YETI Cancels IPO

[Kringelbert Fishtybuns 943]

Is there really much IP into putting 75 lbs of polyurethane into a cooler that can hold a six pack?

Working with R&D, it always amazes me that pretty much every single step of every process can be/and is patented.  

[Aqua Buddha 14581]

11 minutes ago, Kringelbert Fishtybuns said:

Is there really much IP into putting 75 lbs of polyurethane into a cooler that can hold a six pack?

Working with R&D, it always amazes me that pretty much every single step of every process can be/and is patented.  

Not really, at least not as much as Yeti thinks.  They've sued everyone they can to stop making the knockoffs and haven't won a suit yet.  Their claim is that the own the look of stainless steel cups.  That's absurd.  That's like Apple saying they own silver laptops.

Also, the knockoffs works just as well as the Yeti cups in terms of keep cold stuff cold.

[Heavy 6 68]

Has YETI sued Microsoft for including "Arial Black" font in its software?

It must have taken the YETI logo designer five seconds to scroll to the "A's" in the font selection in Word.

 

 

[BTW 370]

Ha, I've never thought about it, but you are correct, that is one awesomely basic logo.

[Gut Wagon 8065]

22 hours ago, Royalfan5 said:

A high priced durable good that fills a somewhat small niche has to be kind of a bitch to keep going, doesn’t it?

The market's now pretty much abominable. 

[Reese Bennett 3608]

Yetis are really bears. It’s science.

[TwiceHorn 31435]

19 hours ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Not really, at least not as much as Yeti thinks.  They've sued everyone they can to stop making the knockoffs and haven't won a suit yet.  Their claim is that the own the look of stainless steel cups.  That's absurd.  That's like Apple saying they own silver laptops.

Also, the knockoffs works just as well as the Yeti cups in terms of keep cold stuff cold.

You are aware that Apple sued Samsung over the look of the iPhone?  Not quite silver laptops, but getting close.  And a jury gave Apple more than $1B for it?

[Aqua Buddha 14581]

19 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

You are aware that Apple sued Samsung over the look of the iPhone?  Not quite silver laptops, but getting close.  And a jury gave Apple more than $1B for it?

Did not know that.  

Maybe that's the precedent for the Yeti lawsuits.  They're basically saying no one can ever make a stainless steel tumbler besides them.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

If they were smart they'd make them fall apart in five years so people have to re-up.  Or more seriously, they could always expand to licensing sports logos and colors so every fan can have their teams cooler. 

[XR4ticlone 122]

I think the biggest problem they have is everyone in the US already has at least one...most likely stolen...but they've got one just the same. 

I have a "Chetty" or Chinese Yeti that I bought 4 years ago for $120 vs $360 or whatever.  It's well built and does great.  It was baby blue...and I painted it white to stay cooler...and to look like shit.   Where all my buddies with Yeti's have a log chain attaching it to their trucks...mine sits free as a bird in the back of my truck.  

 

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Apparently the fine folks @ YETI have pissed off a lot of people for a purported "non 2A" stance.

 

Read on:

 

“Suddenly, without prior notice, YETI has declined to do business with The NRA Foundation saying they no longer wish to be an NRA vendor, and refused to say why. They will only say they will no longer sell products to The NRA Foundation. That certainly isn’t sportsmanlike.

In fact, YETI should be ashamed. They have declined to continue helping America’s young people enjoy outdoor recreational activities. These activities enable them to appreciate America and enjoy our natural resources with wholesome and healthy outdoor recreational and educational programs,” the alert reads. “In this day and age, information is power. We thought you needed this information.”

[pearlandhorn 3269]

On 3/26/2018 at 5:10 PM, Royalfan5 said:

A high priced durable good that fills a somewhat small niche has to be kind of a bitch to keep going, doesn’t it?

You just described Tesla. I agree. But sheep flock.

[TKthunder2 4985]

On 3/27/2018 at 11:37 AM, Aqua Buddha said:

Not really, at least not as much as Yeti thinks.  They've sued everyone they can to stop making the knockoffs and haven't won a suit yet.  Their claim is that the own the look of stainless steel cups.  That's absurd.  That's like Apple saying they own silver laptops.

Also, the knockoffs works just as well as the Yeti cups in terms of keep cold stuff cold.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought they won a judgement against RTIC and that why they put all their shit on sale a year ago and redesigned many of their products.

