Bronco Filson Road Tour - All Cities List

[JustWideman]

Maybe Filson will have enough pull to get an Off Roadeo location in the NW quadrant of the US.

Filson being acquired by private equity who love cutting costs adding a new expenditure like that does not seem likely unless it is just licensing their name like they did with Ford whom was going to make trucks anyways.

PNW seems obvious for a Roadeo, but wonder why Ford has not. Land price, environmental laws or something has kept them from planting a flag there. Bronco seems like the perfect vehicle for wet/muddy states like OR/WA with scenic forests and rugged coastline views. I am hoping to take mine there this fall.

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[HalfmuleFarmer]

PNW seems obvious for a Roadeo, but wonder why Ford has not. Land price, environmental laws or something has kept them from planting a flag there. Bronco seems like the perfect vehicle for wet/muddy states like OR/WA with scenic forests and rugged coastline views. I am hoping to take mine there this fall.

Maybe it’s just not a great sales base. In my experience up there, both in Seattle and Portland, the metro areas are very eco-conscious and nerdy, while the eastern parts of the states tend to be struggle economically. So maybe the city folks don’t want or need a Bronco and the rural folks can’t afford one. Big generalization, I know, but I wouldn’t be shocked if PNW sales aren’t great compared to the mountain west and south.

 

[ThunderFlash]

Are these the Bronco/Filson swag patches they are handing out to attendees? They look awful.

They are. They not the highest quality patch, but not too bad. The "C" in Bronco looks like an "O" and the "R" looks like an "A". Baonoo!

These are the stickers. There may have been a few others.

 

[McG]

Those patches were most likely created by a patch shop down the road as a last minute add-on

 

[ThunderFlash]

I was at my local Costco yesterday (San Diego) and they had Filson backpacks for about $160.

Filson being acquired by private equity who love cutting costs adding a new expenditure like that does not seem likely unless it is just licensing their name like they did with Ford whom was going to make trucks anyways.

Private Equity could explain a lot. The $160 Costco bag and this Filson Bronco made me think, "Hum, sounds like they are selling out the name." No better way to do that than buy an average $40 bag made overseas, sew a name on it, add a $160 price tag at Costco, and people say "Wow, I think these things usually sell for around $300, I'm buying it!" Then it falls apart in a year or two. The exposure of having your name tattooed on a nice Bronco helps to get far more mainstream.

Seemed the Filson bags at the store were very well made with really heavy canvas materials and metal zippers that were hella stout. They were giving away a bag with $350+ purchases. THAT bag was nice, but did not seem to be completely on par with the bag that sold for $300.

 

[McG]

If Filson was just purchased by private equity then once current stock is gone everything replacing it will be made much much much cheaper... I'm not aware of any PE firm acquiring something and actually improving it.

Name brands used to mean quality and decadence. Now it just means it was in a TV show and everyone has to wear something with the name on it, quality be damned. I don't think anything currently sold by Filson looks all that good and if they really are ran by PE then nope, staying away from that with a long ass nope-stick.

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

If Filson was just purchased by private equity then once current stock is gone everything replacing it will be made much much much cheaper... I'm not aware of any PE firm acquiring something and actually improving it.

Name brands used to mean quality and decadence. Now it just means it was in a TV show and everyone has to wear something with the name on it, quality be damned. I don't think anything currently sold by Filson looks all that good and if they really are ran by PE then nope, staying away from that with a long ass nope-stick.

They were purchased 21 years ago by one group who brought in new execs. Purchased again and taken international in 2012. Same ownership since then. Nothing “just” happened with them.

 

[JustWideman]

They were purchased 21 years ago by one group who brought in new execs. Purchased again and taken international in 2012. Same ownership since then. Nothing “just” happened with them.

My bad, they used to be PE owned, now privately owned and part of Fossil brand umbrella, but last sold back in 2012 if AI search is to trusted. Gonna check out Costco to see if any bags are sold in Texas.

 

[ThunderFlash]

PNW seems obvious for a Roadeo, but wonder why Ford has not. Land price, environmental laws or something has kept them from planting a flag there. Bronco seems like the perfect vehicle for wet/muddy states like OR/WA with scenic forests and rugged coastline views. I am hoping to take mine there this fall.

Maybe it’s just not a great sales base. In my experience up there, both in Seattle and Portland, the metro areas are very eco-conscious and nerdy, while the eastern parts of the states tend to be struggle economically. So maybe the city folks don’t want or need a Bronco and the rural folks can’t afford one. Big generalization, I know, but I wouldn’t be shocked if PNW sales aren’t great compared to the mountain west and south.

Hard to talk about this without at least flirting with banned topics. I will say there is a lot of wealth here still, at least for the moment. There is also still hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, climbing, skiing, logging, farming, etc....and many, many miles of forest service roads and public lands.

Recently I've noticed a significant increase in the local Bronco population as well. So maybe there is hope for an Off Roadeo in our quadrant. Eastern Washington or Idaho could be great candidates. Maybe even pull some of them whacky Canucks down here to attend, eh.

There is a pretty strong gear head car/truck community here, too. I'm not associated with either of these events other than I love attending them. Both of these recurring events are terrific if you're ever in the Puget Sound Area.

https://cruizncole.org/cruise-schedule/

https://www.facebook.com/binfordsfieldofdreams/

 

[McG]

They were purchased 21 years ago by one group who brought in new execs. Purchased again and taken international in 2012. Same ownership since then. Nothing “just” happened with them.

Well it appears its privately owned, so my rant is mostly just my grumblings against private equity.

 

[ThunderFlash]

They were purchased 21 years ago by one group who brought in new execs. Purchased again and taken international in 2012. Same ownership since then. Nothing “just” happened with them.

My bad, they used to be PE owned, now privately owned and part of Fossil brand umbrella

Well it appears its privately owned, so my rant is mostly just my grumblings against private equity.

I'm personally suspicious of any company that ends up in a "portfolio".

 

[McG]

Facts

 

[JustWideman]

I'm personally suspicious of any company that ends up in a "portfolio".

Marketing buzz words "international" "e-commerce", "casual wear" i.e chasing trends and low cost products to sell at Costco and higher end stuff to sell at their retail shops. It's like Ferrari making EVs to please everyone for a few more $$$. The generationally wealthy lumber jack is a very small addressable market.

 

[Wyld2dr]

ABG and PVH own a ton of brands and license the name out to anyone that wants to pay.

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

I'm personally suspicious of any company that ends up in a "portfolio".

I hear you. But it’s a hyper-competitive world out there, and this is an American company, founded in 1897, which makes high quality stuff, in a market flooded with cheaply-made crap. I’m sure they’re working hard to just stay alive with today’s challenging economic environment. I have two pieces I’ve bought over the last 20 years. Both are quality. All I can really attest to.

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