GoLite going out of business sale

I received that email this morning and thought at first it was a scam. Turns out it is true that Golite has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. However, it sounds like they are looking to continue their business while getting rid of their current debt.

http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-business/ci_26750326/boulder-based-golite-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy-reorganization

Anyways, the deal is legit, and as the OP said, the website is excruciatingly slow.

The site isn't loading for me at all.

It loaded twenty minutes ago, but now it is not.

Men's can be directly load from a google search link but I can't get to anywhere else.

In my email inbox I have 20% off sale offers from Backcountry and REI, plus other discounts from Campsaver, Sierra Trading Post, Everest, EMS, and others. To paraphrase Linda Evangelista, I don't get out of bed for just 20% off. And that's with return / warranty policies that can be honoured.

I'm sure there will be a frenzy in the stores and online (whenever the website recovers) for a couple of days, but really GoLite (or rather the liquidation company who paid 60 cents on the dollar) – a measly 20% discount? Thanks, but I'll pass on that 'deal'.

I agree, 20% is weak for a liquidation. I will wait and see if the discount gets better.

20% is fairly meager but reality is, this is it for the existing stock for good. GoLite was a introductory brand for me many years ago as I tiptoed into UL, and I’m sorry to see it go. They continue to produce some items of niche interest for me, but nothing that I either don’t have or can’t find frankly better made and lighter from myriad cottage alternatives. Ron Bell had a nice (pre) postmortem on GoLite that put the company in its proper perspective. Anyway, it may be only 20% off but I suspect there’s a lot less inventory left than you might think. Grab it if you want it.

+1 – I'm not understanding the glut of 20% offers at the moment, and having a tough time balancing urges with reality. I guess 20% is the new "normal", as they say.

"Ron Bell had a nice (pre) postmortem on GoLite that put the company in its proper perspective."

Can you reprint it here for those of us without FB?

Somebody else reposted Ron's comments on this thread:

http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/gear/golite-gone/64521.html

That's too bad. They made nice products for the price point.

Wow, that came as a surprise! It is sad news–made even sadder by the fact that I failed to pull the trigger on a Shangri-La 2 last week and now they're sold out!

Ironic isn't it. Not enough sales to support the business model but now that they have nothing in stock we are kicking ourselves.

My understanding is that a big part of the collapse is supply issues. It's hard to establish a strong customer base when products are always going in and out of stock, and may not reappear for several weeks to months.

Golite owes it's suppliers a ton of cash so the reason that items weren't available was because they weren't paying their bills. Eventually the suppliers go to COD terms and unless Golite had an operating line and hadn't broken any debt covenants with their bank, it was the beginning of the end. Once the suppliers stop selling, the banks start to call their loans via their GSA in place.

Too bad. I'm kind of shocked, I was in the Boulder flagship store last fall and chatted with the associates, they all seemed to think everything was going well, including the Outlet Store I visited later on that trip.

I have a 50 and a 70 Jam, bought earlier at deep discount, and I've been really pleased with both. Their $15 collapsible pocket umbrellas are the best Travel umbrellas anywhere. I liked their Tumalo jacket, although I already had too many similar jackets to justify buying another.

Lots of good Internet postmortem's out there. Every time I wanted to buy something it was always out of stock, with no indication when (if ever) it would be back in stock. Eventually you just give up and buy from a competing retailer, and I'm sure that has to have been a constant problem for Golite. Call center folks were very helpful, but even they were not provided with any info on when an item would be restocked. In retail, that's inexcusable, because management knows its delivery schedules.

I'm reading stories today that the CEO is widely reported to be an arrogant, condescending and 'difficult', surrounded by yes-men cronies. That never helps.

When I was visiting the Golite retail stores (my first time) a year ago I was astonished at how huge a square footage they were. Lots of (expensive) wasted space compared to an REI or other outdoor store.
The 'compare at' pricing always felt gimmicky. When they made it a permanent feature, it was always annoying. JC Penney and others have tried and very publicly failed with similar pricing gimmicks so I'm surprised Golite clung stubbornly to it right to the end.

The website was always a problem. Only one single photo of each item, a weird drop-down menu box for the Specs, very sparse and incomplete descriptions. It was like Golite had never visited the ULA website (for example), or more likely just didn't care.
The vast geographic majority of Golite's market does not live near any of its Western retail stores, so for most shoppers the online retail site Specs is all they know of the products. That has to have hurt them, a lot. And then when you did decide to buy, they were always out of stock.

