Four former executives of G.I. Joe's have been thwarted in their attempt to bring back the Pacific Northwest chain. Ron Menconi, Joe's former vice president of marketing and merchandise who had served as the new company's president, told The Oregonian, “All I can say is that our project is not going forward. We're not bringing back the company, let's put it that way. We're very disappointed.”
The move after UFA Holdings Inc., the Canadian company that bought many Joe's names during the liquidation last year, sued the executives and their new company for trademark infringement, and sought damages of at least $75,000. A settlement in the case is pending, but it precludes UFA and the four Joe's executives from discussing the deal.
“In an especially notorious infringement of UFA's rights in the intellectual property …” the lawsuit said, “defendants are even referring to their activities as 'The G.I. Joe's Comeback,”'
UFA acquired Joe's names – G.I. Joe's, Joe's Outdoors, Seize the Weekend, Joe's Sports, Outdoor & More, Joe's Sports & Outdoors. UFA also operates Wholesale Sports locations in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., many of those stores are former Sportsman Warehouse locations. It also acquired Joe's' website properties. The Joe's Sports and G.I. Joes websites now link to the Wholesale Sports site.
Joe's new management last month announced plans to open three to five stores in the Portland area over the next 18 months, some in former Joe's locations. The group, which had opened a small store in Bethany west of Portland to establish its use of the name, aimed to hire back as many former employees as possible to the 350 full- and part-time jobs a new store would create. The management group also included the son of the G.I. Joe's founder Ed Orkney.
