eply is
worth
waiting for.” (Click here to read our Jan. 13, 2010, story,
“Garland
exits Mad Rock citing internal differences.”)
Although
it took a bit more than two weeks, Garland revealed on Feb. 5 via a news
release to the climbing media and, we were told, retailers, distributors
and
other select recipients, that he was launching a new climbing company
called
Climb X.
While
the news itself was not so earthshaking, the manner in which it was
presented
certainly left more than a few industry readers confused. Based on the
release,
it appeared Climb X was taking over Mad Rock’s business operations.
Naturally, the blogosphere, email churn and more began to go into
overdrive,
simply passing along the news and sometimes adding to it with potential
misperceptions.
In
an attempt to sort out the kernels of truth amid the possible hyperbole,
rumor
and speculation bantered about, SNEWS launched an investigation,
including on
the ground at Germany’s ispo show going on this week, as well as by
phone, email and even fax (old school, we know).
Here is what we
uncovered:
It
is an undisputed fact that Garland has launched a new climbing company
with
global distribution aspirations called Climb X. It is registered in
Canada as
Climb-X Sports Inc., and the company has two trademarks approved for
ClimbX
recently registered in both Canada and the United States. Plus, it was
exhibiting at the ispo show in the Everest booth — the same booth as
Mad Rock.
Additionally,
neither Garland nor the new Climb X company have any rights to anything
owned
by Mad Rock, including materials, designs, trademarks, patents, product,
etc.
Mad Rock’s parent company is Nelson Sports, a California-registered
corporation owned by Young Chu.
As
for the information in the release — sent by the PR company Subrosa
Group of
Nurnberg, Germany, on behalf of Garland — it contains numerous errors
or
statements that can easily be miscontrued according to our research.
>>
The official Climb X news release began by stating: “Joseph Garland, a
founding member of Mad Rock Climbing since its inception in 2002 who
announced
his departure from the company in early January has returned to the
industry,
and is now working for Mad Rock’s parent company and
manufacturer.”
However,
that is not exactly true. Garland has never been an employee of Mad
Rock,
according to Chu. Even Garland acknowledged Nelson Sports owns Mad Rock
in a
Feb. 5 email to SNEWS where he stated, “The brand name Mad Rock has been
and as far as I know owned by Young Chu and Nelson Sports.”
So, Garland
is not working for Mad Rock’s parent company at all.
And,
while Garland may have been brought in as a contractor to oversee sales
and
marketing of the new Mad Rock brand around the time of its launch in
2002, calling
himself a founding member does appear to be stretching the limits of the
definition.
>>
The news release continued: “Three of Mad Rock’s original
partners: Alex Kim, Ken Kim and Joe Garland will continue the business
under
the new name ‘Climb X,’ with Joe Garland being named its new
President. Original Mad Rock President and partner Young Chu will retain
the
Mad Rock name, but is no longer a member of this group.”
While
Chu acknowledged to SNEWS in a phone interview that Alex Kim was, in
fact, made
a minority partner of the factory that Mad Rock set up in China, he was
not and
never has been a partner in the Mad Rock business or the Nelson Sports
business. Though Chu did not know who Ken Kim was, Garland confirmed to
SNEWS
by email that he was Alex Kim’s brother.
It
is also important to point out that neither Garland nor the Kim brothers
are
continuing any business of Mad Rock. They are, as Chu has detailed to
us,
simply launching a new company: Climb X. And, of course, Chu is
retaining the
Mad Rock name — since he owns the company.
>>
According to the Climb X news release: “Climb X will assume the
former
Mad Rock operation, its distributors, most of its sales reps,
international
staff, warehouse, factory & production, and product development
facility,
as well as its Chinese and international warehouse facilities.”
In
truth, Climb X is not assuming the former Mad Rock operations. Put
simply, it
is now manufacturing in the same factory in China that Mad Rock has
used,
Tianjin Hardstone Outdoor Co. Further, according to Chu, Mad Rock has
already
exited that facility in favor of a new factory that Chu had been setting
up in
Vietnam.
Chu told us that the company was waiting to announce the new
factory
until it was fully operational, but the news from Garland forced him to
go
public sooner. The factory is already producing chalk bags, crash pads
and
other softgoods, Chu told us, and will soon be producing climbing shoes
and
other Mad Rock gear. International warehousing has already been moved as
well.