Their clothing gear also came in the same 'trademark' colors that, often, did not appeal to me for hiking/camping use.

Their whole 'running' and 'lifestyle' apparel line never appealed to me, and never made sense. Tights are a commodity you can get anywhere, including WalMart and Target, at dirt cheap prices. Why would anyone shop Golite for tights and T-shirts?

By contrast they offered a really nice line of UL airline rollaboard bags that could have been a huge success, but they never even tried promoting those to the (enormous) travel market. If you weren't already browsing the website for backpacks, you'd never know their airline bags even existed. And the bags weren't even on display in the retail stores I visited. That's a missed opportunity, a path-never-pursued that could have been hugely successful. Those airline bags were always out of stock, too.

I totally get that there are a very limited number of true UL enthusiasts, and it's a very sporadic demographic ( often limited funds, and a pack or tent lasts for years, so it's not for most people an annual buy) and that at some point you've sold all the $100-$300 UL gear items possible to everyone who wants one. Then you cast around for new products, and the path of least resistance seems to be to follow Eddie Bauer, LL Bean etc into 'general casual' mainstream leisure clothing. Stuff to wear for sitting on the couch and watching TV.
And that's a heavily overcrowded, viciously competitive market already. Even diehard-UL types who want an everyday cotton flannel plaid shirt are going to buy that for $12 at Target or Wal-Mart or wherever, not for $35 from Golite, plus shipping.

Lots of 'what were they thinking?' questions.

Not sure whether Timberland's management is part of the problem here. For Golite's CEO to literally sell the Golite brand name to one of his competitors seems mind-numbingly stupid. Timberland would seem to benefit from its somewhat-overlapping competitor Golite going away.

I imagine most of us are very fond of Golite and I wish them well. I hope they manage to reorganize and make a comeback, but right now that's not looking a very likely path. Too bad. I was planning to get back out to their retail stores next Spring. Looks like that won't be possible now.

Golite, thanks for some good gear over the years, and for helping make UL possible for non-DIYers like myself who were never going to sew a Ray Jardine pattern. Thanks, good luck, and I'm going to miss you as time goes by.

WEBSITE UPDATE: Currently the website is back up. Predictably, there doesn't seem to be much in stock online. An outside liquidation company is handling the sales including all the retail store fixtures. If I lived near a Golite store I'd hit it now.

I'd think speaking to the Call Center would be the best approach to mail order. It's possible they have (or will have) more actual inventory than the website indicates…sometimes these liquidation workers are just randomly opening warehouse boxes.

I wonder whether Montbell are taking notes. On a recent video Craig Delger at Prolite Gear mentioned MB were planning to stop distributing their product to web retailers in early 2015. All internet sales would be channelled through Montbell.us

Montbell only have two retail stores in the US, so they don't have the same degree of exposure as Golite. But their website is just as quirky as golite.com if not more so.

del

So glad that the stars aligned last year and I was able to catch a Z30 quilt for $179 on the website. This is one of my favorite pieces of gear and I've been impressed with it's design and execution. I would have bought from GoLite again in the future. Too bad, but you can't make money on product that you don't have in stock.

There are several items I went to the website to buy from Golite just in the last 18 months…but they were always out of stock.

Too bad. Store staff were very likeable. Call center staff were really helpful, knowledgable & nice. Must have been frustrating for them not to be supplied with re-stock date forecasts by management. Basic Retail 101.

I've been in the Montbell retail store on Pearl Street in Boulder, just down from Golite. MB jackets aren't proportioned well for me, and a little pricey compared to the competition. Nice to physically handle their stuff, though.

Hopefully MB will not follow Golite's example and open 20 gigantic retail stores in pricey locations.

SAD to see Golite go under. Love the products I bought. Had wondered what was going on with them a year ago. Limited supply of things for a long time.

Support Cottage vendors and smaller companies first. They are the innovators and put out excellent products.

I emailed GoLite's customer service asking about the future of warranty coverage, and here's the response I received:

Until we are able to secure investment to re-open, all sales are final, as-is, and no warranty.
If we are able to re-open next year, which is our going plan, we will absolutely honor full warranty on all regular purchases.

It might still be a long shot, but it sounds like they haven't given up just yet.

Just tried the Golite site. All the UL gear is gone. Only the 50L Quest mainstream pack is left in Gear.

Everything left online is that overpriced suburban Target casual mall-school apparel. Plaid cotton shirts for $40, etc.

Had to laugh. They are keeping their overpriced-comparison pricing model right through the Liquidation.

I'll miss their good stuff, though.