Jackson Kayaks has been on a buying spree of late, purchasing such venerable paddlesports brands as Werner Paddles, Kialoa Paddles, and Eddyline sea kayaks and bringing them into the fold at their Sparta, Tenn., headquarters. The move makes sense, with efficiencies and economies of scale at play, as well as one involving brands with a similar passion and mission of helping people get out on the water. We caught up with CMO Jason Michelotti, who previously worked for such brands as Gerber, Yeti, Sitka and more, for some more insight into how the combined operations are going.
How’s it going managing the three brands?
It’s going really well. What’s working is that the brands are strong individually but also have a shared identity. We want to maximize that, but also ensure they maintain their own personality. And it’s great that they’re all now back to being made in America. Our owner, Tony Lunt, who has backed Jackson Kayak since its inception, has continued to provide the resources necessary for these brands to be successful and not be restrained by the return on investment requirements that come with private equity infusion, which has regrettably damaged brands in our industry.
I’ve been a part of exceptional brands for the past 25 years and it is really hard to grow one brand. They’re all exceptional brands — Jackson, Werner, Kialoa, and Eddyline — so we have to be able to capitalize on that with each of them. Whether it’s overcoming Covid or the post-Covid decline, we need to prioritize maintaining and/or reinvigorating their place in the market. They’re all arguably number one in their category.
Are there shared values throughout all the brands?
When I worked at Yeti the red thread that connected every aspect of the brand was “Never settle.” This thread at Jackson is “pursuing joy through kayaking.” If you look at all our acquisitions, they all follow this same thread—exceptional products that help people “pursue joy through kayaking.” It extends through all our brands and pursuits. One of the biggest challenges is how do we come in and prioritize these brands to make them independently successful? We can’t lose the reason we bought them, because each one is a storied brand in itself. In my previous roles at brands like Gerber, we bought brands and tried to “Gerberize” them and make them fit the Gerber mold, which didn’t always work. We don’t want to do that here. We need to accentuate the elements that have allowed each of these brands to be industry leaders while providing opportunities for efficiency where relevant.
I think there’s great shared values between the brands. And the Lunt family is the embodiment of that. Tony has always believed in the power of kayaking and our core belief that people should “pursue joy through kayaking.” Consumers do it for all of our brands. And all four words really matter: pursuing joy through kayaking. It’s a pursuit you’re always striving for with kayaking being fundamental to personal happiness, health and joy. When you look at all these brands, what connects them all is that their product—the boat or paddle —is what’s allowing people to pursue joy through kayaking.
Has it been easy to assimilate them into your operations?
It hasn’t been easy. Whether it’s carbon, thermoform, or rotomold, each one has its own nuances. There are decades of tribal knowledge that go into all of them. Some of that was retained with the purchase, but some also got lost in the transition. Each brand has the knowledge of making the product, the material relationships, the inventory, and the supply. If it were easy, we’d have one conveyor belt where roto, thermos, and carbon all come out. But it’s not like that. We have independent sections of our warehouse, dedicated to each. For example, the wood shafts for Kialoa have their own area and team. As much as there are efficiencies, there are very specific roles to building all of them. It’s a blend of science and art, and not an easy process. We also have Orion coolers, as well as contract manufacturing as a third-party vendor, which we have to juggle.
What are some of the challenges you’re facing?
Obviously, we’re going through tough times as a industry, and we’re hoping it reaches a point of stabilization. We also hope to see retail start to stabilize. We’re seeing specialty shops going out of business across the country, and not just in paddling. We, and all brands in general, need a diversified income portfolio and a healthy distribution network. But I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re reaching a point of healthfulness. It’s hard to watch some of these specialty shops going out of business, which also had a shared objective of helping consumers pursue joy through kayaking.
Part of our challenge is also maintaining innovation for each brand, and where do you want to invest limited dollars? We need to make sure each brand has a sustainable, competitive advantage in the industry, and that they continue their leadership in the space. Brands like Eddyline didn’t choose to sell because everything was going great. It has been difficult getting products from Mexico back to being made in the US. With that transition, we need to deliver elite-level product on time to our retail partners and consumers, that’s expected of us. At Jackson, we need to grow our narrative back into fishing. The answer isn’t by channel or brand. It’s how do we reach and maintain a sustainable, competitive advantage? And I think we can get there.
Any cross-pollination with your retail networks among the brands?
Distribution-wise, Werner has been one of the biggest success stories for us. We have Jackson partners that carry Werner and vice versa, and the same with Eddyline. And Werner has been the biggest catalyst for a lot of cross over we’ve been able to take advantage of. We have partners that are adding categories that didn’t have those categories in the past. At the same time, the brands each have their separate identity as well, and we respect that. A case in point is some of our athletes. Industry icons like Nouria Newman paddle for Werner, but not for Jackson, and that’s fine. We aren’t about to go try and change that.
What’s your take on tradeshows these days?
I think tradeshows still have a purpose in that they’re a great place for shaking hands and meeting people, which is still super important. But there is a difficulty in justifying that through sales. The hard part is equating and justifying the expense of it to sales. But it’s certainly great to get together with all your peers in the industry and learn from each other.
How are things going with Jackson?
We’re extremely proud of the Jackson family name. It’s become a brand. Having Emily in our day-to-day operations and Dane as the world’s greatest kayaker and just an unbelievable person is so important. Then you add Clay, Nick, Stephen, and everyone else and it’s just a great team. They continue to be stewards of the brand as we move forward. And they’re the embodiment of our dedication to kayaking.
It seems that a shared passion and mission is important for all the brands?
They’re all great brands that embody the emotion that’s being represented by them individually. That’s what most brands lose from consolidation. If we’re successful, we will be about the emotion that is shared with our consumers when they use our products. Werner’s helping do that through its Healthy Waters Initiative, and Jackson through its Rios to Rivers program. They’re all doing what it takes to maintain that competitive, sustainable advantage and are the embodiment of “pursuing joy through kayaking.” We need to ensure that “pursuing joy through kayaking” is our North Star and guiding light in everything we do. We also need to be the leader in product innovation, education, and customer service. It’s all about helping people get in the right boats.