The Cottonwood Heights specialty retailer’s entry into brand incubation adds a new layer to its CSC Generation-backed expansion, which has already brought in three acquisitions since mid-2025.
The premium specialty retailer Backcountry has extended its role in the outdoor market with the launch of Backcountry Garage, an innovation platform and brand incubator for emerging outdoor brands. The Cottonwood Heights, Utah-based specialty retailer announced the initiative on April 14, pairing it with the acquisition of Coalatree, a Utah-based eco-oriented gear and apparel brand, as the program’s first deal.
Coalatree retains DTC focus while expanding onto Backcountry.com
The arrangement preserves Coalatree’s existing direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel, allowing the brand to retain what its leadership describes as a community-driven identity. A selection of its products – including the Trailhead Pants and Kachula adventure blankets – will also become available on Backcountry.com, extending reach without absorbing the brand into the parent operation. No acquisition terms were disclosed.
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Three deals in less than a year
The Backcountry Garage announcement is the latest move in a sequence of acquisitions since CSC Generation Enterprise – the group that also owns Sur La Table, One Kings Lane and Touch of Modern – took over Backcountry in September 2024. In July 2025, Backcountry acquired Level Nine Sports, a value-positioned outdoor retailer operating in Millcreek and Ogden, Utah. That deal was quickly followed by the purchase of Velotech Inc., parent of cycling retailers BikeTiresDirect, Western Bikeworks and TriSports.
Incubator model opens a new growth avenue beyond channel rollup
What separates Backcountry Garage from the earlier acquisitions is its stated ambition: not buying established competitors or extending geographic reach, but funding and scaling founders at an earlier stage. The program is already accepting pitches – interested brands can submit through a public form on the Backcountry site.
