Grand Trunk Acquires Alite Designs

May 25, 2021

BOUNTIFUL, Utah (May 25, 2021) — Grand Trunk, the pioneering brand for adventure travel goods and innovator of the travel hammock, has acquired Alite Designs, the company behind the iconic Monarch camp chair. Starting next year, Alite products will be available under the Grand Trunk brand name.

Tae Kim, a former equipment design director at The North Face, founded Alite in 2000 in San Francisco. Weighing in at just over one pound, the company’s award-winning Monarch Chair was one of the first lightweight, extremely packable camp chairs on the market. In addition to chairs, Alite made packable blankets, tents and sleeping bags and operated a successful retail store concept in the Mission District. Alite closed operations in the fall of 2018.

“Back in the early 2000s, I was one of the first retailers to sell the Alite Monarch chair,” said Andy Stroman, Partner at Grand Trunk. “I was fascinated by their products and impressed by Tae and the Alite team. I’ve been enamored with Alite ever since.”

The acquisition of Alite is the first of many plans for expansion at Grand Trunk. Now under new ownership, Grand Trunk’s goal is to develop a complete line of outdoor gear and products with Kim onboard as a key design partner.

“Tae has been a friend and colleague for several years, and I’m really excited to bring of some of Alite’s well-loved products back to the market,” said Grand Trunk co-founder Kevin Kaiser. “In our twentieth year at Grand Trunk, there’s a lot of new momentum, and Tae and the team at Lowercase Designs will be an integral part of our future success.”

About Grand Trunk:
Grand Trunk is a leading hammock and adventure travel goods business in the USA. Founded in 2001, the business was the pioneering brand for travel hammocks and has since expanded to offer a range of travel and outdoor accessories.

For inquiries contact pr@grandtrunk.com.

###