Randy Hales announced to his wife that he was planning to retire in 2018 after finishing a seven-and-a-half-year run leading mobile accessories company ZAGG Inc. After completing some training, he headed out on his bike, riding from San Diego, California, to St. Augustine, Florida, over a six-week period.

“There were 23 dog chases, and I won 21 of them,” laughed Hales in an interview with The Daily. “Dogs in East Texas and Louisiana really don’t like cyclists.”

Instead of retiring, however, he joined Next Level Apparel, a blank apparel company, in 2020. Then last month, Hales became CEO of Kent Outdoors. The Park City, Utah-based company operates a portfolio of outdoor brands such as O’Brien, Full Throttle, BOTE, Aquaglide, and Arbor Snowboards – a job Hales said he absolutely had to take because his garage is full of the products made by the brands.

“It’s just so me,” he said.

Kent’s appointment of Hales is part of a series of changes at the company, which also include:

• Moving its headquarters to Park City, Utah, from Ohio in October 2023.
• Hiring CFO Rob Otto in April 2024. Otto was not available for an interview.
• Securing a $100 million credit facility in April 2024 from asset-based lender Eclipse Business Capital following investments from Goldman Sachs and Comest Partners.
• Selling Kona bicycle brand back to its original owners, Dan Gerhard and Jake Heilbron, in May 2024 following a strategic review of the company.

Founded in 1959 and formerly called Kent Water Sports, the company changed its name to Kent Outdoors in January 2022 after it was acquired by private equity firm Seawall Capital a year earlier.

The Road Ahead

Hales said the $100 million credit facility from Eclipse Business Capital shows that lenders have confidence in Kent’s future.

“What’s exciting to me is that the lending community and our partners with that felt good about the progress we’ve made against the inventory, what our roadmap looks like going forward, how we intend to leverage these great brand assets that we have, and continue to be truly the brand leaders in the categories we participate in,” Hales said.

Kent Executive Chairman Lee Belitsky said in a news release that the company would use the funds to bring in its new leadership team and improve operations.

“The capital investment is instrumental to maintaining solid partnerships with our key vendor partners and customers while allowing Kent the flexibility to also pursue new growth opportunities,” said Belitsky in a statement. “The support also allows the Company to continue to build our market share by attracting new marquee customers and maintaining long-term relationships with key suppliers.”

Randy Hales, CEO of Kent Outdoors. Photo courtesy of Kent Outdoors.

Belitsky, formerly of Dick’s Sporting Goods, was part of that investment along with new CFO Rob Otto. Otto was previously the CFO and COO of RW Designs, a wholesale and DTC apparel company, and has also held roles at Z Gallerie, Hudson Jeans, Seven For All Mankind, and Affliction Holdings.

Hales said Kent is also focused on growing its distribution points and improving the way consumers are educated about its products.

Focus on Innovation and New HQ

Product innovation is a major focus for Kent, although details are scant so far.

“As we roll into 2025, we’re really going to leverage the strength of the brands to lift some new product entrants that we’re excited about,” Hales said. “So there’s growth potential with product. And then we’re looking at our footprint to see if we are in all the points of distribution, which should be both domestically and internationally.”

Hales said there are a couple of advantages to being based in Utah rather than Ohio. For one, Kent’s portfolio of brands serves all seasons, from water sports to snow sports, and Utah is a multi-season state for recreation.

Utah is also becoming a hub for outdoor product companies, Hales said, which means Kent has a deep talent pool to draw from in its new location.

Some employees moved with the company, and new employees have joined as well. But the headquarters is just the corporate back office – each brand has its own headquarters where it was founded.

“We want the DNA of the brands to stay where they were created,” Hales said. “So you’ve got your product teams, your marketing teams, your sales teams based where that brand really was birthed.”

Hales said his main job will be to empower his team and help to clear any obstacles that get in the way of the company’s nearly 400 employees and their path to success.

He’ll split his time between his home in St. George, in southwest Utah, and Salt Lake City, where his kids and grandchild also live. And even though he said he was retiring back in 2018, his wife is supportive of him going back to work, especially because it is so on-brand for his personality.

“We’re now calling it a sabbatical,” Hales said.

Kate Robertson can be reached at [email protected].