Black Diamond: leaving California for the mountains of Utah.

• Author: Volmer, Nancy
• Position: Sporting goods equipment company

Black Diamond Leaving California for the Mountains of Utah

Who is Black Diamond? This question was posed in an advertisement in Climbing magazine in January of 1990.

Last winter, when Black Diamond announced it was moving to Utah, local residents were asking the same question.

The answer in the magazine ad was simple and direct. "The employees of Chouinard Equipment are proud to announce that they have bought the assets of Chouinard Equipment, Ltd., which has acquired the Chouinard trademark as well as Chouinard's existing inventory, designs, and machine shop."

The advertisement/ announcement came at the end of seven months of trying negotiations between the partner company of Chouinard Equipment and a corporation (later to become Black Diamond) formed by Chouinard employees. The buy out was headed up by Peter Metcalf, who, as Chouinard's general manager, had been the primary person responsible for catapulting the company into mountaineering fame.

The Chouinard Roots

Metcalf joined the company in 1982 as the marketing manager. In this position he was responsible for overseeing sales, marketing, design, customer service, production, and warehouse operations. With only six employees working for Chouinard Equipment, Metcalf had a big job looming ahead of him.

Yet under Metcalf's leadership, the company's sales began to flourish, and one year later he was promoted to general manager. In the seven years that followed, sales at Chouinard Equipment grew from $1.1 million to $7.2 million, and the company once again became the leading manufacturer of climbing hardware in North America.

Metcalf's idea to expand the company's product line was a key component in the success. "We focused on segmented markets and tried to appeal to a broader group of these markets," Metcalf reveals. "We also rejuvenated the existing line and broadened it to include a mountaineering tent and climbing pants. And we moved into the back-country ski market, beginning with the three-pin binding, which soon became a raging success."

Perhaps more importantly, the company has never been just bottom-line oriented. "We've never been in business to be businessmen and to make a buck," he says. "Our commitment is to the sports we serve."

But in the mid-1980s things started to turn sour. Several lawsuits were brought against Chouinard Equipment, and insurance premiums were doubling annually. The lawsuits weren't due to product failure, but claimed a "failure to warn" on the products...