[tx 3 putt 76863]

I thought (and i could be wrong) : yeti's win over rtic had to do with rtic's website / advertising and referencing yeti ?

[Parliament 14230]

8 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

Apparently the fine folks @ YETI have pissed off a lot of people for a purported "non 2A" stance.

 

Read on:

 

 

 

Not sure the 75% of their customer base that identifies as "Strong supports of the Second Amendment" appreciates that move.  

[phdhorn 6224]

Here's my YETI:

and, like, I can afford about 5 of them each summer.

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

10 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

Apparently the fine folks @ YETI have pissed off a lot of people for a purported "non 2A" stance.

 

Read on:

 

 

 

Making them bullet resistant probably wouldn't add much weight as an overall percentage. Throw on a seat cushion and a lock on the inside and walla. Personal shelter in place device. 

[markstanco 12570]

Not sure the 75% of their customer base that identifies as "Strong supports of the Second Amendment" appreciates that move.  

Talk about business suicide. What a moronic move.

I'm sure the millennial protest crowd in Berkeley appreciate this and will replace all lost business from this move.

[Parliament 14230]

Gotta keep their vegan hummis cold somehow.

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

They remind me a little bit of Crocs. There was a brief moment in time when Crocs were cool and that era extended even through their IPO but by then people were already turning on them. 

[Lat22 4010]

Dick’s: “Nobody can lose business faster than we can”. 

Yeti:  “Hold my tumbler”. 

[Izhmash 562]

Do they still offer factory blems?  I got a nice 45 for 30% off back in the day, before they moved.  Hell, I put more blemishes on it carrying it home than it came with.

Anyone know how active the P/E firm is re: management decisions?  An acquisition might be interesting...if IPO isn't in the cards.  They may have missed the window on that as well though...and you'd have to be willing to "let go" of your baby.

[Parliament 14230]

Anyone interested in buying them should wait 12 months. They'll be cheaper then.

[TwiceHorn 31435]

On 3/28/2018 at 7:12 AM, Aqua Buddha said:

Did not know that.  

Maybe that's the precedent for the Yeti lawsuits.  They're basically saying no one can ever make a stainless steel tumbler besides them.

Yeah, design patents that are only illustrations and only protect the ornamental appearance of something.  The Apple Samsung deal was very controversial and has been reversed on appeal.

A Yeti design patent on a tumbler.

https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/f3/6d/d5/b4f7b38a94e1f6/USD804905.pdf

A lot of their design patents are on weird stuff that I don't think anyone imitates.

Edited April 22, 2018 by TwiceHorn

[Izhmash 562]

13 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

A lot of their design patents are on weird stuff that I don't think anyone imitates.

I've never heard a patent attorney say, "I can't get you a patent".

[tx 3 putt 76863]

they need to pick up their sticker game

[Jkwellborn 6686]

Anyone interested in buying them should wait 12 months. They'll be cheaper then.

Gonna be tough to beat the price of an ozark trail one from Walmart though.

[Parliament 14230]

I meant the company itself.  They're toast.

[Pescado_Rojo 19413]

There's about a million used ones posted today on all the outdoors oriented facebook groups I follow. I guess the average redneck doesn't understand sunk costs.

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

I would love for MADD to face off with the NRA. It would be a battle royale.

[Moby Ric 2058]

This might go down as the most idiotic business move since New Coke.

[woohorn 1131]

I saw two new YETI's at the Habitat Re-Store the other day (pretty much a goodwill for building supplies). A retailer had dumped them.

[XR4ticlone 122]

Unless a gun company dumps the NRA....this is going to be the 'high water mark' for stupid.

The best part is they waited...found out that in the Hogg vs Ingram debate Americans told Hogg & his ilk to GFT by upping her ratings 20%.

Then after seeing that YETI still decided to jump on the bandwagon.

The right doesn't make a huge deal about things...they don't turn up to march or whatever.  They just fuck up or reward your financials.  IE Target vs Chick-fil-a.  

I you or anyone you care about are depending on Yeti money from a job or sales...you're going to want to get a resume out.  Things are about to get really fucking tough over there. 

[Texas_Rocks 346]

I’d like to see someone startup a new stainless cup Co called YEREN just to see what YETI does.

 

 

[3adays 454]

WTF were these guys thinking? My cousin owns a farming supply business and has been a Yeti dealer since day one. Over the weekend he notified his sales rep he’d no longer be selling Yeti. 

[kevwun 15758]

Not to go all Cloak Room, but Yeti might look pretty smart after Mueller's investigation is done.

[Brisketexan 105049]

3 hours ago, 3adays said:

WTF were these guys thinking? My cousin owns a farming supply business and has been a Yeti dealer since day one. Over the weekend he notified his sales rep he’d no longer be selling Yeti. 

Yeah....I can't see how this was an intelligent BUSINESS move.

Look, I'm an outdoorsman, I'm their target market.  I haven't been a fan of the NRA for a while now (it ain't the NRA of my youth), but I damned well know that the overlap between "outdoorsmen" and "NRA fans/members" is pretty high.

This is one of those cases where Yeti would have been wise to just keep their trap shut, and not take ANY position.  I really don't get it.

[Brisketexan 105049]

Just now, kevwun said:

Not to go all Cloak Room, but Yeti might look pretty smart after Mueller's investigation is done.

Then wait till it's done.  Look, if it comes out that "the NRA is a willing collaborator with the Russians to interfere with the American electoral process," THEN you drop 'em like a hot potato.

[kevwun 15758]

Good business move or not, I like that they did it.  Five minutes of NRA TV will scare the shit out of you.  They are batshit crazy and I'm a lifelong gun owner and hunter.

[GlenFromTheMailRoom 1603]

There's going to be a lucky PE firm that's going to scoop Yeti up on the cheap and fire that retarded CEO.

[Pescado_Rojo 19413]

Statement from Yeti:

Quote

“Truth is, we did not cut ties with the NRA or the Friends of the NRA. We changed the structure of our discount program to better align it with the business. I’m not happy that the NRA would choose to mischaracterize and sensationalize this. Know that we do support the Second Amendment, gun owners and their pursuits. Please stick to these talking points publically and feel free to point out your own experience with our brand and people. See below: As you know, YETI was built on a passion for the outdoors and, as we always have, YETI continues to actively support hunters, anglers, and the broader outdoor community. We believe in the Second Amendment and the Constitution of the United States. Recently, we made a number of business, pricing and dealer decisions to simplify and clarify our product distribution. Based upon these, we ended a wide range of legacy vendor programs, which affected a number of different organizations. The conclusion of these programs in no way impacts our ongoing support of our consumers’ passions, as YETI continues to work with many organizations that promote the conservation and management of wildlife and habitat restoration.”

So this whole Yeti Breaks Ties with NRA!!!!" headline (That came from the NRA) was about a discount program....

[kevwun 15758]

I am shocked that the NRA would sensationalize something.

[GlenFromTheMailRoom 1603]

5 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Statement from Yeti:

So this whole Yeti Breaks Ties with NRA!!!!" headline (That came from the NRA) was about a discount program....

The issue is the optics, not how they were doing business together.  

[Heavy 6 68]

There are plenty of nice coolers that are actually made in the USA too.

ETA- YETI products are made in the US, China, and Philippines.

Edited April 23, 2018 by Heavy 6

[We’reTexas 1473]

On 3/26/2018 at 8:34 PM, TwiceHorn said:

Funny thing is though, all the accurate observations of their limited business model applied with equal force six months or a year ago, which begs the question, what the hell were they thinking?

Interestingly, they made their first public filing almost two years ago and never updated (or resolved any renaming SEC comments they may have had). Looks like this has been dead for some time and they finally got around to withdrawing the S-1. 

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

58 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Good business move or not, I like that they did it.  

I would not like to see you in a management position of any company in which I own stock.

You might be glad they did it, but their employees won't be when they start getting laid off.

[Parliament 14230]

Translation: "We fucked up royally and now we gotta backpedal."

[dieucla98 2942]

31 minutes ago, Parliament said:

Translation: "We fucked up royally and now we gotta backpedal."

Your translation app must be broken.

The NRA's statement makes no rational sense (as noted by the numerous "why would you do this from a business perspective, Yeti?" posts). They didn't tell the whole story. Yeti had to chime in and fill in the gaps. I don't think this is a case of backpedaling and trying to cover up a mistake.

[TornACL 7698]

When was the NRA taken over by a bunch of hysterical women?

[PilotsError 2286]

Those of us who support the NRA don't give a fuck about nuance.  A discount program, all association...doesn't matter.  We reject ANY infringement on gun rights, and any movement away from the NRA is a political statement that you support gun confiscation.  Ergo, go fuck yourselves.