Golite Ressurection. Jinkies, Shaggy.

> Suppliers start out asking for payment in advance. After a while, when there is an established business relationship, suppliers will start manufacturing and shipping on credit, basically, trusting that the client will continue to pay its bills. This lets the brand place larger orders, so the manufacturer gets more business, but there is a risk on both sides if something happens and the brand can't sell its goods. The supplier trades larger orders for a non-zero risk they won't be paid.

There is no legal or implied "investment" relationship between supplier and distributor. There is/can certainly be trust but it's just wrong to call it investment. Suppliers and distributors agree on a price per unit and the payment schedule is up to the two parties to establish but there's nothing "investment" about it. Wikipedia defines investment as "time, energy, or matter spent in the hope of future benefits actualized within a specified date or time frame." I've never heard of any sort of "we hope you can pay us for the work that we did for you." There nothing "hopeful" in the supplier/distributor relationship beyond that the relationship volume grows over time and both parties benefit from selling goods into the marketplace. Work is done and money is paid either up front or when goods are delivered. GoLite went out of business owing $3.6 million dollars to suppliers in Asia. The fact that said suppliers had no access to GoLite assets in US bankruptcy court doesn't absolve Coup et al. from the moral obligation to pay those suppliers.

-H

"There is no legal or implied "investment" relationship between supplier and distributor."

Yep. Almost always there is a contract between the parties. GoLite broke their contracts.

"The fact that said suppliers had no access to GoLite assets in US bankruptcy court doesn't absolve Coup et al. from the moral obligation to pay those suppliers."

+ infinity

Who would of ever guessed year round sales dont work?

As far as screwing their suppliers out of millions. They obviously live in never never land because thats a lot of money to owe someone. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night in fear of being fitted for some concrete boots.

That said, I am willing to bet you could pick up some patterns and materials for next to nothing. I bet they take Go-Visa.

> Am I the only one that finds it morally strange that they fail to pay a whole bunch
> of people several million dollars, then have the gumption to start up another
> similar company? Leveraging on their old company name? With bold claims in their
> facebook page about "just getting some capital, then we'll start opening stores in
> 3-6 months"?

This is pretty common in the US. Many entrepreneurs have multiple failed businesses under their belt before one succeeds. Investors and business partners always assume risk when working with others. Unfortunately, this was a pretty big one where it was likely assumed by the parties that GoLite was operating in a more responsible fashion.

There is no morality in business. It's a dog-eat-dog world and you play by the legal rules, not the moral ones. Businesses make money by stepping on each other – just the way it works. If this irks you, you don't want to see what happens in the financial world.

" I am willing to bet you could pick up some patterns and materials for next to nothing"
Safe bet…
Golite Imogene 2 :

Alpkit Ordos 2 :

“There is no morality in [big] business.”

Chew on this –

“General Motors Co will not have to face dozens of lawsuits accusing it of concealing an ignition-switch defect that has been blamed for more than 200 deaths and serious injuries, a U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled on Wednesday.

“The decision by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber means GM may avoid potentially billions of dollars in liability, as well as the cost of defending those lawsuits …”

Details Here.

All this makes me think of Ray Jardine (who was recently knocked elsewhere on BPL) who, as the story goes, was approached by Coup w/ the idea of launching Golite on Ray's ideas & designs. Jardine was clear about having ZERO interest in being in the industry, for all his many reasons. Well I wonder how much this confirms his suspicions / proves his point…

re GM
wow, that one has got to be appealed! seems like that coverup borders on Fraud, which ought not to be covered by BK.

…more proof that you get as much justice as you can afford in the usa! Think OJ in '94 vs OJ today.

As a patent attorney, I work with business startups all the time. It is a risky way to make a living, and many end up going broke in the process. Its not immoral, its just the nature of start up businesses. You give it a try, maybe fail, and often you start over a little wiser. They had good products and I bought many items from their Boise store. The quality was fine, and the price was cheaper than REI.

I don't know what made Golight go broke, but I saw it in their Boise store when they moved to a slick and huge new mall in the area. Shoppers were there to buy consumer crap like clothes and shoes, not backpacking stuff. People would walk in the door, look around, turn around and leave. Their previous location was less mall-like, a downtown location.

If they start over again, I say more power to them and best wishes. Business is risky, and business owners may have several failures before they succeed. What is immoral is if you know you are not going to pay the bill for something, but order supplies or services anyway, counting on previous good will to make the vendor trust you to pay. I don't know that they did that.

http://www.cuttingedgecapital.com/mytrailcompany/

Lightweight gear, cut out the middle man, e-commerce site, sleek physical store locations…..That business model sounds eerily familiar.

Ryan

The rules as I was taught by my mother when I was 3 years old are:

You make a deal. You live up to the deal.

I don't remember the part about lawyers.