Grivel North America — over and out

Grivel North America ceased distributing Grivel products on Sept. 1, but made the news official that it was shutting down for good on Sept. 15 with letters to dealers, to SNEWS and via a posting on its website. We first reported Grivel North America was having troubles and seeking to find solutions to stay viable in an Aug. 13 story — click here to read.

Mark Twight told SNEWS®, “We did our best over the last few years to keep the company alive, but the flagging U.S. economy and the Euro’s strength against the dollar prevented us from doing so.”

Four retailers in the U.S. market will continue to sell and service Grivel products as long as supplies last, Twight told us. Those include: The Mountaineer (www.mountaineer.com), Mountain Gear (www.mountaingear.com), REI (www.rei.com) and Second Ascent (www.secondascent.com). In Canada, customers are being referred to MEC (www.mec.ca).

Twight said in a letter to dealers and on his website: “Warranty and repair issues must wait until Grivel determines how it will service the North American market in the future. Stand by for more information.”

Added Twight in an email to SNEWS: “It is the end of an era. And the beginning of 7-10 years of me paying off the company’s debts. Awesome.”