[Closed] Alpkit customers / buying shares in the company

I got the same email. Interesting, however given my record when I invest in single companies I'll probably give it a miss!

Yes, I did. I don't have any money to spare though, I 'invested' it all in a new bike frame last week 🙂 I've known the guys at Alpkit since before they started the company in some cases and they're really good people with proper ethics and sound beliefs, witness some of their charitable / eco initiatives which echo stuff that Patagonia does.

I have no idea if it would be a good financial investment, though the brand has been expanding like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man over the past few years, but if you're looking at it as much from a 'is this a company I can believe in' / fee good basis as a financial one then it ticks those boxes for me.

I guess it would depend too on whether you were considering a small 'vanity' sort of investment or a really substantial one. YMMV.

Hmmm, can't get a bank loan?

Absolute speculation here, entirely based on "I reckon". Anyway, my guess is it'll be similar to the one Finisterre offered, where you invest in return for a tiered level of recurring discount code. It's more like a fan club or a paid-for loyalty scheme. Helps customers feel part of the brand. Not really the same as investing in a company and sitting on a mountain of returns.

As they haven't released any details yet I'm sure you'll agree my summary is 100% accurate. Probably.

It says it's going to be via Crowd Cube which is some sort of crowd funding equity selling type platform.

The blurb on the Crowd cube website is really vague. You need to register to even view any of the offers on there. Unsure how and if any "shares" you buy are valued and how (and if) they can be sold or traded. I guess the amount of information and transparency you'll get will be less than a proper IPO.

Good luck to them but as in investment it's probably somewhere between betting on a horse race and setting fire to £50s.

I hope the growth is sustainable. Brings to mind Howies' massive expansion in the mid 2000s when they had a shop on Carnaby St :-0 . That was different in that it was funded by (or were they briefly bought out by?) Timberland, but still, growing that fast often doesn't end well.

I have had mixed success @epicsteve.
Good: Macallan-Glenlivet. Bad: (out of many): RBS.

It'll give a nice warm feeling (cue obvious joke).

Unsure how and if any “shares” you buy are valued and how (and if) they can be sold or traded. I guess the amount of information and transparency you’ll get will be less than a proper IPO.

If they are selling shares, and not some sort of discount club then they will have to provide similar levels of info as an IPO in the investor pack.

I suspect they will be a different class of share to the owners shares so they will be able to provide different benefits / not pay dividends.

I doubt they will be listing (e.g. not an IPO) so it's likely any trading of the share, once purchased, will be highly restrictive (see Brewdog for a similar example).

I'd be interested for a punt, (not so much a winter of discount tents) but sadly my work conditions now bar participation in IPOs and Equity crowdfunding.

Have I got the wrong end of the stick thinking they had some VC money in the last few years? I'd assumed this was fuelling the expansion. It talks about being director owned in the info I've seen ...clearly I'm fantasising 🙂

PS my local climbing wall was built via Crowd Cube - worked well for them (Covid notwithstanding!).

Some answers to the speculation above can be found here if you keep scrolling down.
It sounds very much like a crowd funding to raise money for expansion to me. I can't see that there is any way to make money from the 'investment' unless Alpkit was to be sold - and even that would depend on how much of the company had been given to the public.

Luckily my funds are stuck elsewhere at the moment. Tempted to invest for old times sake - they used to drop stuff off for me on their way home when they were based in Ilkeston

I can’t see that there is any way to make money from the ‘investment’ unless Alpkit was to be sold – and even that would depend on how much of the company had been given to the public.

They say on the page that there is no current plans to realise the investment so you are going in without a guaranteed return like the brewdog releases (which seem to be the model now), but the early investors in BD have made a decent return when they got their money back out. I may take a little punt depending on their investors package.

I'd be tempted to take a punt on them.

The team running it have good records and I like their products (not as much as I like Arcteryx mind).

Have I got the wrong end of the stick thinking they had some VC money in the last few years?

All here: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/05146091/filing-history

Can't see any sign of external investment.

They've got about £1.5m of loans according to their fillings, including a £950k non-bank loan, so it looks like they went that route instead of VC. Not the worst thing they could have done, they can afford the repayments* and the directors haven't given up any of their stake to do it.

*Obvs will be interesting to see this years returns but nothing jumps out as worrying from past performance to me

*Obvs will be interesting to see this years returns but nothing jumps out as worrying from past performance to me

The fact they only have three shops so far means they weren't that exposed to shop closures. No idea how their web sales held up...

Let's hope it goes better for investors than Vulpine did.

The fact they only have three shops so far means they weren’t that exposed to shop closures. No idea how their web sales held up…

There was talk of them opening in Guildford, but I guess it didn't happen?

They were going to open a shop in Surrey last year, even to the extent of interviews but it just suddenly went dead, so maybe they're using the money to fund more expansion? With Cotswold / Snow'n'Rock struggling and Blacks/Millets being dragged-down by Sports Direct I'm not sure retail would be wise investment right now.

