American Recreation Products, the Boulder, Colo-based parent of outdoor gear and clothing brands including Kelty, Wenzel, Ultimate Directions and Sierra Designs, has been sold to Los Angeles-based Exxel Outdoors, a company known for its U.S.-based manufacturing and the parent of brands Suisse Sport, Master Sportsman, X20 and Ticla. The combined company will work under the name Exxel Outdoors, LLC, and be headquartered in Boulder.
The company will be headed up Exxel co-founders Harry Kazazian, as CEO, and Armen Kouleyan, as chairman. Brett Jordan, former CEO of American Recreation, will be president of Exxel, overseeing day-to-day operations. From there, each of the various brands will be managed independently, according to an announcement from Exxel.
The new company “will be able to leverage the global supply network of both former businesses, in addition to world class U.S. production expertise,” according to a joint statement.
“We are excited to partner with the entrepreneurs behind Exxel to create one of the strongest companies in the outdoor space,” Jordan said. “This is one of those rare times when both businesses are truly better together than apart and we couldn’t be happier for the employees, customers, and suppliers that will play a role in the future success of the Exxel Outdoors business.”
Kellwood Company, American Recreation’s former owner, purchased the company in 1988. Kellwood was then purchased by Sun Capital in 2008, and according to various reports, American Rec struggled some under Sun Capital, which forced a re-organization that combined resources and staff across brands, resulting in layoffs. Sun also acquired ISIS, only to sell the brand a few years later, along with the sell off of its Royal Robbins brand. Terms of the sale to Exxel were not disclosed.
Kazazian has said that there will be “some displacement” among the employees of the two merging companies, but he expects a net gain in jobs once the company is complete. It’s also expected that some production for the former American Rec brands will be brought to the U.S.
