Yeti (American company)

YETI
Private
Founded 2006
Founders Ryan and Roy Seiders
Headquarters Austin, Texas, USA
Products Coolers, drinkware, gear
Website www.yeti.com

YETI is an Austin, Texas-based manufacturer of outdoor lifestyle products such as ice chests, vacuum-insulated stainless-steel drinkware, soft coolers, and related accessories.[1]

History

Brothers Ryan and Roy Seiders grew up in Driftwood, Texas and spent their entire childhood outdoors. Their father was an entrepreneur who designed and built fishing rods. Ryan graduated from Texas A&M University in 1996 and Roy graduated from Texas Tech University in 2000.[2]

Roy, an angler and hunter, began his career making custom boats for fishing the Texas Gulf Coast after graduating from Texas Tech.[3] In 2006, Ryan sold Waterloo Rods, the company he had owned and operated for nine years.[4] The avid outdoorsmen became frustrated with the quality of the coolers available and founded YETI that same year to invent their own high-end cooler in response.

In June 2012, two-thirds stake of the company was purchased by private equity firm Cortec Group for $67 Million.[5][6]

In July 2016, the company filed with the Security and Exchange Commission for an Initial Public Offering with plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the "YETI" symbol.[7] The company was seeking a valuation of $5 billion and hoped to raise $100 Million, but retracted the IPO two years later, in March 2018, citing "market conditions".[8][9]

On April 20, 2018, the National Rifle Association issued a letter to members saying that Yeti had stopped doing business with The NRA.[10] This coincided with the 2018 NRA boycott following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Objections from NRA members included destroying Yeti coolers with guns and explosives. Yeti issued a public statement on April 23 denying they were severing ties with the NRA, and calling the NRA's statement inaccurate. The statement explained that the company had contacted various organizations "eliminating a group of outdated discounting programs" and had offered the NRA Foundation a customization program also offered to other organizations and consumers. Yeti said that it was unwavering in its commitment to the Second Amendment.[11] On April 24 the NRA disputed Yeti's statement, explaining that Yeti had instructed the NRA to remove the Yeti name and logo from all digital assets, and had delivered a notice terminating an agreement that was in place for 7 years.[11][12]

On May 8, 2018, the NRA announced that they had distributed 100,000 free stickers, with the phrase "I Stand with the NRA Foundation", during their annual meeting that took place in Dallas, Texas. The NRA promotion urged Yeti cooler owners to cover the Yeti logo, rather than destroy the coolers.[13]

Products

The company targets niche markets of high-end hunting and fishing enthusiasts.[14] YETI sponsored professional outdoorsmen[15] and hunting and fishing shows.[16] YETI is also a primary sponsor of PBR bull riding.

Coolers

YETI's "Tundra" series of coolers ranges from 20 quarts to 350 quarts. The Tundra line can be locked with two padlocks, making it certified bear resistant according to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.[17]

YETI also makes soft-sided coolers called the "Hopper" series.

Other products

YETI sells drinkware products under the "Rambler" line ranging from 10-ounce to 36-ounces in size.[18] The company also makes an ice bucket called the "YETI Tank".

Sales

YETI sells their products in over 6,000 retailers such as West Marine, Bass Pro, Cabelas, REI, and Dicks Sporting Goods. YETI’s earnings in 2015 were $14.2 million and in 2016 are $72.2 million.[19] YETI's sales have increased from $147.7 million in 2015 to $468.9 million in 2016.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Speaking of YETI". Angling Trade. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ Saporito, Bill. "How Two Brothers Turned a $300 Cooler Into a $450 Million Cult Brand". inc.com. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Playing it Cool: The Founders of YETI Coolers". ATXMan. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  4. ↑ "The Most Expensive, Bear-Proof, Thief-Baiting Way to Keep Your Beer Cold". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  5. ↑ Jarzemsky, Matt (24 September 2016). "Yeti: How a $67 Million Investment Became a $3.3 Billion Windfall". The Wall Street Journal. News Corp. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  6. ↑ Calnan, Christopher (22 June 2012). "Funding details on Yeti Coolers acquisition disclosed". Austin Business Journal dead-url=no. Advance Publications. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "YETI Holdings (YETI) Files for $100M IPO". Street insider. 1 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  8. 1 2 Gintzler, Ariella (27 March 2018). "Yeti Coolers Withdraws Its IPO". Outside. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  9. ↑ Farrell, Maureen; Jarzemsky, Matt (26 October 2016). "Yeti May Delay IPO and Bring In More Private Money". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  10. ↑ Hammer, Marion (20 April 2018). "Florida Alert: YETI Drops NRA Foundation". NRA-ILA. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  11. 1 2 Flynn, Meagan (24 April 2018). "NRA supporters are blowing up Yeti coolers. Yeti says it's all a big mistake". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "YETI spin doesn't sit well with NRA's Marion Hammer". Florida Politics. 24 April 2018. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  13. ↑ Hammer, Marion (8 May 2018). "ALERT! Can't Wait for Your YETI Cover Up Stickers?". NRA-ILA. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "How YETI Made a Cooler an Aspirational Brand". AdAge. Retrieved Oct 6, 2014.
  15. ↑ [1] "Gear - Cameron Hanes." N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
  16. ↑ [1] Rodriguez., Ashley. "How Yeti Made a Cooler an Aspirational Brand."Advertising Age CMO Strategy RSS. N.p., 06 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
  17. ↑ Goggans, Ashton. "Yeti's Crazy Coolers". surfermag.com. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  18. ↑ Michels, Patrick. "A Brief History of Yeti Coolers". Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  19. ↑ Minaya, E. (2016). Yeti, maker of coolers and Rambler mug, files for IPO. Retrieved October 18, 2016

Further reading

  • Kurutz, Steven (September 28, 2017). "Can a $300 Cooler Unite America?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
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