Archive for the 'Where's Wayne?' Category

Wayne Gregory, now a fixture in Torrey Pines State Beach Park

This week, Gregory’s founder, Wayne Gregory, got a little belated Christmas gift of sorts. In honor of the fact that Wayne is still full speed ahead at the company that bears his name some 32 years after it was founded, a group of employees got together (unbeknownst to him) to get him a fitting gift that would signify his commitment to Gregory the company and to building the best packs on the market (yeah this is our blog, but we believe that to be true). The gift also had to have some significance to Wayne, of course, and also be something that would mean something to others, especially outdoors folk.

So, behold the Wayne Gregory memorial picnic bench that will reside at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve just north of San Deigo starting this spring. The bench has arrived on site this week and will be moved into its permanent location in the next couple of months.

The cool thing about this gift is that really does reflect to many degrees who Wayne is. First off, Gregory was founded in San Diego, where Wayne is originally from, and this beach remains one of Wayne’s favorite places (though it took a lot of cajoling to get that info out of him). He still visits there with his kids and grandkids when he’s down south. Continue reading >>

Published
by
Steph
 on December 30, 2009
 in Gregory world and Where's Wayne?
. 0 Comments

Shuji Morohashi visits ‘Mr. Wayne’

We knew our founder Wayne Gregory was something special. But when Shuji Morohashi from Tokyo, Japan flew halfway around the world just to see our founder, we were blown away.

While planning his first trip to the United States, Shuji decided that a part of his adventure would be to visit Gregory headquarters in Sacramento after having met Wayne in Japan. When they met, Shuji told “Mr. Wayne,” as he called him, about his plans to visit to the U.S. to which Wayne offered, “if you’re coming to the West Coast, please come visit our office.”

A short time later, Shuji Morohashi landed on our doorstep. Well, sort of …

To properly understand why someone would travel halfway around the world and make a visit a backpack company part of the trip (albeit, we humbly submit, the best backpack company), you have to understand a little about Gregory and its reputation in Japan. Early in the company’s history, Gregory built a strong reputation among Japanese consumers, who are notoriously selective about buying products of the highest quality.

Over the years, that’s given Gregory the ability to not only to become known as the premier backpack company, but also to build a variety of other more lifestyle oriented products for a more mass-transit oriented culture. The line in Asia, while it shares many common products, is pretty different from the line in North America or Europe. This reputation has also propelled Wayne into something of a legend among Japanese and other Asian market consumers. When Gregory flagship stores opened in Tokyo and Seoul in the last year, Wayne was asked for more than few autographs.

Back to Shuji … so when Wayne heard that one of the brand’s fans wanted to visit Gregory HQ, he not only extended the invite, he picked up Shuji  at the airport and took him to lunch.

Shuji then got a personal tour of the Gregory headquarters and said he “fell in love with the working environment which was full of life. Everybody was kind, making jokes, and having fun.”

He regards his time spent at Gregory as a fantastic adventure and noted “I was sure that products that make people happy are born here.”

We sure like to think so.

Published
by
Lauren
 on July 1, 2009
 in Gregory world and Where's Wayne?
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Gregory opens flagship store in Seoul

With an active population (by some estimates, 30 percent enjoy going hiking), South Korea is appealing for getting outdoors, in part, because of easy accessibility to hiking trails, climbing and other outdoor activities.

And with a fan base of die-hard Gregory fans, that combination made Seoul a great place for Gregory to open its fourth flagship store located in Asia. In partnership with its distributor in South Korea, Echoroba, Gregory opened the new Seoul store several weeks ago.

Testament to the ease of getting outdoors from downtown Seoul, company Founder Wayne Gregory, President John Simons Asian Pacific Sales and Marketing Manager Harry Kondo, and Director of International Sales and Marketing Dion Goldsworthy, during a visit for the store’s opening week, took the train about 50 minutes out of town to a nearby trailhead, where residents often head out of town for hike. Continue reading >>

Published
by
Dave
 on April 21, 2009
 in Gregory world and Where's Wayne?
. 4 Comments

Gregory flagship store opens in Tokyo

Little known to many fans of Gregory Mountain Products in North America, the brand has enjoyed a huge following in Asia for the past 25 years. In particular, Japanese consumers love the quality of the Gregory brand and the lifestyle that it represents. So much so that company founder Wayne Gregory is a minor celebrity in Japan. People recognize him and stop him on the street for autographs. Just ask him.

So it was a natural that Gregory’s first brand/flagship store opened in downtown Tokyo last week, on July 4. Located in the Shibuya area of Tokyo, a popular shopping district for younger city residents, the Gregory store is on a pedestrian-only street, which is also home to Patagonia’s top store in Japan, as well as flagship stores for Burton, Oakley, The North Face, Columbia, Millet and Cannondale, to name a few. The area, as you might imagine, is pretty popular among the outdoors set. Continue reading >>

Published
by
Dave
 on July 7, 2008
 in Gregory Goes There and Where's Wayne?
. 5 Comments

Are we there yet? Nope, halfway.

Trails around the country have their contituencies and events, but perhaps the largest trail festival in the world happens this coming weekend in Damascus, VA. Appalachian Trail Days, as the name might suggest, is a celebration of all things AT-related. It attracts an incredibly diverse crowd, from AT through-hikers to trail advocates to the just-plain-curious-looking-for-something-to-do-over-the weekend. The festival draws an estimated 20,000 over the week.

 Trail Days officially kicked off this past weekend, but the big days of the festival happen this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when there’ll be entertainment, food, workshops, and thousands of folks on hand. Damascus is the halfway point on the 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail, and Trail Days happens at a time in the spring when many through-hikers doing the whole trail are in the area, though hikers backtrack both directions to be on hand for the festivities.  Damascus is also, incidentally, the only place on the whole trail where the trail passes through the center of a town. In this case, the AT goes right down one of Damascus’ sidewalks.

 As usual, Gregory Packs founder Wayne Gregory will be on hand for Trail Days. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning, he’ll be at the Gregory booth doing field repairs on packs that belong to through hikers as well as helping folks get the right fit in their packs. And mingling, as Wayne’s apt to do. Just look for the signature Hawiian-print shirt.

 Gregory will also be giving away a couple of packs at the event, a Z55 and women’s Jade 50. Stop by the booth to register and have a chat with Wayne.

Published
by
Dave
 on May 13, 2008
 in Gregory Goes There and Where's Wayne?
. 0 Comments