A Jacksonville Beach-based company grounded in U.S. Army Special Forces training is expanding its scope.
GORUCK, an e-commerce retailer that sells outdoor gear, footwear and clothing, is moving into a larger building it will renovate and lease a mile north of its current headquarters.
It will move in Jacksonville Beach from leased space it has outgrown on the first floor of the FaverGray building at 415 Pablo Ave. N. to 390 16th Ave. S.
It intends to start renovations soon and move in by year-end.
“In an effort to accommodate our talented staff and expanding infrastructure, we searched to expand our space with the intent to keep our headquarters in Jacksonville Beach,” co-founder Emily McCarthy said in a statement April 17.
McCarthy said the company has a strong connection to this Beaches community and has enjoyed close proximity to the beach and parks.
“Everything we do, especially rucking, is rooted in getting outside more with others. These were important factors in determining where we wanted to move our headquarters. We look forward to being a few blocks from the beach,” she said.
The company, which has 50 employees and continues to hire, said it is growing significantly.
As a private company, it did not disclose sales but said they grew by 41.6% last year.
Started overseas, moved home to Jacksonville
GORUCK.com says that founder and CEO Jason McCarthy enlisted in the U.S. Army after 9/11 and served in the 10th Special Forces Group in 2006-08.
In 2008, when McCarthy was in the U.S. Army Special Forces and Emily McCarthy was in the CIA, the couple started the company out of her house in “war-torn West Africa.”
“The goal was pretty simple: build a rucksack with life or death quality standards,” the site says.
Rucking basically is the action of walking and movement with weight on your back.
The company’s rucksacks are designed for everyday carry, rucking and traveling.
A company representative said in a statement that the McCarthys are Jacksonville locals and graduates of The Bolles School.
It said that soon after starting the company, while living abroad and in Washington, D.C., the couple moved back to Jacksonville, which they call home.
“After running the business out of a Neptune Beach home and then a small storefront at the Beaches Town Center for several years, GORUCK lucked into operating out of the FaverGray building in Jacksonville Beach for the past decade,” the representative said.
“Now that GORUCK has outgrown that space, the McCarthys have found another great location at the Beaches to continue to invest in the local community.”
Terms of the deal
GLTA Properties LLC of Ponte Vedra Beach sold the office building at 390 16th Ave. S. in Jacksonville Beach to an investment group, 390 16th Avenue LLC, based in Daytona Beach.
Michael Walther is the manager of 360 16th Avenue LCC, which paid $2.525 million April 8 for the two-story, 10,536-square-foot building that was developed in 2006 on 0.65 acre.
Walther and Jason McCarthy are the managers of Goruck Holdings LLC, which was registered with the state in March 2011 with an address in Daytona Beach. It moved the corporate address to Jacksonville Beach as of 2014.
McCarthy is CEO and Walther is a minority owner.
A company representative said in the statement that the owners of 390 16th Ave. S. are longtime friends of the company, “who are supportive of our business expansion and desire to remain headquartered in Jacksonville Beach.”
Strategic Sites Clifford Commercial of Jacksonville Beach brokered the transaction for the buyer and the seller. Kate Clifford is the founder, broker and owner.
Clifford said the 16th Avenue South building will be completely renovated to a “motivational modern space that represents the energy and philosophy of the firm.”
Clifford said the property had several prior lives to include an office for the Coyote Logistics firm, University of Florida Women’s Health and most recently Beach House Center for Recovery, which has moved to a larger space at 75 S. 12th St. in Jacksonville Beach.
What’s next for the building
The first priority is to ensure the structural soundness of the building “as we intend for it to be the long-term GORUCK HQ,” the representative said.
“This will include some foundation and exterior maintenance and repairs first, and then we will shift our focus to the first floor where we will have an open floor plan for our product team, which includes R&D design, along with merchandising, sewing and repairs.”
The company said it initially will make minimal renovations on the second floor so its other departments can move in as soon as possible to occupy the upstairs office.
It says its open floor plan ensures it can design, build and test every product before it is sent for production.
The company has not contracted yet with an architect or contractor.
Standards and production
The company said all of its products “are built to the highest standards of quality and durability, and we stand behind those standards with a ‘Scars’ lifetime guarantee.”
The guarantee is that if there is a defect in workmanship or materials or if a customer wears it out, the company will fix or replace the item at its discretion, free of charge. “We can recognize our own stuff - and your date of purchase does not matter. Hence lifetime,” says the website.
It manufactures products in the U.S. and in Vietnam.
It also leads and supports challenge events nationwide that are listed on the GORUCK.com site. It was the presenting sponsor of the 2022 and 2023 Sandlot JAX Fitness Festival at Metropolitan Park.
It said its products and events are sold online on the website.
Its main warehouse and fulfillment center is the ShipHero Warehouse & Fulfillment Center at 1501 Haines St. near Talleyrand. It also has fulfillment locations in Las Vegas; Allentown, Pennsylvania; and Neuwied, Germany.
The company representative says Jason McCarthy is in the office every day overseeing the product development and testing, “and examining any warranty repairs to ensure we stay true to our commitment to quality.”