In
a Feb. 5 news release posted to its website, Mad Rock (www.madrockclimbing.com)
officially announced the new factory for the first time: “Mad Rock
Climbing is happy to announce that the move from China to Vietnam was a
success.
Even though the transition was difficult, it was a necessary
move in
the face of overwhelming price increases in China. We will be able to
pass on
savings to the dealers and consumers while maintaining quality and
innovation,
which has been the cornerstone of Mad Rock’s philosophy.”
Any
statement about distributors and reps in the Climb X news release
appears a bit
premature. Of the five U.S. sales reps currently working for Mad Rock,
three
told SNEWS directly in interviews that they were continuing as Mad Rock
sales
reps. In addition — other than Everest, a German distributor with whom
Garland
apparently has a relationship — Kenny Suh, international sales and
marketing
manager for Mad Rock, told us by phone and email from ispo, as well as
in
personal conversations at the German show, that a majority of the
international
distributors currently working with Mad Rock will continue to work with
it.
Garland
disputed that assertion — so at this point, and since SNEWS has not
personally
spoken with a majority of the existing international distributors, the
issue of
which distributors are siding with which camp (Climb X or Mad Rock)
remains
unclear.
However, it is worth noting what one international business
expert
familiar with all the players and many key retailers currently selling
Mad Rock
told SNEWS: “Even if a distributor is a big fan of Garland, shifting
gears to jump on with a brand that consumers have no knowledge of or
experience
with in any market, especially in an economy that is still challenged in
most
countries, would be extremely risky. Mad Rock is a known entity and one
that is
trusted by retailers and consumers. Climb X, no matter how good it
promises to
be, is just a new brand with no sales or production track record.
However, if
Mad Rock stumbles for any reason in this next year, in deliveries or
quality
control from its new factory in Vietnam, the scenario could shift in
favor of
Climb X. Only time will tell on this issue.”
>>
The Climb X news release also stated: “Garland, who was responsible
for most of the newer products developed at Mad Rock, will be working
out of
offices in Portland, Oregon, with satellite offices in Munich, Germany
and
Beijing, China.”
Both
Chu and Suh told SNEWS that the claim by Garland that he was responsible
for
many of Mad Rock’s product design and development is simply not true.
In
a follow-up email to SNEWS where we asked him to clarify his roles at
Mad Rock
prior to his departure, Garland said nothing about being involved with
design
and asserted that he managed worldwide sales and marketing for the
company with
“the Brothers Alex and Ken on the factory, production and financing
side,
(and) Young Chu (as) middle man and sometime designer.”
Whether
or not Garland was involved in any aspect of design or production, this
much is
fact: Following an extensive search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office
website for any known or pending patents for Mad Rock or, in fact, for
any
other climbing product design for any other company, Garland’s name does
not appear. On the other hand, Chu holds four U.S. patents as an
inventor. The
first, for a climbing shoe with a concave sole for which the patent was
applied
on April 23, 2001 — before Garland ever joined the company and before
Mad Rock
was even formed. Another patent for a safety buckle, filed on April 24,
2004,
was granted Sept. 19, 2006, and another for a climbing shoe heel design
was
granted on March 14, 2006.
>>
The release from Climb X also stated: “Climb X stock will be
available
in early March for dealers and distributors from a relocated
distribution
center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The logistics of relocating the offices and
DC are
geared for quicker access to the merchandise for North American dealers,
and
paves the way for a deeper pool of qualified candidates for office
staff. The Las Vegas DC has the benefit of being one shipping day closer
to eastern customers, while giving identical ship times to all western
accounts
as Mad Rock’s Orange County distribution center.”
In
truth, the offices and distribution center are not being relocated, as
Garland
asserted. He is opening new offices and a distribution center in Las
Vegas, as
a result of supporting his new company launch — which has nothing to do
with
Mad Rock.
As
for quicker shipping times, a call to FedEx confirmed there really is no
advantage as both Orange County, California, and Las Vegas serve all
parts of
the country equally well and within the same timetable, east or west.
–Michael Hodgson
PHOTO: Ryan Olson
