Sea to Summit, a global adventure equipment brand headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, announced the acquisition of the company’s long-time North American distribution partner. The acquisition will be finalized on April 30, 2020 and will retain all 50-plus North American staff and continue to operate as normal at the company’s current location in Boulder, Colo.
Since 1998, Sea to Summit has been exclusively distributed in North America by an independent company under the ownership and management of Andrew and Shelley Dunbar. With the acquisition, Sea to Summit plans to fully integrate the North American team and operations into the company’s global brand strategy, facilitating direct collaboration and leveraging synergies between the North American office and the global headquarters in Perth.
“As Sea to Summit continues to grow at a significant pace globally, we recognize the importance that the North American market has to the brand and we believe this is the right moment to establish a direct relationship with our US and Canadian retailers and consumers,” said Roland Tyson, founder and president of Sea to Summit. “I’d like to thank Andrew and Shelley for the strong foundation they have built for the brand in North America over the past 22 years.”
The leadership transition will be managed by Josh Simpson, who had previously worked as director of sales for North America from 2009 to 2018, and he will assume the role of North American general manager effective May 1.
“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved with Sea to Summit in North America,” said Andrew Dunbar “We are immensely grateful to the many retailers that trusted and supported us, and none of this could have happened without our talented and hard-working staff who’ve been key to our success over the years. We’re pleased that we could reach an agreement with Sea to Summit that ensures the team and operations we have built will be well supported into the future.”
Sea to Summit has become a globally recognized adventure equipment brand with more than 230 staff and offices in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Germany, and now in the U.S.
