More and more companies are announcing their intention to participate in the inevitable, further consolidation of the outdoor sector. Joining the likes of Vista Outdoor, Samsonite, Wolverine Worldwide and others, an American investment company based in New York, Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherill & Co. (BRS), shared its interest in further acquisitions of outdoor companies.
Unlike those big players and some others, BRS, which entered the sector in December 2012 with the takeover of Royal Robbins, is going after small companies with a turnover ranging from $7 million to $40 million, but with strong potential for further development.
Meanwhile, BRS is investing heavily in Royal Robbins. This American brand, which is particularly strong in the women's segment, but is more functional than Prana, is generating an annual turnover of only about $30 million. According to Stephen Sherill, managing director and co-founder of BRS, it can be three times bigger. His 28-year-old son, Stephen Sherill jr., works at Royal Robbins as special assistant to its new chief executive, Michael Millenacker.
Millenacker will also sit on the board of directors of BRS Outdoor Holdings, a subsidiary of BRS that also acquired two years ago a stake in Evolv Sports & Design, to help in the overall development of the group's outdoor segment. Evolv is described as a nice little brand of approach shoes for rock climbing, based in California. It is still led by one of its founders, Brian Chung. Evolv's climbing shoes continue to be developed in cooperation with Chris Sharma, the charismatic American climber who acts as a testimonial for Prana, Sanuk, Walltopia and Buff.
BRS Outdoor also owns Gamo Outdoors, a Spanish-based manufacturer of airguns and other outdoor accessories. It bought last September two American producers of archery products, New Archery Products and Quikfletch. BRS has also recently acquired other companies in the broader sports sector. It bought last January a chain of fitness clubs, Eos Fitness.
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