Black Diamond may sell brands

By

Sarah Ahssen

Published
Mar 19, 2015

With the publication of its annual results, outdoor brands group Black Diamond announced that it has engaged the financial consulting services of the firms Rothschild Inc. and Robert W. Baird & Co. to "explore strategic paths for its brands Black Diamond, POC and PIEPS."

The announcement means that the US company may soon sell one or several of its brands, although no date has been set for the moment. "Over the last 15 months, we’ve taken a series of actions to significantly increase the growth of our brands and to reduce our costs," said Black Diamond president Warren Kanders.

In July and September 2012, the group bought POC, the Swedish protective equipment brand (body armor, helmets, masks, gloves...) and Pieps, an Austrian brand dedicated to alpine safety equipment.

For its 2014 fiscal year, Black Diamond saw sales grow by 15% to 181 million euros (193.1 million dollars).