UKC

Well that's the end of an era...

https://www.facebook.com/WildCountryClimbing/photos/a.106843213594/10155914...

https://betaoutdoorsports.com/climb/brands

To be honest, I struggled to understand the industry-speak on the Fb link:

We’re excited to announce we have partnered with Beta Outdoor Sports to offer a new route to market in the UK. Wild Country was founded in the Peak District, and the components of our first Friends were manufactured in Sheffield. Beta not only offers a sales solution in the UK but also gives our brand a UK base close to its roots. We’ve known the members of the Beta team through the trade for many years now and we’re extremely excited to have confirmed a new working relationship with them.

For all of our loyal UK customers this means the products you have come to trust and love will be more readily available at your favorite local Wild Country retailers.

Still, the good news is that they've put up a new route somewhere, and they've found a solution to their sales problem! Is that right?

Industry speak translated: We have now completed moving Wild Country in it's entirety to Italy where the owner company is located. Hardly any UK staff now employed and they are using a UK distributor to retain market share in the UK.

For me it's sad to see the company do this. WC was one of the greatest UK mountaineering manufacturers of all time and it's a shame that it's no longer british.

I had actually presumed that there no UK staff for Wild Country anymore, hence going to an agency like Beta which is a separate company that works as the importer and distributor for lots of brands.

It is sad I suppose, although with Extremities, Terra Nova and Wild Country Tents all getting spun off over the years I suppose company's structure has always evolved.

Expect lots, lots more of this kind of thing from March next year and leading up to it.  No EU country will want to have significant parts of its operation in the UK any more.

Not really Brexit related this one, it has slowly been happening over the last few years and I guess it was inevitable, but still sad to see. There is a knowledge base that has been lost in the UK with that move.

I agree, but I think we will see a LOT more of it if Brexit involves leaving the Customs Union.