Jack Wolfskin

Jack Wolfskin is a producer of outdoor wear and equipment headquartered in Idstein, Germany.

Founded in 1981, the German firm has now become one of the biggest suppliers and most successful franchisers of outdoor products including sports equipment, mountain and leisure clothing, footwear, rucksacks, sleeping bags, and tents.[1]

History

Jack Wolfskin was founded as a trademark of the company Sine in Frankfurt am Main, Germany by Ulrich Dausien in 1981. With proceeding success, Jack Wolfskin was incorporated separately from Sine.

Sold in 1991 to Johnson Outdoors, the company had supplied only specialist shops until their first own shop was opened in Heidelberg in 1993. As of mid-2012, there were more than 500, mostly franchised, Jack Wolfskin stores worldwide.[2]

In 2005, three years after purchasing it for €42 million,[3] Bain Capital sold Jack Wolfskin to Quadriga Capital and Barclays Private Equity for €93 million.

Litigation

Jack Wolfskin has a history of aggressive legal action related to its paw print logo. In 2002, it succeeded in prohibiting the taz newspaper[15] from using a paw print design on merchandise designed for outdoor use on the grounds that the taz logo designed in 1978 was not registered as a trademark, whereas the Jack Wolfskin logo was registered in 1982. This led to many people boycotting its products.

In October 2009, Jack Wolfskin's lawyers sent demands for damage payments to handicraft hobbyists who had used paw designs in their creations, irrespective of whether the paw design was of a wolf, cat or other animal.[16] This prompted a backlash in online forums for handicrafts and bloggers documenting corporate behaviour, outraged at the bullying tactics used by a large firm against individual hobbyists with barely measurable income through clothing and no intention to mimic Jack Wolfskin goods. The protest reached national news media in Germany. A blunt refusal to back down by Jack Wolfskin led to calls to boycott their products in several online communities in Germany and abroad. As the impact of the negative publicity became apparent, Jack Wolfskin later issued a press release to indicate they would in future open dialog directly with people it suspected of breaching its copyright, rather than sending damage payment demands as the first contact.

In November 2009, Jack Wolfskin threatened the Dutch company Bearwear, a clothing supplier to the gay bear scene, with legal action causing it to suspend its European web shop and generating ill-feelings to Jack Wolfskin with its customers. This was eventually resolved, allowing Bearwear to continue trading with its logo that incorporates a bear paw print.

On 19 December 2011, the Civic Association Dog Soul from Slovakia (a non-profit organization) received an e-mail with a copy of a letter from an attorney and patent office representing the Jack Wolfskin Ausrüstung für Draussen GmbH & Co. KGaA company. Simultaneously - without any valid court decision - they directly accused them of violating trademark property rights.[17]

type	GmbH & Co. KGaA
genre	Outdoor clothing
foundation	1981
founder	Ulrich Dausien
location	Idstein, Germany
locations	Worldwide
key people	Richard Collier, CEO
industry	Outdoor clothing Camping equipment
revenue	€ 351 million (2012)
num employees	ca. 700 (end-2012)
parent	Anta Sports
homepage	jack-wolfskin.com

History

Corporate responsibility

Litigation

Sponsorship

External links

References