By David Clucas

The active lifestyle retail bankruptcies continue.

The latest victim was outdoor retailer Backwoods, with 10 locations across Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, including its Neptune Mountaineering store in Colorado, and an adventure travel business. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 9, court documents show.

The company, founded in 1973, said the business with 150 employees pulled in about $18 million in annual sales, but began to stumble as “due to changing shopping trends and consumer behavior, competitive pressures from both online and big-box retailers and numerous bankruptcies in the outdoor space.”

“Backwoods, like other outdoor retailers, has experienced reduced sales, decreased net profit margins, and more recently, liquidity issues,” CEO Jennifer Mull said in the filing. She added that the business also suffered from significant overhead costs due to legacy lease obligations after closing some of its stores. Its debt includes about $500,000 in loans and credit, plus about $3.7 million in unsecured trade debt and unpaid obligations, according to the court documents. It listed more than $10 million in liabilities.

According to court documents, Backwoods’ top unsecured creditors in the industry included:

  • Patagonia – $388,330
  • Osprey Packs – $112,653
  • Arc’teryx – $105,467
  • Toad&Co – $93,514
  • Wolverine Worldwide – $90,735
  • Prana – $87,945
  • Icebreaker – $85,348
  • Mountain Hardwear – $71,332
  • Simms Fishing – $71,206
  • Columbia Sportswear – $66,014
  • ExOfficio – $63,889
  • Marmot – $62,990
  • Olukai – $62,859
  • Tasc Performance – $62,531
  • Outdoor Research – $61,187

On November 10, a judge approved a request by Backwoods to borrow $3 million in debtor-in-possession financing from GemCap Solutions to continue operations and keep stores open through the critical holiday period, which the retailer said provides 30 percent of its revenue.

Photo courtesy Backwoods