| Type | Public (NASDAQ: GAIA) |
|---|---|
| Genre | Lifestyle |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Founder(s) | Jirka Rysavy |
| Headquarters |
Louisville, Colorado, USA 833 S Boulder Rd |
| Key people | Chairman and CEO Jirka Rysavy President and COO Lynn Powers Chief Financial Officer Vilia Valentine |
| Website | http://www.gaiam.com |
Gaiam is a "lifestyle company" that sells products catered toward healthy and sustainable living.
Gaiam is probably best known for fitness media, such as its award-winning yoga routine videos taught by well-known instructors such as Rodney Yee.
Gaiam was founded in Boulder, Colorado in 1988 by Jirka Rysavy, a few years after he founded Corporate Express to market recycled paper products. At that time, Rysavy was involved in three separate LOHAS companies, all within one block of each other in Boulder, Colorado. His vision was to serve the "conscious consumer", a group subsequently named the "Cultural Creatives" by sociologist Paul Ray in 1996. Ray's research distinguished a group of educated consumers who make purchasing decisions based on their values. Paul Ray now serves on Gaiam's board of directors.
Originally a catalog business, Gaiam now has products in stores worldwide (Target, Borders Books, Whole Foods Market), and is growing a strong e-commerce sales channel as well. Gaiam catalogs include:
In 2006, Gaiam launched the Gaiam Community [1] forum.
Gaiam is actively expanding into overseas territories. In 2003, it bought a 50.1% share in its UK distributor Leisure Systems International (LSI). LSI subsequently changed its name to Gaiam Ltd. In May 2008 however the UK directors of Gaiam Ltd bought back their share of the business and changed the company name again to HAB International Ltd.
In 2000 Gaiam acquired Real Goods, a California-based company specializing in the production and distribution of solar power systems, other renewable energy equipment, and off-grid/sustainable living products. Gaiam supports environmentalism as a part of its "conscious consumer" vision.
In 2005, Gaiam acquired the media assets of GoodTimes Entertainment Inc which included brands such as GT Xpress, The Firm and Billy Blanks. Gaiam has been known to attempt to market cheap knock-off products, such as a Vídeo Brinquedo DVD entitled The Frog Prince (2009), an imitation of Walt Disney Pictures' The Princess and the Frog (2009), under the name of the former GoodTimes brand, even when this company has no association with the production or the product itself.
Gaiam launched Real Goods in 2008 and now www.realgoods.com expands the Gaiam product line from things like yoga mats and green cleaning products to large "off grid living" items like solar power invertors and tankless water heaters.
In 2007, Gaiam acquired both Lime.com and Zaadz.com for a greater community presence. Zaadz then was renamed Gaia.com, but it was deemed unprofitable and eventually it was shut down in 2010.
Gaiam (pronounced "guy-um"), is a fusion of the words "Gaia" and "I am". Gaia, mother Earth, was honored on the Isle of Crete in ancient Greece 5,000 years ago by the Minoan civilization. This civilization valued education, art, science, recreation, and the environment and believed that the Earth was directly connected to its existence and daily life. The concept of Gaia stems from the ancient philosophy that the Earth is a living entity.