By Jim Stanford on February 17, 2010
Cloudveil products have been developed by skiing and climbing bums. Gear is named for local icons, and even the company is named for a Teton peak, Cloudveil Dome.
Will Cloudveil‘s famous “Inspired Mountain Apparel” continue to be inspired in Jackson Hole?
Cloudveil Mountain Works, the company founded in Wyoming by Steve Sullivan and Brian Cousins in 1997, has been sold by clothing manufacturer Spyder to a private equity firm in Connecticut, Windsong Brands LLC. The transition of ownership became effective yesterday.
The fate of the Jackson office is up in the air. Sullivan has resigned as company president as part of the deal.
“The heart and soul of the brand has always been in Jackson,” says Jim Reilly, head of the new company, Cloudveil Mountain Peak. “We’ll have to maintain that, but right now we have to have all our options open, from our side.”
As it grew from a small company to a major outdoor manufacturer, Cloudveil was sold first to Fila and then Spyder, and its Jackson staff has shrunk considerably in recent years. But the company retained its flagship store on Pearl Avenue and offices for core employees, as well as its signature: a maker of gear “designed and tested in Jackson Hole.”
Reilly is quite familiar with the brand and its roots in Jackson, having served as CEO of Cloudveil for a year under Fila’s ownership. He also was a board member of Spyder when it acquired Cloudveil. He lived in Jackson Hole for a year.
Flagship store on Pearl Avenue.
The new company will continue to have a “presence” in Jackson, Reilly says. “Theoretically and brandwise, yes. From a business standpoint, we’ll make that call.”
He plans to travel to Jackson Hole and sort out the company’s future here over the next few weeks. “We have not taken on the Jackson office as an ongoing entity,” he says. “We have the option of continuing the office in some form or another.”
Under Sullivan’s leadership, Cloudveil has played a prominent role in the community, supporting a host of nonprofits like 1 Percent for the Tetons, Campaign for the Snake Headwaters, Teton County Search and Rescue and the Teton Pass Ambassador program. (The annual Ambassador party with Friends of Pathways is slated for next Thursday, Feb. 25, at the Cloudveil store.)
The company’s clothing is ubiquitous in Jackson Hole, and as I wrote in an earlier post, has attracted a devoted following around the world, owing largely to its roots here.
Let’s hope that connection continues to be more than just an abstract idea.
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• Cloudveil news release (Feb. 17, 2009)
Whats the morning line/odds that store is gone by next year at this time?
Retail store is likely to stay, I bet.
But if the home base in Jackson Hole goes, Cloudveil becomes just another generic clothing company.
With co-founders Steve and Brian gone, Cloudveil will be lucky to survive as a low-end name brand. Look for Cloudveil at Target in the future.