A little while back, I wrote about outdoor retailers, and the tactics they use to increase search engine presence (link here). As a follow up, I’d like to pass on a little information on backcountry.com. Below is a press release about the recent not-so-recent purchase of backcountry.com. Among other things, the press release details how backcountry.com owns 8 separate website urls, and that 50% of their revenue is made in the fourth quarter. Press release after the turn.
Backcountry.com, Inc.
We (Liberty Media Corp.) acquired 81% of the equity of Backcountry.com, Inc. in June 2007. Backcountry is an e-commerce marketplace for outdoor adventure, cycling and action sports gear and clothing. Its 12 separate websites cater to a variety of outdoor enthusiasts. Four of the sites offer name-brand products at retail prices, and eight offer substantial discounts to online shoppers.
Backcountry’s primary site, Backcountry.com, offers over 450 brands and over 50,000 items of high-end gear and clothing for backpacking, camping, trail running, skiing, cycling, rock climbing, kayaking and other outdoor sports. Backcountry’s snowboarding-specific site, DogFunk.com, sells technical and lifestyle apparel and gear from established brands and niche manufacturers. HucknRoll.com and RealCyclist.com sell mountain bikes and road bikes, respectively, at retail prices. Backcountry’s online outlet store, BackcountryOutlet.com, and its invitation-only backcountry discount site, DepartmentOfGoods.com, sell discounted clothing and gear from past seasons. Backcountry’s one-deal-at-a-time sites, SteepandCheap.com, WhiskeyMilitia.com, Tramdock.com, Chainlove.com, BonkTown.com and Brociety.com, feature a limited quantity of one highly discounted item at a time until such item sells out or times out, at which time it is immediately replaced with a new item. SteepandCheap.com serves backcountry adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts. WhiskeyMilitia.com appeals to skateboarders, surfers, snowboarders and wakeboarders. Tramdock.com is for resort, park, pipe and big mountain freeride skiers. Chainlove.com is geared toward mountain bikers. BonkTown.com sells road bike gear. Brociety.com offers gear and clothing to snowboarders and other action sports enthusiasts.
Backcountry’s business is seasonal, with approximately 50% of its revenue earned in the fourth quarter. Backcountry stores and ships all inventory from its distribution centers, located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Staffing for the customer service center and warehouse is scalable, and Backcountry employs seasonal labor to react to higher volume during peak periods of the year.
The sales data is really interesting, as it underscores the importance of holiday shopping. I think the separate websites probably has more to do with branding than with website optimization, but it certainly doesn’t hurt with search engines.
-E
Talk