Tim Nickles, the founder of Roofnest, is a 25-year-old Boulder resident who practically grew up outdoors. He spent his childhood touring the Alaskan wilderness with hiking boots on his feet and camping equipment on his back, tying his first pair of skis when he was just 3 years old. With the emergence of vehicle-based camps in the U.S. In three years, it has become a multi-million dollar company.
To launch the direct-to-consumer enterprise (DTC) and grow it so quickly, Nickles sought to manufacture overseas and even decentralize the U.S. UU. While the company is headquartered in Boulder, it is warehousing in Los Angeles, as shipments arrive at that port. It's much easier to keep tents there and ship them individually to customers across the U.S.
With five models available and more on the way, Roofnest is already hiring three factories within hours of Shanghai. I have different factories that make the different styles of marquee I offer,” Nickles explains. Nickles estimates that, with growing demand, Roofnest now occupies 85 to 90 percent of manufacturing at each plant. They are basically our manufacturing factory, but we don't own them per se.
Continue, in our case, you already know that our tent can be seen as an automotive accessory or as a camping product. That's one way for us to make sure we're paying a fair rate. That's part of the reason you haven't considered moving manufacturing. Moving manufacturing facilities to another country could be a multi-year effort and be very costly, so it's not worth trying, Nickles explains.
If, in a couple of years, it seems that tariffs are going to be in place for 5 to 10 years, then we would have to make a change, Nickles acknowledges. The company can also venture into retail. It's more or less a question of the intersection of our brand growth, Nickles says, noting that the challenge is to find retailers who are willing to work with a company that is primarily direct-to-consumer.
