,” said Metcalf.
The third growth leg is through acquisitions. Although Black Diamond in its 22-year history has done four small tuck-in acquisitions, the Gregory deal that created Black Diamond Inc. was its first large acquisition. Metcalf said the Gregory relocation and merger was completed “in a seamless way and in a way that was imperceptible to our customers” and has shown that Black Diamond has the structure and people in place to handle more.
“If you look at some of other iconic leading smaller to mid-sized brands out there in the outdoor space, they were started out of passion versus money and many of them have proven to be very good at delivering great product – well branded and well marketed,” said Metcalf. “But because of where they came from, a lot of them haven't made the investments in infrastructure, supply chain and the other components that you need to put into a company when it reaches a certain critical mass in order to have a sustainable business. I think that's why Black Diamond is a very attractive acquirer to companies in the outdoor and snowsports space. We have that infrastructure and we also understand that user-intimacy and the passion to build the brand because that's who we are today. You can't say that about any of the other acquirers out there so we're in a really unique position and we believe that gives us an edge in executing an acquisition strategy.”
The company continues to talk to prospective acquisition candidates.
