Featured Image: Blake Jorgenson/ Red Bull Content Pool
Outdoor adventure retailer, evo, got its start in 2001 as an e-commerce site founded by Bryce Phillips. Since then, the brand has expanded with three brick-and-mortar stores in Seattle, Washington–evo’s home base–Portland, Oregon, and Denver, Colorado. Relentless in the pursuit of success, evo was founded on the idea that there’s always room for improvement. In an effort to continue the brand’s evolution, evo is making its debut across the border with the purchase of Whistler Village Sports Ltd. and its five retail locations in Whistler, British Columbia.
“Had anyone asked me where I’d hope to plant a flag, anywhere in the world at some point, it would have been an easy answer,” said Phillips, who still serves as the brand’s CEO, in a recent press release. “Whistler is a global icon, Mecca for all that love to mountain bike, snowboard, ski and even skate. The breadth of activity and the fact that it’s been designed to appeal to all abilities make this place very special.”
The decision to bring evo to Whistler was far from random for Phillips. In the early stages of his professional skiing career, Phillips moved to Whistler when he was 20, surfing from one friend’s couch to another. And when he developed the concept of evo.com–originally evogear.com–it was in Whistler where Phillips found a friend in a supplier.
“Bryce and I met years ago when he was looking to buy some demo skis,” said Dave Milley, owner of Whistler Village Sports Ltd., in that same press release. “He was a young guy trying to get his start in the ski business on the internet. We told him he had to pretty much take them all, which he did, and we [have] stayed in touch ever since.”
Since its inception in 1980, Whistler Village Sports Ltd. has grown to become one of the town’s leading independent outdoor retailers with five stores specializing in outdoor and action sports: Whistler Village Sports, Excess Backcountry, Excess Ski + Sport, Mountain Riders and Sportstop. Milley and all of the company’s employees plan to stay on through the partnership with evo, seeing an opportunity for both brands to learn and grow from one another.
“While we have three existing stores, we don’t yet operate in a resort market,” said Phillips. Conversely, Whistler Village Sports has not been web-focused, so we believe there’s tremendous upside in combining what we do online with their retail expertise in Whistler.”
With almost two decades under evo’s belt, Phillips is excited for this next opportunity for his brand, for Dave Milley and his team, his family and the community of Whistler as a whole.
“I’m not sure that there could be a more full-circle story,” said Phillips. “After launching the original evogear.com website in 2001, I started buying skis from Dave/Whistler Village Sports. I could never have imagined that nearly 15 years later we’d be buying the business. To be spending time here with my wife and kids, building relationships with the Whistler Village Sports team and connecting with good friends throughout the Sea to Sky corridor really is a dream come true. I can’t wait for all that is to come.”