Two new shops per year is their planned expansion, but CV-19 will probably delay that, or possibly they need to raise the extra money first....

Also Alpkit have shops in cool places (Hathersage/Ambleside/Keswick) that speak to their brand values. If they have shops in the least cool (at least in terms of outdoors) corners of the country, they might gain a few rich customers but they risk losing their core enthusiast market.

Also Alpkit have shops in cool places (Hathersage/Ambleside/Keswick) that speak to their brand values. If they have shops in the least cool (at least in terms of outdoors) corners of the country, they might gain a few rich customers but they risk losing their core enthusiast market.

They also have a shop in a dingy corner of the Metrocentre car park in Newcastle.

Also Alpkit have shops in cool places (Hathersage/Ambleside/Keswick) that speak to their brand values. If they have shops in the least cool (at least in terms of outdoors) corners of the country, they might gain a few rich customers but they risk losing their core enthusiast market.

Their owners are ex Go Outdoors and Rohan, so I assume going for a similar model, lots of shops....

Brave move to be investing in bricks and mortar these days IMO.

They also have a shop in a dingy corner of the Metrocentre car park in Newcastle.

Hmm, I shall throw away anything I've ever bought from that tarnished brand, then.

Brave move to be investing in bricks and mortar these days IMO.

Maybe, but then you can't keep to people "in the know" forever and expect to grow. Maybe that'll lose some customers (like the appropriately usernamed superficial!), but selling 100x down jackets to Superdry dads does more for your turnover than selling one to some cool gritty outdoor dude.

I went off them a bit, they're no longer the cheapest, and not the best either, they're in a sort of middle ground. And if I want a middle ground jacket I go to Decathlon. For tarps, sleeping bags, mats, bivi bags etc there's other options.

I went off them a bit, they’re no longer the cheapest, and not the best either, they’re in a sort of middle ground. And if I want a middle ground jacket I go to Decathlon. For tarps, sleeping bags, mats, bivi bags etc there’s other options.

I don't think they are as cheap as they used to be. I think their prices went up when they opened the 2 shops in the lakes. I now only buy from them when they do a bank holiday sale.

I think there are other options that are sometimes better and cheaper, however, their customer service and ethics are very good and that keeps me coming back to buy things.

Personally I think the food sector is a better investment at the moment, I'm not brave enough to invest in retail.

Maybe the fact they are online will be the key to their success?

For me, the fact the team have all achieved success in the same market before is the best indicator of future (possible) success.

Plus I like the brand, so I'd be prepared to punt a modest sum their way.

I'd not expect to get rich from it though and would be prepared to lose it all (as you should with any investment like this).

If you're intested they have a webinar with details..

We're hosting a webinar at 11am on Thursday 25th June where you can meet me, Nick Smith (Founder & Managing Director) and Colin Fisher (Non-Executive Chairman). We'll talk more about the opportunity and it'd be great to have you along.

I just purchased a few shares through the Crowdcube offering. Anyone else?

I'm treating it like my participation in the original BrewDog equity offering - a chance to support a company I like, and maybe have fun at the AGM.

Reached its target in 10 mins!

Reached its target in 10 mins!

Impressive!

I was going to take a look later....

There's still time - they are oversubscribed but haven't (yet) closed the door.

Looks like it has just closed.. Express interest only now.

ah, been on work call. not to be.

I missed it too, was going to look while having a brew

Looks like lots of bigger investors piled in very early. Shareholder benefits fairly slim anyways.

Yeah, the perks weren’t very perky.

Missed any info on this.

Was it a genuine IPO offering ordinary shares with the normal voting rights etc?
Or some sort of brewdog fund raiser masking as an IPO?

They were raising money through new equity, all shares were the same class with equal rights.

Wow! What an incredible day. Imagine holding a party for close friends, family and some people from work. You know you mates will come. Definitely one or two family members. Maybe one or two people from work. And hopefully some of the cool ones that will see the thought you put into the playlist.

Imagine just for moment opening up the door and seeing 1,400 people scramble in, destroy the buffet, pile into every available nook and cranny and start polishing off some of those dusty bottles at the back of the cupboard. P-A-R-T-Y!

This is what just happened today. Overwhelming. We hit our funding target in only eight minutes and reached the cap just 44 minutes later. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

While this is amazing, it also means that many people will be disappointed. I'm really sorry if you missed out and I can understand how disappointing this might feel. Nearly ten thousand people registered an interest and 1,361 of those were successful in becoming an Alpkit shareholder.

We've had lots of questions about further investment opportunities and this is something we're looking at. Today we are a little overwhelmed by what's just happened so we haven't got all the answers. But what we do know is that this is round one and it certainly won't be the last time we look to make the Alpkit shareholding more diverse. We look forward to the next opportunity to get you on board.

If you have any questions or want to drop us a line please do email us at together@alpkit.com.

Thank you for your support. It means the world.