Rack Attack

Rack Attack is a company that sells and installs car racks. This is a niche of both the automotive accessories market in addition to the sporting goods market. The company was founded in Vancouver, BC in 1996 by Chris Sandy and Peter McGee. Like many business in this arena, it was started after automotive manufacturers increasingly moved towards a gutter-less raingutters. Car rack manufacturers had to increase product lines, which required retailers to acquire greater knowledge of the extended lines.

Because of these extended lines, many companies were founded with the specialty store concept in mind. This is similar to a store that sells and installs mufflers or brakes on a car, versus an automotive store that might sell and install everything for a vehicle.

The main competition for Rack Attack is typically the local sporting goods stores. This includes national brands like The Sports Authority and REI, as well as a myriad of local brands like the Pacific Northwest chain Joe's (formerly GI Joe's), and Specialty Sports Venture in Colorado. The competing company's philosophies differ in their common product. The large chains will sell racks in addition to the products the racks are designed to carry, like skis, snowboards, bicycles, kayaks and canoes. This makes for convenience, versus the expertise of a specialty store.

Corporate Details

Rack Attack currently has eight locations in the United States and Canada, there were nine up until 2005. The Canadian Stores are in Vancouver, and Coquitlam, British Columbia, as well as in Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario

The United States locations are in Boston, Massachusetts, Portland, Oregon, and Denver and Golden, Colorado. They had a store in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, but it has since been closed.

In 2007 the company is forecasting sales of over $10 million, a majority of which will be from their online website, rackattack.com. The company has seen much of its sales from the site increase since a pay-per-click contract with Google.com, which started in 2003.

A sidenote to the particular market for car racks is geography. There is much national competition, and car rack specialist. However, due to the specialized nature, there is minimal overlap with multiple specialist in a metropolitan area. This became prevalent in the industry when SportRack (now called Rack N Road) came into the Denver market with an established Rack Attack. They opened three locations looking to take over the market, but ended up selling the stores to Rack Attack in 2004. The Golden location is the only remaining location.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu