BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Wildcat Gear has announced that it intends to remain in business, continuing to manufacture and retail its own brand of bikepacking luggage and accessories.
The business has been restructured with key new personnel added, a move of HQ and further expansion due in late 2019/early 2020.
Wildcat Gear announced in February 2019 that it would be closing the doors after a period of almost a decade manufacturing and selling bikepacking luggage.
The business, previously run by husband and wife team Beth and Ian Barrington, had “taken a backseat to family, other professional ventures and a move from its base in Wales to Scotland in 2018”. After a period of reflection, they decided to reverse the decision and look for ways to remain open for business.
Joining the company in an operations role and taking a share in the business is Steven Shand, who previously founded Shand Cycles in 2003. Beth Barrington will stay on as product designer and manufacturing director and Ian Barrington will retain his product manager role. Wildcat has said it is actively recruiting a marketing manager and hopes to announce this appointment during the second half of 2019 or early 2020.
Wildcat will relaunch with an updated website showcasing some old favourite products alongside some new designs. The new website and product offering will go live early in Q4 2019.
“I’m incredibly excited to become part of the Wildcat team,” said Shand. “I’ve known Ian and Beth almost since the beginning of Wildcat and I’ve worked closely with them before in my role at Shand Cycles.
“The bikepacking scene has exploded over the past couple of years and the potential to push Wildcat Gear out to even more riders is exciting. We have lots of new products in the pipeline as well as updates to some of Wildcat’s best sellers over the years.
“We’ll also be looking beyond the cycle sector to increase sales. Lightweight backpacking (fastpacking) is becoming increasingly popular and there is an obvious crossover for us there.
“While the cycle (bikepacking) market is where our focus will be, we look forward to utilising our experience in designing and manufacturing lightweight luggage and bringing that expertise to new outdoor markets.”
Beth Barrington added: “This is a great opportunity to revive what we’d previously built with Wildcat. The past decade growing Wildcat was great fun and this new structuring will allow us to continue in the same vein, creating ground-breaking lightweight bikepacking gear and accessories.”
Wildcat Gear is a bikepacking luggage and accessories company based in Scotland in the UK.
