Westcomb Outerwear and Granite Gear disclosed that they recently agreed to warehouse and oversee dealer delivery for one another in the Canadian and U.S. markets.
The arrangement, which comes as small specialty shops are closely watching skyrocketing shipping costs, offers both companies a cost-conscious and efficient way to warehouse and ship from inside of their respective neighboring countries. Westcomb will warehouse and ship for Granite Gear in Canada. Granite Gear will do the same for Westcomb in the U.S. Beyond that, the two brands see efficiencies from a shipping perspective, because they share a large percentage of their retailer bases.
The partnership emerged out of like-minded company thinking, and a brainstorming session after Westcomb and Granite Gear spent a few days skiing together following the winter 2008 Outdoor Retailer show ultimately led to inking a deal.
“We think this is exactly what the industry should be about the spirit of two like-minded companies working together and helping each other out,” said Jeff Knight, co-founder and president of Granite Gear.
Alan Yiu, founder of Westcomb, said: “Granite Gear and Westcomb have the same mindset in terms of innovation and not comprising on quality, and that makes us a very good fit for something like this.”
The companies will begin handling warehousing and shipping for one another starting with Fall 2008 deliveries.
